


I Do What I Want

by XxTheDarkLordxX



Series: The I Do Series [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Bonding, BoyxBoy, Drama, Drarry, F/M, Family, Fluff, Gay Sex, Love, M/M, New Friends, Post-Battle, Reincarnation, Romance, Smut, Weasley Bashing, daily updates, friends - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-22
Updated: 2017-04-19
Packaged: 2018-09-19 03:58:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 91
Words: 509,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9417518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/XxTheDarkLordxX/pseuds/XxTheDarkLordxX
Summary: They say you shouldn't touch what isn't yours... Too bad no one told Harry that.A simple mistake that Harry made in his first year at Hogwarts is coming back to bite him in the arse. The war is over but the threat to his life is just beginning.This story begins with a simple apology that changes Harry’s life. It starts a domino effect that leads to unbelievable connections, undying love, unique past lives, unknown villains and an unstoppable family. Follow Harry and his friends on an epic adventure filled with twists, bumps, comfort, enemies, a new life and a lot of love.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Warning. This is a BoyxBoy story. If that bothers you, then by all means please exit stage left. Au. Some people who didn't die originally are now dead. Some people who did die originally are now alive. Makes things interesting, don't you think?  
> I do not own any part of Harry Potter. That right unfortunately does not belong to me. I just like to make the characters do what I like. :) No translating the story into another language.

       _Dead. They are all dead. Not just the bad. But the good too. This isn't what I wanted. Voldemort is dead but at what cost? How many lives have been taken for him to die? How many lives have been ruined? Death is so destructive. Voldemort feared death above all others. Part of me can understand that. Not because I wish to live forever… no, why would I? Life is nothing but a series of endless twists and hardships till you die. I understand because of what death does to the survivors. Death is a cruel mistress. Leaving behind a hole in the surviving loved ones. A hole that can never be repaired, never be filled._

_They say with time it gets easier, how wrong they are. Sure, I never knew my parents but the hole they left behind never gets easier to bear. Some days the black pit of their absence gets worse, other times it stays the same. Never easier… no never. Time is just a reminder that you are alive while they are not. The precious seconds of the day just scream the injustice done to them. Time is a joke. A cruel mocking joke. Nothing will ever be okay again. Nothing will ever make the sacrifice of their lives okay. The greater good? Bullshit. How many people had to die in the name of the greater good? When does it become okay? That was always one thing Dumbledore never understood. At what number of dead people does it stop being for the greater good and it start being the same problem as Voldemorts? Okay, different sides of a war but we weren’t innocent. We took the lives of the opposition just as heavily as they did to us. We believed they were wrong so that meant they had to go. Never once stopping to consider that war might not be the best answer. We were so sure that we were right. So conceited to think that we couldn’t be wrong. It didn’t matter if some people died as long as we won, right? Doesn’t that remind you of anyone?_

  
_They say there is three sides to every story. Their side, your side and then the truth. Same applies to war. Their side, your side and the grey middle of both. There is never one right side and one wrong side. Take the number 9 for example; lay the number on a table, from one vantage point it clearly looks like a 9. From across the table it looks like a 6. Who is right? Both people will argue till their faces are blue that what they see is the correct answer. They don’t try to understand what the other person is feeling or thinking. They only consider what they see. They think they are right and therefor the other person is wrong. Just because you are right does not mean that I am wrong. It is the exact same in war. Everyone is so emotionally blinded by what they believe is the right side that they lose sight of themselves. Sometimes you need to take a step back and see things in a different perspective. Once you see that the number is a 9 and a 6, fighting over it seems silly. You now can’t understand why the two people are arguing so vehemently in the first place. Now you are the grey middle. One who understands both parts of the fight but chooses a different path._

  
_People do things they aren’t proud of in war. They say it like it is an excuse. Like it being war makes it okay somehow. It doesn’t. If you did something you knew was wrong and use the excuse of it being war, then how are you any different from the opposite side? You knew it was wrong but chose to do it anyway. Doing something wrong in the name of your plight is not okay. War is bloody, messy and evil. Both sides of war. Never just one side. I wish I had realized that sooner, things could have turned out so differently. If I had just taken a step back and analyzed things from both sides of the war and not just my own skewed judgement. Things could have been different. I could have made a difference. One that hadn’t killed so many people. By the time I realized this it was too late. I was already so deeply clutched into the light side there was no changing it. I am not saying I agreed with Voldemort. No that’s silly. I could never have chosen his side of things. Even if I were to ignore that he killed my parents there is no ignoring his inhumane tactics at getting what he wanted. His viewpoints on nearly everything was skewed, but not all of it. If I could have picked and chose viewpoints from both sides and placed them in a basket. That basket would represent how the wizarding world should be. Or at least what I thought it should be. Again, it is the perspective. What's good for me isn't always what's good for you._

  
_I wish Voldemort was alive. I wish I could have a do over and do things so different. I would bring him back to life to save everyone who died. It isn't fair. This was not the plan. I knew that people would die. I understood that, but the pain and the guilt stab me. The knowledge that it is all my fault hurts more than I ever thought possible. I am their bloody savior and I couldn’t even save them all. I had their lives in my hands and they died anyways. How can I live with that? The 'what ifs' and the 'I should haves' eat at me. After the fact, I see things so clearly. I see the way I should have handled it. How could I have been so blind? Why now that it is all over do I know what I should have done? I am alive but they aren't. If they are going to die, then shouldn’t I be dead too? Survivors guilt? Maybe._

  
_Tonks. Lavender. Padma. Cho. Dennis. Hannah. Justin. Colin. Dobby. Percy. Sirius. Hestia. Dedalus. Moody. Dumbledore. All of them dead and so many more. Many faces swim at me. All of them died for my sake. They died either battling for me or died protecting me. So many deaths. Too many to count. Each death feels like a stab to the heart that won't ever heal. Their faces suffocate me. Their eyes pierce my lungs, each breath is difficult to take. The war is over. Voldemort is dead. I should be happy, right? I should be celebrating like the rest of the world. I am not. I can't. How can I be happy when those who died cannot? How is that okay? It is my fault they died. I may not have been the one who pulled the trigger. Or shot the final curse, rather. I am just as guilty. If it wasn't for me they would be alive. If I had tried harder. If I got to him faster, if I had just taken a different perspective then this wouldn't have happened. So many people would be alive._

  
_Anger. So much rage is pulsing inside me. I always thought this anger was Voldemorts. After we realized the two of us shared a connection, the anger was written off as his. The evil anger that lurks inside me did not die with him. I still feel it. I feel it mocking me. I feel it twisting my insides with no outlet. The sheer depth of it is slightly nauseating. It scares me. Not because I could do something awful with it. No, it scares me because I like it. I like the anger. Which scares me further. I shouldn't like it. It is a distraction from the guilt. Is that why I like it?_

  
_It has only been three days since the battle. Three days. Such a small amount of time. But it feels like a lifetime. I am numb. So numb. No emotions. Nothing but guilt and anger seep into me. The anger I can deal with. The guilt and utter sadness I cannot. I feel like I am losing myself. What's worse is I don't even want to fix it. I don't want to find myself. Finding myself means that I give up the guilt. As much as it torments me, I can’t give it up. I need it. If I have no guilt, then that means their deaths didn’t matter. They matter! Someone needs to be accountable for their deaths. Voldemort is just as guilty as I am. He is dead so the guilt can’t reside there. So I have to be the one to live with it._

  
_Nothing is helping. There is this gaping hole that won't be filled. The one that represents my parents started out small, but with each death it tears slightly. Now it is a giant chasm that will never go away. Nothing brings me happiness. Nothing can help. Nothing. Ron and Hermione try to talk to me but I can tell they are scared. I don't blame them. Even before the final battle I wasn’t okay. I am this empty shell. They deserve some type of explanation but there is nothing to tell. How do you explain that there is nothing left? How do you explain that the Harry they knew is dead? Gone. The person that used to be is nothing now. The person that used to be their best friend is a shell of the man who once was._

  
_Emotions are a foreign concept. It is like my body forgot what they are. Happiness, joy, kindness, love, wonder, amusement, hope; all of them are forgotten. All of them are missing. I wonder if this is temporary. If this is all a part of the grieving phase. I hope not. I don't want those emotions. I don't deserve them. I wish the attack on Voldemort killed me as well. I really do sometimes. What is there to live for? How can I face the families of the loved ones? How can I live knowing how much pain and suffering I have caused? How-_

  
       "Potter?" A timid voice brought Harry out of his thoughts. He looked around and realized he was sitting on a bench in the quidditch field. It took a moment to remember that he had gone out here for some privacy. It was dark. Way darker than it should be. Hadn't he gone out here during lunch? He couldn't have been out here for hours, could he?


	2. Say What??

            "Potter?" The voice sounded concerned now... and familiar? Harry shook his head to gain some clarity. He looked to the side to see... "Malfoy?" He asked with clear surprise on his face. Sure enough Malfoy was standing in front of him with not an ounce of his usual contempt on his face. No aura of superiority. No sneer on his face. No anger. No disgust. Actually, emotions he never thought were possible for a Malfoy to possess were on his face. Worry. Concern. Fear. Possibly timid. Is this _really_ Malfoy?

            Draco gave a small nod. "I... I came to talk to you... may I sit?" Draco asked fighting back the nerves and the urge to run. He studied Potter carefully. Something was wrong with him. He seemed broken. This was not the face of his rival. This was not the face of someone so strong. This was not the face of the savior of their world. This was the face he quite recognized as his own. His own brokenness that he sees in the mirror everyday was on Potter's face. He didn't like it one bit. Potter shouldn't be broken. Potter gave so much in the war, he should be able to enjoy his life.

            The polite way he asked sent confusion across Harry's face. Malfoy could be polite? The shock over that sent his head nodding in approval against his will. Malfoy sat down next to him. Harry observed him closely. He did not look so good. His skin seemed shallow. As if he hadn't had proper food or sleep in quite some time. Longer than the couple days since the battle. By the looks of it, it would appear to be months. Bags underneath his eyes. Lines of worry etched on his face. He didn't like it. This was not how his rival should look. Malfoy was supposed to be strong and defiant. Not... broken. Malfoy looked as broken as Harry felt. A sliver of companionship flared inside him. Maybe Harry had found someone who understood what it meant to be broken.

            "I owe you an apology." Malfoy said gripping his robes in his hands rather tightly. Harry's eyebrow rose. An apology? From Malfoy? Certainly, a Malfoy would never apologize. That would mean taking credit for wrong doing. He didn’t know much about Malfoy but he knew enough to know that, ‘Malfoys can do no wrong’. He wondered if it was a spell, or a potion. Confunded maybe? Amusement flickered briefly in Malfoy's eyes. Which had him highly curious.

            "No Potter it is not a spell." He said with a slight chuckle. Harry was confused. Had he spoken out loud? Malfoy must have seen the confusion and gave a small smile. Which confused Harry even more. Malfoy could smile? Surely only a sneer had ever been on his face. He wracked his brain trying to come up with one instance where he saw Malfoy smile… nope. Nothing.

            "No, you didn't speak out loud. I could see it on your face. I have always been able to tell what you are thinking." Malfoy explained as if it was no big thing. "Well mostly."

            This confused Harry even further. Not even Ron or Hermione could tell what he was thinking most of the time. But Malfoy knew? That was just odd. But then not really. There were many times during their verbal matches that he knew what Malfoy was thinking. He could see it on his face. Ignoring his statement for the moment, "Why are you sorry?" He asked genuinely curious.

            Surprise flickered across Malfoy's face. "Are you serious?" Harry nodded slowly wondering what was going on. So much confusion was not sitting well with him. 

            Draco sighed deeply. He had been hoping that this would be easy but it looked like Potter was going to make this difficult. Which really wasn't that much of a surprise. When hadn't the boy been difficult? "I am sorry for the way I have treated you, Potter." There, hopefully that would be enough. Hopefully that would satisfy Potter's annoying curiosity. 

            Harry's eyes widened comically. _Say what?_

            "All these years of the insults and the attacks and the hate. I am sorry for it all." Draco added when the boy hadn't said anything. It was kind of unnerving being stared at so intently by the person responsible for killing The Dark Lord. 

            Harry felt truly gobsmacked. Now he was wondering if he himself had been confunded. Malfoy was apologizing? _Malfoy?_ What? "Why?" He asked just as quietly. 

            As Harry looked-truly looked-at Malfoy, he had to hold back a gasp. Pain. So much pain was in silver eyes. The same pain he knew was inside his own. It was raw and it was consuming Malfoy. Just as it had been consuming him. This was a feeling he knew well, after all. 

            "I never wanted any of this Harry. I never hated you… well _not really_. Hate is such a strong word. There were plenty of times where I disliked you. Couldn’t stand you and the line bordered on despising you, slightly. But never hate you. Not once. I _am_ sorry for the way I treated you. If there is one thing I wish I could do over it would be to go back and change it all." Draco said with determination, hoping that that at least would make it across clearly. 

            Harry's mouth opened in shock. _What?_ That was the only thing his mind could think of at the moment? Had this conversation evaporated his mind? Or had he always been a little on the dense side and never noticed? Malfoy even called him by his first name too. This was so strange. The whole conversation was. This was not something he ever thought would happen. Malfoy was apologizing and he meant it. Harry could see the sincere way he spoke. He meant every word. This had to be an alternate universe. _It just had to._

            Draco wanted to smirk at Harry's reaction but figured now was _not_ the time. It would probably have a negative reaction if he did. He did always love it when he managed to get reactions out of Harry. No one else seemed to be able to. The spark in his eyes when he was angry was a sight to see. His usual emerald green eyes would darken slightly when he was angry. When he was surprised they would lighten a little. The variety of colors always amazed him.

            "If you didn't hate me then why did you bully me?" Harry asked quietly. He chose the word bully on purpose. If Malfoy really was going to apologize for his actions, then he needed to understand how messed up they were. He almost wished he hadn't asked. He was worried about the answer. What do you even say to that? This whole situation was so unlikely. This would be like if Vernon suddenly announced his love of all things magic. Not bloody likely.

            Draco sighed sadly. "Do you really want to know? It is a long story." Draco warned. If Harry really wanted to know then he would tell him but he would have to lay it all on the line. There would be no paraphrasing. He either got the whole story or none of it. He didn’t even want to tell the story. Part of him wanted Harry to say no. So that he didn't have to own up to anything. But a bigger part hoped he would want to hear it. So that he could finally have everything out in the open. His own warring opinions made his mind feel like a battlefield.

            Harry was unsure for a moment. He could say no and get back up and head to the common room and finish packing. He could pretend that this conversation hadn't happened and that Malfoy still hated him. But he didn't want to. Ignorance was something you could only live with for so long. He was curious, so curious He hadn't been this interested in something in ages. If he left now it would just eat at him, plus he doubted Malfoy would ever tell him again. It was so surreal to see Malfoy like this. It intrigued him. More than he thought was possible. He nodded his head firmly, not trusting his voice. Malfoy gave another sigh in response. Harry wanted to smile at that but chose not to. He didn't want him thinking he was taking the mickey out of him.

            "Alright. You may have guessed this already but my father is... an arse." Harry snorted a little in surprise. What a way to begin a conversation. He was liking this already. 

            Draco shot him a slight smirk. There was no point in denying it. His father was an arse. "He was always one. There were moments when I could see some kindness underneath it all. They were brief but I still saw it. The Malfoy name is everything to him. That was the way he was raised. The pureblood name and status was engrained into him from the moment of birth. Being a pureblood is so much more than blood. It’s a status you live with. Your name is not just your last name, it is a way of life. Being a pureblood is not something I would have particularly chosen to be born into. The social advantages are nice but the lack of everything it takes to uphold the name is _not_. My father firmly believes in the pureblood life and every teaching his father taught him. He loves my mother deeply. I can tell. The way he looks at her, it is as if she is the most delicate thing in the world." He paused for a moment to smile. Harry smiled at the wistful tone.

            "He has never shown me the same love." Harry frowned. His dislike for Lucius growing. "I know he loves me as much as a pureblood can love his heir. He just doesn't show it though. He wants the best for me. Well, more like demands it. So he pushes hard. He thrusts his beliefs down my throat till I can recite them by heart. He has always wanted me to be just like him. To think like him. To act like him. To be him. Because one day I will take over as Lord of the Malfoy estate. It is the job of the heir. The pressure of the Malfoy name has always been hanging over my head. I wanted to please him. I wanted to make him proud. I wanted the approval of him. I thought that if I could give him what he wanted then maybe, just once, he could show me the love I always wanted."

            Harry felt a surge of pity towards Malfoy, which surprised him. "I never got to do anything that I wanted. Not once. Never. I always had to do things his way. Do the things he wanted. I was told as a child that it didn’t matter what I wanted in life. Only the Malfoy way mattered. I didn't have a childhood. Other kids got to be a child. They got to play or have friends or to just be a kid. I had lessons day in and day out. Lessons on the wizarding world and lessons on how to be the best Malfoy I could be. I hated it." Draco said with anger in his voice, not quite ready to let that go. 

            Harry was surprised. He knew exactly what pressure felt like. Sure, their pressures were vastly different. But the struggle to live up to the pressures of the world is something he could empathize with. Harry reached out and gave a small pat of reassurance on his knee.

            Draco looked over with one arched eyebrow. The touch surprised him, however it was a welcoming touch. He smiled slightly at Harry as a way of responding but not making a big deal out of it.

            "You know, from the moment I could talk I knew of you, Harry." Harry looked up confused, not liking the sound of that. "I imagine the whole world did. Your name was whispered everywhere. Even in my household. Your name to my father was more like a curse word. He didn't hate you but he feared you in a way." Harry's eyes widened. Lucius feared him?

             "The Dark Lord was a powerful wizard and a mere baby took him out. It was unheard of. He knew that you would turn into a powerful wizard yourself one day. He was not angry that The Dark Lord was gone. He had long ago regretted ever joining him." Draco was interrupted with a raised hand.

            "Hold up. He did?" Harry asked surprised and a little suspicious. He thought back to all of the times he has encountered Lucius and couldn't find one instance where it looked like he didn't want to be there. Lucius was the epitome of a deatheater. Hearing this was a little confusing and hard to believe.

            Draco nodded, understanding where Harry was coming from. It is hard to _see_ what one doesn't wish to be known. His father hadn't ever acted as if he regretted anything. "Oh yes. The Dark Lord was deranged. A mad man. Obsessed with power. He didn't care what he had to do to take it. Regret is not a thing that a deatheater can have though. You don't get to say 'oops I changed my mind, sorry don't kill me.' Can you imagine how forgiving The Dark Lord would have been?" Harry chuckled at the sarcasm in his voice. He was right though. You don't get to say no. If Lucius really had changed his mind the only options he had were to speak out and be killed or to do nothing and continue with Voldemort's plans.

            "It didn't matter that he wanted out. You don't do that unless you value your life. So he stayed in anyways. He was ashamed. Not that he would ever admit that, but he was too much of a coward to leave. Then you happened, a mere baby stopped The Dark Lord. A baby could stop him but he couldn't even muster up the courage to leave. So every time your name was brought up in a conversation or in the paper, he would get angry. Not at you, but at himself. From an early age, I sort of admired you." Draco smiled at the dumbstruck expression on Harry's face. The surprise was almost worth this whole conversation.

            "I did. Anyone who could force that kind of reaction from my father must truly be something. I couldn't admit that to my father. He would have taken that badly. So I admired you quietly and told no one. I read anything and everything about you. It was my own way of a rebellion against my father. He could dictate my life. He could force me how to act and how to behave, but he could not take away my rebellious thoughts. I was disappointed at the lack of information about you. The books knew nothing, they were seriously lacking. They only had a small amount of information about your parents. When I realized that your mum was a muggleborn I laughed for hours." Harry glared. Was Malfoy mocking him? Or his mother?

            Draco rolled his eyes. "Stop your glaring, it was nothing bad. It was just that for my whole life I had heard how superior purebloods were over everyone else. How we are stronger and better. Yet a baby who was a half-blood, took down the strongest dark wizard in history. The irony of the whole thing sent me into a fit of giggles. My mother thought I had lost it." Draco stopped to smile at the memory, recalling the way she had not-so-subtly walked back out of the library with her hands raised.

            Harry saw the humor and chuckled a little which caused Malfoy to smile slightly at him. He thought a smiling Malfoy was way better than a sneering one. The smile made his face change drastically. It was... nice.

            "I knew right then, that there was absolutely no stock to the shite my father was preaching. I knew that purebloods were no better than anyone else magically. Ideally, is another thing altogether. I took a step back and thought over everything he taught me and realized that I wanted to be nothing like him. I didn't want his way of life. I didn't want to be the next Lord Malfoy but there was nothing I could do. Unless I wanted to be disowned. My father was never hateful towards me but if I had spoken my mind then, I knew he could be. He would have done anything to stomp those thoughts out of my head. No Malfoy has ever gone against the teachings of my family before. I was stuck and utterly miserable." Draco paused to sigh as he thought over his horrid future.

            Harry's heart clenched at the sad quality in his voice. He was surprised to find out that Malfoy was nothing like what he had always thought. It was as if everything he thought he knew about him was an illusion. He realized he never knew anything about him to begin with. He saw what Malfoy wanted him to see. Harry was beginning to want to know now. 

            "There was nothing I could do about it. So I just pretended. I pretended to be the heir that my father wanted. Falsity is something Malfoys do well so it wasn't that hard. Then when I met you. I realized that you were the boy I had been talking to in the robe shop. I was mad that the first impression you had of me was my father’s way of thinking. I was pissed at myself. So I tried to change that. I did the one thing I knew my father would hate but it was the one thing I wanted. To be your friend." Harry's heart clenched. He had turned down that friendship. He felt slightly guilty. Only slightly though, Malfoy had been the utter prat.

            "When Weasley laughed at my name, I lost it. I could have just insulted his name back. I didn't have to go after his family but I did. You turned down my friendship and it hurt more than I care to admit. I was mad at myself. Not at you. I had acted the prat and I knew it. I thought about apologizing but I had seen the anger in your eyes. I couldn't reach out and get denied again. Once was enough. I don’t think my pride could have risked it."

            Harry reached over and squeezed his shoulder. "If you had apologized I would have forgiven you. I know it." He told him with a small smile. Forgiveness was always something that came easy to him. A true apology being given to him at eleven would have been easy. Easier than one at this stage. Malfoy responded with his own smile, albeit sad smile.

            "I wonder what would have happened if I had plucked up the courage to do so but I was not put in Gryffindor for a reason. No courage." Draco said with a smirk. "I knew that we could not be friends after the way I treated Weasley. So I did the only thing I could to keep your attention. As a rival and an enemy. I disliked acting like that but couldn't stop once I had begun. It made me feel so much like my father. I hated _some_ of the things I said to you. I was so bitter. Specially towards Weasley and Granger. They got to be your friends while you had rejected my effort. I was jealous and petty. I was also eleven. Not that that is an excuse but I was a child who definitely acted like one. It is easy to see that  _now._ Easy to think back and marvel at my own mistakes. My father was happy to hear that you were my new rival. It disgusted me, actually. I didn't want to do anything he wanted. I had half a mind to end the rivalry then and there, but I selfishly kept it. Because it was the only way I was ever going to gain some kind of attention from you. Which is the wrong attitude to have. So I continued it, even though each word I spoke against you was proof of how we would never be friends."

            Harry could honestly say that he didn't know what to say or to think. He was impressed in a way. Impressed that so much could have been hidden without his knowledge. It wasn't as if Malfoy had ever  _acted_ like he thought like that.  

            "I never knew."

            "That was the point" Draco retorted, lifting an eyebrow as he smirked slightly.

            Harry rolled his eyes at the familiar expression. For once, it didn't provide the reaction it normally would have. He was a little relieved to see some kind of fire return to the Malfoy heir. 

            "Even though I acted the way I did, said dreadful things to you, I never stopped my rebellious belief in you." Harry's face heated up slightly at his words. "Even though you were not aware of it, I have always been in your corner. Maybe not during the later years of our feuds. But I had silently-very silently- cheered you forward. Wishing the best for you but hoping that I was still better." Harry looked to the sky as he tried not to laugh. 

             "I was disappointed that I still hardly knew anything about you. At first, I wanted to know more about you because you were my own personal rebellion against my father. But it quickly stopped being that. Your own personal charm, strong beliefs and courageous ways pulled me in. Not to mention your faults as well. I wanted to know you not because of my father. Not because of you were the boy-who-lived, but because of who _you_ are. I wanted to know about the real you. What makes you tick? What angers you? Everything. I wanted to know it all. I wanted to evaluate you because you intrigued me." It was slightly embarrassing to admit all of this. It warred with his inner self that was trying to valiantly hold all of his secrets to his chest. 

            Harry's heart started beating faster at his words. What was this? This was the first emotion he was able to feel that was positive in so long. He couldn't recognize it. Had he been in the dark for so long that he could no longer identify emotions?

            It surprised him how much Malfoy cared. No one had ever cared like that before. Ron and Hermione were his friends but they never wanted to know the things that made him tick. There were times that Ron and Hermione only saw him as the boy who lived. Sure, they were there for him through thick and thin but they also knew what he had to do. They knew that he was the one who had to take down Voldemort, so sometimes it was hard for them to see him as just Harry. He wanted to be treated like an average teenager. It was comforting to know that someone saw him as that. For some reason, he liked that it was Malfoy who thought of him like that. This confused him but he decided he just didn't care. He could sort out all of this later. 

            "It was difficult to continue to treat you with hate when I just wanted to learn more. There were plenty of times where I disliked you though. There is no way I could look at your hair and not want to make some kind of crack at it. Once away from you, I found myself talking about you. At first it was just complaints to keep up with how I was supposed to act but occasionally I would slip up and my friends caught on. Blaise and Pansy were my first friends. Their families forced beliefs on them as well. They were told how to act and how to behave too. They were not exactly like me. They still held some of the pureblood beliefs. I never confided in them on that. They were my only friends. Crabbe and Goyle were not my friends. They stuck around because of my father. They shadowed me around in public but in my own personal time, I spent that with Blaise and Pansy. They quickly realized that my hatred of you wasn't at all what it seemed. I just told them that it was my way of rebelling against my father. They bought into it, at first. I felt uncomfortable telling them the truth. With them by my side, I was no longer miserable, but I still wanted to discover more about you."

             Harry felt a little overwhelmed. This was a lot to take in. He almost wished that he could rewind and tell Malfoy that he didn't want to hear his story. But at the same time, he didn't want the other boy to stop. 

            "I am a coward, Harry." Draco said with disgust in his voice. Harry furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. That is quite the admission. "When my father told me The Dark Lord was back, I was scared. For him. For my family. For you. I knew he would come after you, it was the only logical thing to expect at the time. I wanted to go against my father and tell him not to go back to him but I knew it would get me nowhere. You don't turn your back on the Dark Lord. I knew if he tried he would have been killed. I wanted to do something but I was a coward. I did nothing. I was surprisingly proud when I heard what happened in the graveyard. I was stunned that you fought against him and escaped. Not many people would be able to do the same. Then, when the whole world was mocking you for saying he came back, I wanted to stand up and admit that The Dark Lord _was_ back. I wanted to admit that you were right but I did nothing. I watched you suffer in silence. I watched as the world who once loved you began to doubt you. I watched as the ministry turned their backs on you. I watched you go through pain at the hands of the people you almost lost your life for. I wanted to do something. Say something."

            Harry reached over and grabbed onto his wrist in a comforting grip when the deprecating tone reached him.

            Draco was grateful for the touch. Telling Harry all of this stuff about him was hard. He felt vulnerable and out in the open.

            Harry was once again stunned. He couldn't speak if he wanted to. To hear Malfoy praise him. Hearing him say he was proud of him felt better than any praise he had ever been given. He couldn't understand it for the life of him, but he liked it.

            "After the fight at the Ministry I was angry at my father. It just put a lot of things into perspective for me. I hated that he was one of the people who you fought against. Made the possibility of him being the one to bring you to death a strong one. I heard about Black and knew that you were crushed. I could see the grief on your face. I could see the pain lingering. I hated Bellatrix the moment I met her. Not just because of what she did to you. There has always been a pure evil radiating off of her. She was just as mad as The Dark Lord. She was barmy, absolutely mental. Then, my mother was forced to bring me to The Dark Lord and become a deatheater in the absence of my father. I could see it in her face that she didn't want to. This was not the life she wanted for me, I had always known that. But she was so far gone already. She couldn't stop it. I knew if I fled like I wanted to, that The Dark Lord would take his anger out on my family. I couldn't let that happen. So I did it. I became the one thing I swore I would never do. I became a bloody deatheater. I hated myself. I had long given up hope that we would ever become friends, but this sealed that belief. Harry Potter would never willingly befriend a deatheater."

            There was a sense of pure sadness in his voice. The sadness pierced Harry's heart. No one should have to have gone through that. No one should have been forced into being a deatheater like that. Bloody awful. He was a little shocked at how angry he was on behalf of Draco. Why does he care so much? Why is what happened to Draco affecting him so much? He could no longer call him Malfoy, even in his head. Draco was bearing his soul here. That deserved a first name basis.

            "Then, I was given the order to kill Dumbledore. I knew that it was a punishment for my father. The Dark Lord was angry at the failure at the Ministry. He himself could never kill Dumbledore. How in the world could a sixteen year old do that? I knew it was a suicide mission. I knew that I was going to die trying or die from failure. In a way, it was my own form of punishing myself for being such a bloody coward. If I had just spoken up to my father all those years ago, then maybe none of this would have happened. If I had become your friend, then maybe you would have helped me. Maybe I could have changed, but it was too late for all of that. So I took the order knowing I could never successfully pull it off." Harry reached out and gripped Draco's hand tightly.


	3. Understood

            "Draco." Harry said softly. Draco looked up surprised by the use of his first name. "If you had told me sixth year what was going on I would have helped you in a heartbeat. Even without knowing that you wanted to be my friend I would have helped you. No one should have to go through that. No one." He said with a stern expression.

            Draco peered closely studying Harry's face, trying to gauge the validity of his statement. When he found no sign of a lie, he smiled slightly. "I would say that is so Gryffindor of you. But I think it is more than that. It is just so _you_. You see the world through different eyes Harry. I really do believe you would have helped me. That is not something other people would have done." The words were accompanied with another small smile. 

            Harry could feel his face heat up slightly at the other boy's words. 

            "Okay moving on. My attempts at killing him were quite pathetic. I hadn't even tried, not really. I just put in the basic effort to make it appear as if I was actually trying. I never ever intended anyone to drink that bottle of mead. I certainly never wanted to harm Weasley. As much as I can’t stand him, I never would have actually tried to kill him. When I heard what happened and I almost wanted to come clean and admit what my mistakes. Same for Bell. I never thought she would touch the necklace. I never wanted to harm anyone. That is something I promise you." Draco could hear the slight begging to his tone and wanted to scowl. It was hard talking about all of this but he didn't want to bring it all up just to not be believed. 

            It was interesting to see pieces of Draco that Harry hadn't ever encountered before. He could tell that the blonde was needing some kind of reassurance rom him. "I believe you." He promised quietly. When Draco's face instantly became relieved, Harry knew that he had said the right thing.

            "I was becoming desperate. Unsure of how to continue or what to do. I spent so much time in the room of requirement fixing that stupid vanishing cabinet. The murder attempts were easy to blunder but there was no way out of working on the cabinet. If I hadn't they would have known something was up. They were already suspicious as it was. That was a tough year for me. I couldn't confide in anyone. It wasn't like I could just tell Blaise and Pansy. They weren't deatheaters so there was no way I could tell them. Frankly, I am glad. I didn't want them to know how far I had sunk, I didn't want to see their disappointment in me. I was at rock bottom. Too much of a coward to do a damn thing about my life."

             Harry took his chin in his hands and forced Draco to face him. Coward was a pretty strong word. Over the years, he has seen a number of different kinds of cowards. Fudge, Wormtail, Lockhart, Karkaroff, Mundungus and many more. But a boy being forced into things by extenuating circumstances? That wasn't cowardice.  

            "I don't think you are a coward, Draco. Far from it." Draco raised his eyebrows in disbelief. "You were in a hard place, with no way out. Either you did what you were told or your family would die. That to me is a no brainer. There was only one thing you could do. Family is important. Even though I don't have one I know exactly what I would have done. Hell, I stormed the Ministry knowing full well it could be trap just to save Sirius. You were stuck in a snake pit with no way out. You did the only thing you could do. Survive. That to me in its own way shows bravery. So please don't call yourself a coward. I won't stand for it." The last part was said so sternly that Draco smiled despite the situation.

            Relief. That was what Harry could see in Draco's silvery grey eyes. He could almost visibly see the weight being lifted from the blonde's shoulders.

            Draco closed his eyes at the words. He savored them. Someone thought he was brave. Not just anyone. Harry bloody Potter thought what he had done was the only solution. It lifted so many years of self-loathing off his shoulders. He had honestly never felt more free in his entire life.

            "Thank you, Harry. That means a lot to me." He said quietly opening his eyes and staring into Harry's green ones.

            When their eyes locked, Harry was surprised to see the shimmer of emotion swimming in them. With the moon reflecting into those eyes, it was almost beautiful. 

            Draco cleared his throat. "Let's continue." When Harry nodded his agreement, he continued on. "When the time came down to it, I was on the astronomy tower with my wand pointed at Dumbledore. I couldn't go through with it. But I had always known that I wouldn't be able to. He offered me protection, Harry. It was everything I ever wanted. He even knew about the attempts and he still offered me protection. I wanted to take it, needed to take it. I lowered my wand and was going to do it. I was going to betray my family. I was going to betray the Dark Lord. I was finally for once in my life going against what was expected of me. But as I lowered my wand the reinforcements came in. I hadn't had any time to accept the proposal. I wanted to scream and throw a tantrum. Worst timing ever. Then Severus came in and finished what I had started. He had to though. He made the unbreakable vow with my mother. I never wanted him to kill Dumbledore. I feel guilty that he had to." Harry held up a hand interrupting him.        

            "Don't feel guilty. Dumbledore and Snape made an agreement in the beginning of the year. Dumbledore knew of the vow he made. Plus, it wouldn't have mattered either way. Dumbledore was dying, Draco." Harry said a little sadly.

            "Dying? How?" Draco asked confused. The man was old but even at his age he was never frail. He wasn't sure what Harry was talking about. 

            "Remember his black hand?" Harry asked pausing till Draco nodded. "Well, it was a curse. Snape was able to withhold the curse into that hand but it was irreversible. He had a year to live and would have died either way. Whether Snape did it or not. But also, that night I was with Dumbledore." Draco sent a sharp look as he narrowed his eyes.

            Harry nodded. "Yes, I was on the tower that night. I saw you lower your wand. I knew you were going to accept the deal. I could see it in your face. That night Dumbledore and I had gone to a place that Voldemort hid a Horcrux." A look of horror appeared on Draco's face. Harry was slightly surprised. He figured he would have to explain what that was. Then again, his father is a very dark man. It shouldn’t be a surprise.

            "Is that what kept him living? Oh, Merlin. Harry that is _so_ dangerous. Horcrux. Bloody hell. How many did he have?" Draco asked in disgust but he was honestly worried about the answer. "He had seven." The look of horror was back on Draco's face, causing Harry a small amount of amusement.

            "Seven? Blimey. Is that what you, Weasley and Granger were doing? Is that why you broke into Bellatrix’s vault?" Draco wondered a little awed. He was reluctantly impressed. Seven Horcruxes. That was unheard of. So dangerous. No wonder the damn evil bastard was so hard to kill.

            Harry smiled at the rush of questions. "Yes, to all of them. We found and destroyed them all. Two had already been taken care of. One of them was the diary your dad passed to Ginny in our second year. I stabbed that one with a basilisk fang in the Chamber of Secrets." Admiration appeared in Draco's eyes, causing Harry to smirk.

            "One was Salazar Slytherins ring. It was destroyed by Dumbledore. The ring was what gave him the black hand. It had been cursed. So that left five more to go. That same night he was killed, we had gone to see about finding another one." Draco was surprised and disgusted at the same time. He couldn't believe Dumbledore would take Harry along with him. Taking a minor out of the school was already breaking several rules, not to mention what could have happened to either of them while there. What had the man been thinking?

            "When we got to the place that it was held in, there was a locket sitting in a basin under an unknown liquid. I offered to drink the liquid but Dumbledore refused. The liquid drove his worst memories to the forefront of his mind. The liquid was making him delirious. He couldn't even understand who I was or where he was. The liquid was killing him. I have no doubt about that. When we got to the tower we were going to have Snape take a look at him. I doubt even Snape could have helped him. If by some miracle he had been able to save him, the curse from the ring would have killed him in a couple months anyways. So there is no need to feel guilty for what happened. Dumbledore told him that if it came down to it that Snape would have to be the one to issue the killing curse. He didn't want you to do it. He had said that he was worried about your soul." Draco smiled sadly. Leave it to Dumbledore to have everything planned out.    

             It was nice to hear that he was not to blame. But it also left a bitter taste in Draco's mouth. Everything he had done that year was pointless. Dumbledore was going to die anyways. He had stressed and worried and felt guilty all this time and it was for nothing.

            "How do you know what he said?" Draco asked curiously.

             "Snape showed me his memories right after he was attacked by Nagini." Draco raised an eyebrow in surprise.

             At Draco's surprised expression, Harry chuckled lightly. "Oh I know. I was shocked too. This might come as a surprise to you but I have hated Snape for years."

             Draco snorted loudly. "You know, that is a surprise." He said with heavy sarcasm, causing Harry to grin in response.

            "Yes, well there has been bad blood between the two of us for years. I remind him of my father. I never even knew my dad but he held a grudge against me. It was unfair to me. But in a way, I can understand. My dad was a prat to him. For no reason, really. But I am not my dad so I am a little bitter about that. Snape was my mother's best friend. They knew each other before they joined Hogwarts. He switched sides when he found out that my mother was going to be targeted by Voldemort. Since the moment she died he had only ever been on the light side. He was a well-played spy. I think part of his hatred of me was for show. At least I hope so. If he is going to hate me, it should be for something I did. Not what my father did." Harry broke off glaring at the ground, he wasn't alright with the treatment that had been done to him. Nor was it fair.

            Draco reached over and gave him the reassuring pat this time. Something that Harry was rather grateful for. 

            "Anyways, after the snake attack, he gave me the memories, letting me see everything. It was a lot to take in." There was sadness in his tone. Which confused Draco. There was a story there. He just knew it.

            "Were you finished with your story Draco?" Harry asked quietly, changing the subject. Draco frowned slightly at the tone and the subject change. He could tell that Harry didn't want to talk about it and decided not to push the issue. 

            "No. I can continue. After Dumbledore died, it got worse at home. My father was punished for my failure. Although, Severus was regarded very highly after that. It surprises me how well he acted. I never would have guessed he was a spy. Voldemort essentially was moved into the manor. It was a headquarters of sorts. So many dark wizards constantly going in and out of there. It was awful. The murders and the tortures that had happened, still make me cringe. I have a hard time seeing the place and not seeing the dead bodies." He paused to shiver slightly.

            "Then, when everything started changing and the whole world was looking for you, I was scared. I wanted to leave and never look back. I was so beyond lost, not to mention depressed, moody and broken at times. Living in the same place as Voldemort was utterly miserable. The horror of having to see him so often. It was disturbing. I hardly ate, hardly slept. I didn't know myself any more. I hated waking up every single day. Hated myself. I had nothing to live for. Nothing to keep me going. Nothing to strive for. It was bloody awful." Draco shuddered.

            Harry felt a warmth of understanding. He knew exactly what that other boy was feeling. He found someone who could understand him. Someone who knew the horrors of the world and was haunted by them. He found a kindred spirit. It didn’t matter that they had been on the opposite side of the war.  

            "I wasn't the same anymore. I still am not. You don't even want to know of the things they did in my house. I still have nightmares. Then one day, out of the blue, you showed up. I was honestly stunned to see you. The chances of you appearing  I knew it was you the moment I saw you. There was no way the hex could cover you completely. I knew that they wanted me to tell them it was you. I couldn't do that. I couldn't Harry. You were the only chance of defeating Voldemort. The only one. Not only that but there was no way, no how I could ever hand you over to the Dark Lord. Never. So I lied and said it wasn't you. It wasn't hard lying. I thought it would have been. But I knew I was doing the right thing. When you guys escaped, I had never been more thankful in my entire life. It didn't matter what they did to me after that. You were safe. That was all that mattered." Harry frowned and held up a hand.

            "What do you mean it didn't matter what they did to you?" Harry asked sharply. Draco looked down at the ground. "Well they knew I had lied. There was no proof but they knew I lied. Voldemort was so angry when he arrived and you were nowhere to be seen. He punished the whole room. Me twice, for not realizing it was you." Harry gasped. He had hoped that Draco would have been okay. He never knew. He felt guilty that Draco had gone through pain because he had lied for him.

            "You have no idea how hard it was to lie under the cruciatus curse. The pain was so unbearable. I would have given my life to end the suffering. But there was no way in hell I was going to admit to them what I did. They were a little suspicious but they dropped it after the second curse." Draco was cut off suddenly. Harry threw his arms around Draco and hugged him.

            "Thank you, Draco. I am so sorry you had to go through that for me. If you hadn't lied to them I know I would have died that day. I know it. You saved our lives that day." Harry whispered. Draco was taken aback by the hug. It took a minute to hug him back. He was surprised at the thanks.

            Draco pulled away from the hug after a couple moments. "You never have to thank me Harry. I did the right thing." He argued quietly. Harry shook his head. "So stubborn Draco. Is that a Slytherin thing?" Harry teased. Draco blinked for a couple seconds before he grinned. "Actually yes it is." He replied. Harry grinned back at him.

            "So that is it. That is my story. I again apologize for everything I have done and said to you Harry. I never wanted to. I wish we could have been friends." Draco said sadly staring at Harry.

            Harry gave him a slight smile. "Thank you for apologizing. But what we had was not a one-way rivalry. I said many things to you as well throughout the years. So I would like to say sorry to you as well Draco. I will accept your apology if you can accept mine." Harry said a little nervously.

            Draco was stunned. He never expected Harry to actually forgive him for the things he did. "Harry, you don't have to apologize but I will accept it." He said smiling slightly. 

            Harry grinned. "Good. And Draco?" Draco looked up to see Harry with his hand held out. He was confused. "Hi, the names Harry Potter and I would like to be your friend, if you will have me." Harry said a little nervously. He was worried that Draco would reject the friendship.

            Draco blinked rapidly staring at Harry's hand. He looked at Harry's eyes to make sure he was understanding correctly. He could see the worry in his eyes. He was worried he was going to reject it. That thought alone made him smile. He reached out and grabbed a hold of his hand. "Hi Harry. I am Draco Malfoy, I would love to be your friend." He said with a grin that reached his eyes.

            Harry released a breath he hadn't been aware he had been holding. He was so glad Draco didn't reject him. He laughed loudly. Enjoying this moment.

            Draco smiled widely at Harry's laugh. It was a lovely change from the broken boy he saw when he walked up to him. This was the Harry he knew. This was the Harry that should always be here.

            "I haven't felt happy like this in ages. I actually thought I was incapable of emotions anymore." Harry said with a sigh.

            Draco's smile vanished. He furrowed his brows in confusion. "What do you mean Harry? Are you okay?" He asked gently. Harry sighed again and looked into Draco's eyes. He could see the genuine worry and concern in them. It warmed him to see that. To know that the only one who could understand him was worried about him.

            He gasped at the pain and lifeless look in Harry's eyes. "No, I'm not okay." Harry choked out looking at the ground. It could have been so easy to lie to him. He had lied to Hermione and Ron every time they asked the same question. But this time he was just so sick of lying. It felt good to admit that something was wrong. Draco understood Harry. Lying felt wrong.

            Draco reached out and held Harry's chin in his hand and forced Harry to look at him. "Do you want to talk about it? I am here for you. I always have been." Draco reminded him. Harry tilted his head slightly considering his words. He hadn't even told Ron or Hermione what was wrong. He knew they could never understand. Hermione would treat him like a broken toy that needs to be prodded. Or a puzzle that needs a solution. Ron would just avoid the problem altogether and act like nothing was wrong. But Draco was different. He seemed to be the only one who would understand. The only one who wouldn't be afraid of the darkness surrounding him. Draco had his own darkness and it didn't scare Harry away from him. So he knew that he would not scare away Draco.

            Harry slowly nodded. Draco turned fully facing him as he tucked his legs underneath him. He nodded letting Harry know that he was ready whenever he was. Harry took a deep breath. "It is a rather long story." He warned. Draco snorted. "I have all the time in the world Harry." He stated with a warm smile.

            "I don't even know where to begin. I am such a mess Draco. I would like to say that it was only after the battle but that would be a lie. I have been a mess my whole life. I guess I will start with my childhood. I know that everyone thinks that I was a pampered prince but that is the furthest thing from the truth." Draco's eyes widened. That had been his assumption as well. The way everyone treated him in the wizarding world he had assumed that his own relatives treated him the same. Also with the way his godfather spoke of Harry that is what he had thought.

            "I lived with my Aunt, Uncle and cousin. They are muggles. They knew about magic but they hid this knowledge from me. They wanted to and I quote 'stomp the magic' out of me. They tried too." Draco's breath caught in his throat. He did not like the sound of this. "As a kid, I was hated by them and I had no idea why. They treated me like a slave and a bother. House elves are treated better than I was. I lived to serve them. Literally. I had to do everything they asked of me. Cleaning. Cooking. You name it. They verbally abused me all the time. I was not allowed any friends. I was hardly allowed to eat. They gave me table scraps. Sometimes it was not even edible." Draco felt so much anger at these muggles. How dare they? And he thought his father was bad. At least his father fed him properly.

            "It would get worse if my magic acted up. I didn't know it was magic until later on. I just thought that odd things were happening around me. I tried to tell them that it wasn't me. I lived in a cupboard under the stairs. -" He was cut off.

            "Did you say a cupboard?" Draco asked in a dangerously low voice.

            Harry nodded. "Yes. I lived there until I left to go to Hogwarts. Eleven years in a cupboard. Could explain why I am so short. Probably stunted my growth." Harry tried to joke.

            Draco narrowed his eyes. He found no humor in the situation. Harry sighed.

            "When I got my letter, I was so thrilled. It was a dream come true. I was so excited. I was nervous too. I was worried that I would be behind the kids who already knew about magic. I didn't know a thing about my name either. What a shock that was. I walked into the Leaky Cauldron with Hagrid and was stunned that everyone there wanted to talk to me and shake my hands. Hagrid had to explain later that night what was going on. I was so surprised and so confused. I was just a baby Draco. The whole wizarding world was impressed and awed over my 'accomplishment' except I didn't do anything." Draco raised an eyebrow at that statement.

            Harry saw the look and shook his head. "Seriously. When Voldemort came to kill my mum, she sacrificed herself to protect me. It caused a protection on me. It sent the killing curse rebounding back at Voldemort. I didn't find this bit of information out until later but it still stands. I did nothing. I was a baby, and yet the whole world was idolizing me. They put so much pressure on me. I was expected to do wonders. I was the bloody boy-who-lived. I was the golden boy. I am not this special person Draco. I never was. I couldn't be the person they wanted me to be. I was not that good in classes. I was nothing remarkable. I wanted to live up to everyone's expectations of me. I tried really hard to please everyone. I didn't want the attention. I didn't want to be the golden boy. I didn't want to be known for something that I didn't do. I didn't want to be known as _The_ Harry Potter. I just wanted to be Harry. Just Harry. I wanted to be normal. I wanted to be just like everyone else. In the muggle world I was a freak. In the wizarding world I was just as much as a freak. I wasn't normal anywhere. I felt as if I didn't belong. I still feel that way." He broke off sadly.

            Draco reached out and squeezed his hands over one of Harry's. Harry smiled slightly in response. The warmth of Draco's hand felt like nothing he had ever felt before. His hand was giving him comfort and understanding.

            "Then that year I encountered Voldemort on the back of Quirrell’s head. I was protected by the same protection as before. He couldn't lay a finger on me. My touch burned Quirrell. It turned his fingers to ash. Voldemort left the body. He was a vapor. Like a shadow but not a ghost."

             Draco was stunned. How could Harry think he was not special. No normal eleven year old would have been able to handle everything he has had to go through. No normal eleven year old would have been able to stand up against Voldemort like that.

            "Dumbledore told me that it would only be a matter of time until Voldemort came back. I was the one who was going to have to get rid of him. Do you have any idea how much more pressure was added to me that day? I already had the whole world expecting wonders from me and now I would have to make a stand against Voldemort when he came back to power. It was a bloody nightmare. No eleven year old should have to deal with all that. It was too much at times." Harry sighed shaking his head. Draco rubbed circles over Harry's hand trying to let him know that he was there for him. Harry appreciated the effort.

            "Then in our second year with the Chamber of Secrets it was worse than the previous year. I had hoped that the attention on me would have died down. It did not. With the attacks on the muggleborns and being able to speak parseltongue it was an awful year. I came face to face against Voldemort once again." Draco raised his eyebrows confused.

            "Ah well I told you the diary was a Horcrux. Well Ginny had been writing in the diary since she found it. She poured her heart and soul into the diary. Literally. It latched onto her and there were moments when it would possess her. She was the one writing on the walls. She was the one that let the basilisk out. When she was taken into the chamber Ron and I went after her. While down there the diary manifested into a younger Voldemort. The same age as when he had the diary. He was seeping the life out of Ginny. When she died, he would have come back to life. He sent the basilisk after me. With some help from Dumbledore's phoenix I was able to receive the sword of Gryffindor. I used the sword and stabbed the basilisk straight through the mouth. One of the fangs embedded itself into my arm." Draco had to hold back a gasp. There was no coming back from the venom of a basilisk.

            "Fawkes, Dumbledore’s phoenix had an ability to heal with his tears. His tears saved me. After I was okay I used the fang and stabbed the diary. I had no idea if it would have helped. I just went off instinct. The venom from the fang pierced the book and it worked. It destroyed the diary. I had no idea it was a Horcrux at the time. So I thought nothing of it. Everyone knew I had saved Ginny's life but they did not know the details. Everyone assumed that I did something extraordinary but I didn't. I had so much help down there. If it had not been for Fawkes than I would have died." Draco scowled. He couldn't decide if Harry was just being modest or if he really believed he wasn't special.

            "After the awful year, I had I hoped that the summer with my relatives wouldn't be too bad. Unfortunately, it was. I have anger issues. Sometimes my magic reacts on its own. My Uncle's sister came for a visit. She absolutely loathes me. Derogative marks flying constantly. I couldn't even argue back. I snapped at her when she started insulting my parents. She never even met them! Next thing I know she started blowing up like a balloon. A big, giant, fat, ugly balloon." Harry paused to smile at the memory of her bouncing off the ceiling. Draco snorted at the mental image.

            "I panicked after that. I took off out of the house with all my luggage and spell books. I made my way to the Leaky Cauldron where the Minister personally found me. He gave me a warning to never use my magic like that again and then told me to be weary of Sirius. That a killer was on the loose." He broke off scowling at the injustice of his godfather.


	4. Horcruxes

            "Third year was relatively calm. I was only a little worried about Sirius trying to kill me. The dementors were the ones I was really worried about. They affect me more than others. When they are near me I can hear Voldemort killing my parents." He choked up a little on the last sentence. Draco scooted closer and put a comforting arm around his shoulders. Harry sighed warmly at the contact.

            "I worked with Professor Lupin and mastered the protronus charm. I found out the truth about Sirius. He was my godfather and he hadn't even been given a trial when they locked him up. Wormtail was the one who committed the crime. He was one of my parent’s best friends. And he was able to just hand them over to Voldemort. I would rather die than give up one of my friends. It was such a lowly coward thing to do. I couldn't believe it. How the man was placed in Gryffindor is beyond me. Wormtail got away that night. There was no way to prove Sirius's innocence. Remus quit before he got fired. It was not a good year, but it did end with the closest thing to family that I had." Harry smiled sadly thinking of Sirius. Now he just feels empty. No family left at all. Draco gave another firm squeeze. His arms still around Harry.

            "Fourth year that was a bloody disaster. It was difficult having no one believe me about the Triwizard tournament. The only one I had on my side was Hagrid and Hermione. Ron assumed I was lying. Wouldn't even listen to me. That hurt the most to be honest. I thought for sure that at least my best friends would believe me. Even if the whole world hated me I would have them." Draco clenched one of his fists tightly in anger. He had known that Harry had been telling the truth. One look at his face when his name had been called was all the proof that he needed. Despite the act he may have paraded to everyone else.

            "Eventually he came around. When he got his head out of his arse. The whole year I felt as if something was just brewing, waiting for the moment to strike. It felt like a bad omen. During the third task when I was transported to the graveyard, it was one of the worst things I ever had to go through. Right after Cedric and I landed, Voldemort ordered Wormtail to kill Cedric. He said 'Kill the spare'. Like his life meant nothing. That's what gets to me the most. The way he just carelessly discards life. One second he was there and then bam Cedric was lifeless. It haunts me to this day. To think that he died just because he was with me. If I hadn't brought him with me he would still be alive. It's my fault. I should have tried harder. I should have been faster. I should-" He was cut off.

            "Harry!" Draco scolded. The tone of his voice caused Harry to jump slightly. "You cannot blame yourself for his death. You did not force him to go with you. You did not raise the wand that killed him. You had no time to protect him. This is no one but Voldemort and Wormtails fault. I refuse to let you blame yourself." Draco finished sternly with a slight glare.

            Harry was too shocked to argue. He weakly nodded along. Draco relaxed slightly. "I was forced up against a tombstone. I couldn't move. They created some potion and added my blood to it. He was brought back to life... and good Merlin, was he hideous." Draco snorted in amusement at that. He had to agree.

            "He summoned all of his death eaters. The only ones not to show up were Snape and Igor. I could hear your dad in the background. Sometimes even your dad's voice haunts my dreams. I can hear him taunting me with the rest of them as I was held against my will on the tombstone." Draco was racked with guilt. He knew it was not his fault that his father acted that way but it didn't help any. He still felt guilty.

            Harry turned slightly and saw the guilt on his face. "Don't even think about it Draco. You are not your dad. Don't be guilty for something he did." He told him sternly. Draco nodded weakly.

            "Voldemort and I fought against one another. He sent a killing curse at me, I sent the expeliarmus spell at him. Our spells locked in flight. It created a dome if you will around us. It vibrated. It was difficult to hold on to my wand." Draco gasped, causing Harry to look over at him.

            "Priori incantatem." Draco said a little stunned. He was having a hard time picturing this, that wasn't something that had happened in a long time. When wands first started being produced, centuries ago, it was too new and wand makers made too many brother wands. It had caused issues all over, which is why wand makers go through rigorous training, ensuring that their products are safe and leave little room for brother wands. Typically if a brother wand is created, wand makers will provide a trade with a foreign wand maker, one that is far enough away that contact will be minimal. Brother wands can be detrimental if left near each other. Neither wand will work properly in the long run. He was having a hard time believing that Olivander would have kept _both_ wands.

            Harry smiled slightly at his knowledge, glad that he didn't have to explain. "Yes. It caused all his latest victims to manifest around us. I saw Cedric and my parents. Cedric asked me to take his body back to his dad. My parents told me they were proud of me." He choked back tears as Draco held him tighter.

            "I released the hold on the spell and launched myself at Cedric and summoned the portkey to me. I was a wreck. My mind couldn't fully understand what was going on. The chaos of everyone around me was so confusing. Next thing I know another deatheater was trying to kill me. It was odd knowing that the person you thought was your teacher was actually someone under a polyjuice potion. That took some getting used to. Everything was a blur. It was hard to get over Cedric's death. Hermione called it survivors guilt. She was probably right. Usually is." Harry snorted but it was weak. No humor.

            "After the dementor attack and the trial during the summer, I was for once wishing to go nowhere near Hogwarts. The prophet was making me out as some lunatic that needed to be locked up. I couldn't believe that after everything I went through that the ministry was turning their backs on me. I had known all along that one day I would have to fight Voldemort but to have him come back to life literally in front of me was another thing. I felt inadequate. I felt like I couldn't do it. I was so unsure on what to do. Everyone expected me to know what to do. They expected greatness from me. It was so much pressure. I was almost crushing me. Then Umbridge." Harry growled out her name.

            Draco nodded. The woman had been a nightmare. "Gods, she was such a bitch. I couldn't stand her. She went out of her way to make me out as some liar. Then the detentions. I still have the scars." Draco made a noise of outrage. Harry looked at him curiously. Did he not know? Perhaps none of the Slytherins had the pleasure of her detentions. Harry lifted his hand and did a lumos spell to light the area around him. He pointed out to the faint lines on the back of his hand. If you squint just right you can make out the words. _I must not tell lies_.

            Draco was furious. "How dare she do that? That is sickening. To do that to someone. You were telling the truth! She should have been locked up after that. Blood quills are _illegal_!" He told Harry darkly. Harry smiled at the outrage in his voice. It was nice having someone be angry on his behalf, that didn't happen too often.

            "That year I found myself being angry all the time. So angry. It wasn't until the dreams started that I realized that a lot of it was stemming from Voldemort. Due to my curse mark, we had a connection. When he was feeling a particularly strong emotion I could pick up on it. Sometimes my dreams would show me what he was doing. I could see him torturing and killing people. It was enough to drive anyone mad. This was just another thing to worry about. My life wasn't complicated enough as it was. Fate just had to throw in sharing the mind of a sadistic evil bastard too." Harry clenched one of his fists in anger.

             Draco frowned. He couldn't imagine having a link with Voldemort. Being in the same room with him was bad enough but to have a link straight into his head? He shuddered at the thought.

            "Snape was supposed to give me lessons on Occlumency but those made everything worse. He used that time to berate me and complain about my dad. The dreams got worse and worse. I was slowly losing it. The only thing keeping me going was the fact that I had to be the one to kill him. I couldn't let everyone down. I didn't want to kill him but I knew it was expected of me. I did have the DA to keep things interesting for a while but after we were found out it was too dangerous to keep going. Especially with Dumbledore gone. Snape broke off his lessons when I saw some of his memories. Hypocritical if you ask me. He was assaulting my mind once a week. Getting every one of my bloody worst memories out of me. Except, as soon as I saw one of his, he lost it. It was a bad memory, that much I will admit. I saw firsthand how bad my father bullied him. It was not a good sight to see. It went downhill after that." He shook his head, he wished that his father had been different. Bully. Just the word made him uncomfortable and angry. It was obvious that no one deserved that kind of treatment, how could someone be okay with treating another person so horribly?

             "Then came the vision of Sirius being held in the Ministry. I tried to see if it was true. The house elf at Sirius's home told me he was at the Ministry. I saw no reason to think he was lying. I rushed over there with Ron, Hermione, Neville, Ginny and Luna. A rag tag group if you ask me. We fared well. Until we realized it was a bloody trap. I was so stupid. Hermione had tried to tell me that it was a trap. I should have listened to her. I should have tried something else. Your father tried to get the prophecy out of my hands. I smashed it so that he couldn't do anything with it. When the Order came, I thought we were going to be alright. I thought we were going to make it out of there. Until Sirius died." Harry tried to keep it in but talking about him, reliving it all was too much. The tears started coming. He turned towards Draco and clutched his hands in the other boy’s robes. Draco wrapped his arms around Harry and let him cry into his chest.

            Draco was unsure on how to make him feel better. He did not know what it felt like to lose someone like that. He just rubbed soothing circles into Harry's back and whispering words of comfort to him. He hoped that helped, he was always pants at the whole feelings thing. Pansy always said she would rather cry to a brick wall then to him. With a father like his, was it really a surprise? Harry slowly stopped crying until it was just small hiccups remaining. He closed his eyes and let Draco’s hands and words comfort him. He had never been held like this before. Not even hugs from Molly, which always made him feel loved, felt like this. This was something else. Something better, something stronger.

            Harry pulled away when he felt like he could cry no more. A slight flush of embarrassment flooded his cheeks. "Sorry Draco. I didn't mean to cry all over you." Harry rubbed the back of his head and gave a sheepish smile.

            Draco smiled warmly at him. "Harry, you don't need to apologize for that." He said softly, finding his embarrassment endearing. 

            "Right well I still meant it either way. Shall I continue?" Harry asked. Draco smiled slightly at his stubbornness and nodded. "Okay after Sirius died it hit me pretty hard. He was the only parent figure I have ever known. He treated me like family. He meant the world to me. We used to plan what we would do after he had been found innocent one day. It was nice. When we spoke of the future we never spoke of Voldemort. He was the only one who had ever done that before. When my future was mentioned around anyone else it always revolved around Voldemort. It was so frustrating, but Sirius only ever saw me as Harry. There were many times he saw me as his best friend's son. He said I was so much like him. I wish sometimes that he had seen more of me than my dad. Although, I would take that over being seen as _The_ Harry Potter any day." Harry sent Draco a smile. The blonde was unsure of what the smile meant, but he smiled back at him.

            "You know, you were also someone who never saw me as the boy-who-lived. The name calling and the attacks were no walk in the park. You were someone that knew who exactly who I was and didn't give a damn. You never once bought into that nonsense. You didn't exactly treat me nice but it was a welcoming change. It was nice to know that I had at least someone who would always keep me on my toes and remind me that not everyone sees me as the golden boy. You didn't dislike me because I was the boy-who-lived, you disliked me because I was Harry. Not Harry Potter. You had a problem with me. It was different."

             Draco furrowed his eyebrows. Harry was confusing him.

            "Now I find out that you wanted to be my friend all along. Not because I was the golden boy. You wanted to get to know me for who I am. You have no idea what that knowledge means to me Draco. That is all I have ever wanted. Ron and Hermione are my best friends. They always have been but even they never bothered with wanting to know everything about me." Draco scowled at that. How could they be his friends and not want to know?

            "They have always known exactly who I am. Sometimes it frustrated me that they knew about Voldemort. Over the years, we spent so much time talking about the end and what was to happen that we didn't have a whole lot of time for just normal friendship. They were always there for me. Which is more than I could ever ask, but I just wanted someone to treat me like a normal teenage boy. Just once. Even though I never was one. It was all I wanted. They saw me as Harry most of the time but they couldn't forget that I was the-boy-who-lived. It was always in the back of their minds. Always." Harry sighed sadly. Draco felt anger towards them. He could see the sadness in Harry and he did not like it.

            "Anyways." Harry continued with a shake of his head as he pushed all sad thoughts away. "Sixth year was interesting. I knew something was up with you from the beginning. I may have developed... an obsession if you will." Draco raised in eyebrow in amusement.

            Harry coughed a little embarrassed. "Maybe it was our rivalry, or just that you were acting odd that year. I don't know. I had to know what you were doing. So I started following you around. Ron and Hermione thought I was mental. It took way too long for me to figure out that you were in the Room of Requirement. Not one of my proudest moments. Hermione is definitely the brains of our group." Draco snorted, he was thoroughly enjoying this. Harry stalked him sixth year? It was entertaining. He felt a little flattered.

            "I knew from the way you held yourself and the way you avoided contact with your arm that you had the dark mark. I figured that out pretty easily. No one wanted to believe me. You would think that after all I have been through they would have given me the benefit of the doubt. The longer the year went on the more I saw how sick you looked. Whatever you were up to in there was affecting you. I was worried about you." Draco's heart started beating fast. He was worried? They were enemies and he had been worried?

            "I tried getting into the room but had absolutely no luck. The way you handled the room was quite impressive." Harry praised. Draco smiled smugly, for only finding about the room one year previously, he had caught on to how to make the room work pretty quickly.

             "I suspected you were the ones behind the attacks. To me it was obvious. Again no one wanted to believe me. Little bitter at that." Harry said with a scowl. Draco grinned at him. A sudden thought occurred to Harry, he looked up at Draco with scared and pained eyes. Draco's eyes widened in surprise at the dramatic change. 

            "What's wrong Harry?" He asked a little panicked. One minute Harry was grinning then the next it looked like his cat died. "I'm sorry!" Harry choked out blinking back tears. Draco tilted his head in confusion. "What are you on about?" He asked shrewdly.

            Harry let out a shudder and closed his eyes tightly. A lone tear escaped his eyes. Draco hesitantly reached out and gently wiped the tear away. Harry's eyes snapped open at his touch. He could see the concern in Draco's grey eyes which only increased his guilt. "I am sorry I hurt you." Harry retorted, reaching out and touching Draco's chest.

            Draco tilted his head to the side still confused. It took a few minutes before he finally realized why Harry was so upset. His eyes widened. "Oh! Harry I am okay. You were only defending yourself. I attacked you first, in the bathroom." He told him gently.

            Harry shook his head firmly. "No. Don't make excuses for me. I didn't mean to hurt you. I had never even performed the spell before. I should have known better. I never ever ever would have done that to you if I had known. I wanted to apologize to you before but I was worried how that would go. Now I find out everything you have been through and I feel like shite. I am so sorry Draco. So sorry." Harry choked back sobs. He didn't want to cry anymore. He didn't want to be weak in front of the other boy.

            Draco felt relieved to know that Harry had not actually meant to harm him. However, it did hurt to see how gutted Harry was over this. He pulled him back into his arms and hugged him tightly. At Draco's comforting touch Harry lost it. He couldn't hold the tears back. "Shh Harry. It's okay. I understand. I forgive you." He whispered in Harry's ear.

            Harry leaned away in shock, his eyes wide and tears streaming down his face. Draco wiped his tears away and put his forehead against Harry's. He closed his eyes and whispered, "I forgive you Harry. Don't let it get you down. Please." Harry closed his eyes and nodded as Draco leaned away and gave him a small smile.

            "I can't forgive myself but I am grateful that you forgive me." Harry said quietly. Draco could see the pain still in his eyes. He shook his head. "Then my forgiveness will just have to be enough for the both of us." He replied with a smirk. Harry's mouth twitched in response. He didn't want to smile but his lips had a mind of their own. Draco saw this and his smirk grew bigger. Harry shook his head in amusement. Harry cleared his throat signaling he was ready to continue.

            "Besides spending an un-godly amount of time following you around I also spent a considerable amount of time with Dumbledore." Surprise flickered across Draco's face.

            "He showed me a bunch of memories. They all revolved around Voldemort. Some memories were straight from Dumbledore himself. Some were from other people. Some were about his family. Some about what he did prior to school, during and even after Hogwarts. It was interesting. You know Ron thought I was mental but after seeing his childhood, I actually felt bad for him. Voldemort I mean." Draco smiled warmly at him.

            "I don't think that makes you mental. It is surprising after everything he put you through, that you could show him compassion like that. That is what makes you... well you. I actually admire that. If you can show someone like that compassion, then you are a far greater man than I thought." Draco's smile turned into a full blown grin. Harry blushed rather hard at his words.

             Draco chuckled at the pink flush highlighting Harry's cheekbones. He found he rather liked this reaction from Harry, far more than he ever liked the spark of anger he would see during their fights.

            "I also learned about Horcruxes that year like I mentioned earlier. What I left out before, was that the locket we found in the cave was a fake." Draco had to hold back a gasp. His surprise must have shown on his face though. "Yes, I was pissed when I found out. A former deatheater had found out what was going on and he swapped out the real one with a fake. He sacrificed himself that day to get the locket out." Draco was curious. He hadn't heard of a deatheater switching sides.

            Harry saw the slight confusion on his face. "It was Sirius's brother. Regulus Black. Everyone thought he died trying to back out of being a death eater. But no. So that night on the tower when Dumbledore died I was wracked with guilt." Draco narrowed his eyes sharply at him. "If I had been the one to drink the liquid then perhaps he would have been able to stand up to you and Snape more firmly. I know he wouldn't have had many more days since it was limited, but if I had just done something else maybe he could have had more time." Draco held a hand up stopping him.

            "Harry." Draco said with anger in his voice. Harry was surprised at the tone. He looked up with confused eyes at Draco. "I have every reason to be legitimately guilty that night. You told me that you would not let me feel guilty because he was going to die. I flat out refuse to let you blame yourself. No way. No how. His days were numbered. None of what happened was your fault. Please don't do this. Don't take the blame for something you didn't do. By all means take credit when it is due. If you legit did something wrong, then own up to it. You blaming yourself right now is taking away from the sacrifice he made. If he was here we both know he wouldn't let you take the blame. He would tell you he made the choice to take the liquid. He made the choice to have Severus kill him. He was the one making the choices not you. Never you. Got that?" Draco asked pleading Harry to understand.

            Harry closed his eyes. "I get what you are saying. I do. It's just so hard living with the guilt. I have lived with it for so long that I am not sure how to stop it. You are right though. Dumbledore would not be happy to blame myself for something that he chose to do. I get it." He said as he opened his eyes and gave Draco a small shaky smile. Draco reached out and gave Harry's hand a gentle squeeze.

            Harry smiled at the feeling of Draco's hand. It was calming, soothing even.

            "Okay. I can continue. After Dumbledore's funeral, I decided I would embark out and find the rest of the Horcruxes. Ron and Hermione went with me. For them to come, meant the world to me. I needed them. I could not have done it without them. It was a difficult journey for sure. We had no idea where to even start. We spent some time inside Grimwald place. It was left to me by Sirius. We discovered while we were there about what happened to Regulus. The house elf knew. Regulus had given the locket to him to destroy, as a last dying wish. Kreacher had no idea how to do that though. It turned out that my house had been raided by an order member."

            Draco knew that his face was one of outrage. How could a member of the order of the phoenix be so backhanded? Rob from Harry?

            "When we tracked him down he told us that he sold the locket to a member of the Ministry." Draco raised his brows in surprise. "He sold it to Umbridge." Draco choked on air. Harry smirked at his reaction. "Oh yes. The fucking irony in that. So we hatched a plan. We all used polyjuice potion and became members of the ministry. We were able to get out of there. Barely, but it worked."

             Draco held up a hand, interrupting him.         

            "Hold it. Let me get this straight. You are telling me that you three went to the one place that was desperately looking for you. You used polyjuice potion to transform yourself and stormed the Ministry and stole the locket straight off of Umbridge?" He asked incredulously. Harry smirked. "Well I wouldn't say stormed. But yes." He explained. Draco shook his head. "That was bloody gutsy. So many things could have gone wrong with that plan. Merlin, I am surprised you all made it out of there in one piece." Draco whispered. He was amazed.

            Harry winced. "Well Ron ended up getting splinched, but other than that, yeah we made it out alright." Harry told him, smiling at the amazement in Draco's eyes. "We quickly discovered that we had absolutely no idea how to destroy the locket. Nothing worked on it. No spell. No potion. Nothing. It was so frustrating. We had no idea where to even to begin to look for any of the others. The house had been compromised so we spent the rest of the time in tents, changing places quite often." Draco grimaced at the idea of spending so much time camping. How primitive. Harry caught that and rolled his eyes in amusement.

            "We couldn’t put the locket down in case something happened. So we took turns wearing it. The locket was pure evil. The aura it radiated was not good. The longer we wore the locket the worse it became. We were all moody and very likely to snap. One night we were talking about the sword of Gryffindor. The sword only takes in what can make it stronger. That's when we realized that the sword took in the basilisk venom during my second year. The sword could destroy the locket. Hermione and I were so excited to finally have figured out something. Only the problem was Ron." Draco looked at him sharply.

            "The locket affected him more than the rest of us. An argument broke out and he left us." Draco furrowed his brows. The golden trio had split? "Hermione was crushed. Those two have spent many years in an off and on again romance. Neither one wanting to admit their feelings. I was crushed myself. He was my best friend. We spent seven years having each other’s back for him to just up and leave. We were trying to stop the most evil wizard of all time and I needed his support and he just bloody left." Harry growled at the hurt that remained. Draco gave his hand another squeeze.

             Harry took a moment to explore his residual anger over Ron's betrayal. At the time he was just so wrapped in destroying Voldemort that he didn't bother thinking things over. He needed Ron at the time and pushed his feelings to the side. Sure the locket effected his thinking but Hermione didn't have a problem with it like he had. Harry was a Horcrux for fucks sake and he was still fine. Leaving was piss poor cowardly thing to do. It was the middle of war and they were on the edge of the final lap and he chose to get a bee in his bonnet and disappear? He shook his head to clear his thoughts. Now was not the time to think about it. He would examine his feelings and come back at a later date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully you like what I have posted so far! I know it is a lot of explanations and that might be boring to some but hopefully you stick with it. :)


	5. My Own Personal Savior

            "Hermione and I did not speak of Ron again after that. It hurt too much, the betrayal too fresh. It was nearing Christmas when we decided to visit Godric Hallows. I begged her to let us go, she didn't think it was a good idea. I wanted to visit my parent’s graves, I had never been there before. That's what finally let Hermione relent. That was a mistake." Draco was confused. "We met Bathilda Bagshot. Well what we thought was her. Turned out it was Nagini possessing the body. Voldemort found out we were there and he came." Draco's breath hitched. 

"My head was on fire. I couldn't focus. Hermione cast a spell and got us out of there. Barely. We got away. Voldemort was unhappy at that. My wand had been destroyed in the blast from her spell. We took turns keeping watch. One night I saw a patronus. I followed it." Draco narrowed his eyes. 

"You followed an unknown patronus after narrowly escaping Voldemort?" Draco asked incredulously. Harry gave a sheepish smile. "When you say it like that I see what you mean. But yes, I did." Draco shook his head in bemusement, wondering how thick someone could be. "I followed it to a small pool of water. It was frozen over with ice but at the bottom of the pool was the sword of Gryffindor." Draco interrupted.

"No way. It was just sitting there? Was it real? Sounds like a trap. Who cast the patronus? Did you see anyone?" Draco asked in a rush. Harry smiled at his enthusiasm. 

"Yes, it was just sitting there. Yes, it was real. No, it wasn't a trap. You will have to wait to find out who cast it and no I didn’t see anyone." Harry laughed at the impatient whine Draco let out. Despite spilling his whole life out, he was really enjoying spending this time with Draco. He had never felt so free before. Draco was nice company. Patient, caring, didn't force any issues. Didn't nag for details and didn't get frustrated. He quickly realized that he didn't want it to end. He wanted to spend more time with Draco after this. He wanted to continue being his friend. He had never been this close to someone before. It was a little unnerving but he didn't care. It felt right.

Draco was confused about all the different emotions that he could see on Harry's face. He wanted to ask but figured he would tell him in his own time. 

"I did the only logical thing I could think of. I stripped down and jumped into the frozen lake and made my way to the sword." Draco snorted. "Guess there is a reason you were not put in Ravenclaw." Draco drawled with a smirk. Harry rolled his eyes and gave him a playful shove. "Alright I admit not the best plan of action. But with the sword just being gifted to me on a silver platter, I had to do something. Going to get Hermione didn't seem like the right thing to do at the time. Anyways. I still had the locket on me and the closer I got to the sword, the locket knew what was coming, it knew exactly what the sword could do. It tightened the chain around my neck. It was choking me. I couldn't get back up. The chain was so tight it was cutting off my circulation. I was dying and I knew it." Draco covered his mouth in horror. Harry had to hold back a smile. Draco was the perfect story listener. 

"But right before I was about to pass out someone saved me. They got me, the locket, and the sword out of the water safely. It was Ron." Draco was surprised. He was still mad that Weasley had abandoned them in the first place. Not very Gryffindor. But him saving Harry made it a little easier to forgive. Not that he'd admit that. 

"He said that he had been trying to get back to us the moment he left. He took full credit for what happened. The locket did make his anger worse but he knew what he had done was wrong. He wasn't the one who cast the patronus or put the sword there. He hadn't seen who cast it either. Since Ron pulled the sword out of the water I gave him the honor of destroying the locket. It worked. Another one down. Three down. Only Three to go." Draco put up a hand. 

"I thought you said there was seven." Draco asked confused. "Ah yes. Well actually, he intended to split his soul 7 times. Not make 7 Horcruxes. You have to take account of the bit of soul in his actual body. So, 7 pieces of his soul and 6 Horcruxes. At the time of his first disappearance when I was a baby, he was one short. I will get to that part eventually." Draco was still confused but chose not to argue.

"Other than Horcruxes there was something else I was hunting for. Hermione and Ron told me to leave it be but I just couldn't." Draco cocked his head in confusion. "Draco, have you ever heard of the Hallows?" He asked quietly. Draco's eyes widened and he gasped. 

"Merlin, are you telling me they are real? I always wondered. Father told me it was just a myth. Always told me it was childhood fantasy for those who never grew up. " He said in wonder. Harry smiled and nodded. "Yes. I had one of them with me for seven years and never noticed." Harry tried not to laugh at Draco. His eyes were bugged out and he looked so silly Harry thought. Harry pulled out his bag. Harry carries the cloak with him at all times now to get away from all the stares around the castle. 

Harry pulled out the cloak and showed it to Draco. Draco reached out with shaky hands and inspected it. "Sweet Merlin's left ball sack this is real. Not an imitation. You can feel the power of it. This is a hallow?" He asked in awe. Harry erupted in a fit of laughter. Draco looked over surprised. Was it something he said? Harry couldn't breathe properly. He grabbed his sides trying to control himself. He could feel tears rolling from the force of his laughter. Draco was unsure on what to do. The sound of Harry's laugh was beautiful. He had never heard that laugh from him before. It was so freeing. It was filled with warmth. He loved it. But at the same time Harry was acting like a loon. Goodness could he even breathe?

Harry was able to gain some control. There was some slight hiccups but otherwise he was okay. He wiped his eyes and looked at Draco's confused face and chuckled warmly. Draco smiled at him. "I am afraid to ask." Draco teased. Harry grinned. "It was what you said. I never heard that expression before." Harry said with obvious amusement. 

Draco shifted uncomfortably. His whole life his friends and family tried to get him out of that. He sometimes just spoke his mind and out came funny expressions. It annoys his father. 'Malfoy's don't speak such foolish notions' His father used to say."I'm sorry." He said quietly. Harry's grin faded. Harry frowned. "Draco no need to apologize. I wasn't laughing at you. I thought it was funny. I liked it. It was original. Don't be afraid to speak your mind. If you want to say silly expressions, then by Merlin's left ball sack do it." Harry said with stern eyes but a small smile was making its way on his face. 

Draco grinned warmly at him. No one ever liked his expressions before. It made him feel a little tingly inside that Harry accepted everything about him. The good, the bad, the ugly and even the silly. "Thank you, Harry. My parents, Blaise and even Pansy always tried talking me out of saying them. It is a hard habit to break. They just come out sometimes." Draco explained. Harry gave him a gentle smile. "Fuck them." He said so seriously that Draco looked up shocked. 

Harry grinned. "I mean it. Who cares what they think. They are your friends regardless of the things you say. If they can't accept that then fuck them. Besides I find it adorable. Plus, even if they can't accept you Draco I will." Harry said in a small sweet tone. Draco looked intently in his eyes only finding that he spoke the truth. He couldn't help the giant grin that broke out on his face. Harry's own face mirrored Draco's. 

"To answer your question earlier yes, it is a hallow. It was passed down to me from my dad. Dumbledore gave it to me. The Potter name descended from the Peverell family." Draco's eyebrows rose nearly into his hair line. That is a very old and powerful name. "The original brothers in the story are the Peverell brothers. I had one Hallow. Hermione and Ron did not want to believe that the Hallows actually existed. It was eating me up. It was like a battle warring in my head. Do I look for Horcruxes or do I look for the Hallows? I wanted them both. I was obsessed with the Hallows. I already had one. With Ron and Hermione voting for Horcruxes I was out voted." Draco scowled. He could see the appeal that Harry had to the Hallows. It was a big choice to decide. He honestly couldn’t choose which one he would have gone after. On the one hand there was the unimaginable wonder of the Hallows, who knows what you could do with them. On the other hand the Horcruxes were vital to destroying The Dark Lord. Maybe Horcruxes first then the Hallows?

"Then came the unfortunate day I made the mistake of saying Voldemort's name." Draco gasped. "You didn't?" Draco asked weakly. Harry nodded grimly. "Yes, that was the day we were brought to the manor." Draco's stomach pummeled. He remembered that day. "You know all that. So, I will begin after Dobby got us out of there. Bellatrix had good aim. That knife hit Dobby." Harry choked out that part. Draco rubbed his thumb over Harry's hand in circles. "I know that some people would not be gutted after that but I was. Dobby was my friend. He was... eccentric but he was so kind. He cared about me. He would have done anything for me Draco. He faced the wrath of your father in our second year and came to protect me throughout the year. He was something else." Harry said with a watery smile. 

Draco smiled. "Yes, he was different. I remember him growing up. He was the youngest house elf we had ever had. He was nice to me. I think he knew what I went through with my father. Whenever my dad was not around he was very caring. I always treated him with respect, he deserved it. There was this one time I was really upset because my father wouldn't let Blaise and Pansy come over because I got a question on my Latin exam wrong when I was five." Harry scowled. Who does that? Latin at five? Can you say prodigy? "And Dobby knew I was upset so when we were alone he used some of his magic and he played with me." Harry smiled at the wistful tone of Draco's. "It was the only time he did that though. We almost got caught. It was fun, one of my fondest moments of my childhood. When I heard that you tricked my father into setting him free I was happy for him. He was always miserable at my house. Plus, he was the only one I could talk about _The_  Harry Potter to. This was before I met you. We both had a fascination with you. Mine less… obsessive as his." Draco sighed. He was hating Bellatrix all over again. 

"I saw him at Hogwarts once. I had stayed up way too late one night and he came in to clean the common room. He was happy to see me. He hoped I was doing well. I noticed he had on the oddest socks I had ever seen." Harry snorted. Oh, he remembered Dobby's fascination with socks alright. "He told me that they were a gift from you. He was so ecstatic to have gotten a present from you. He went on a big speech on how amazing you were. It was rather endearing I thought." Draco said with a smile. Harry flushed with embarrassment. Draco chuckled at his flushed skin. 

"Thank you for understanding how I felt about Dobby. Hermione understood mostly. But Ron and his brother never really could. Thank you for telling me more about him. It makes it...easier to think about him without the pain." He said quietly not looking at him. Draco put two fingers underneath his chin and forced Harry to look at him. He smiled slightly. "Harry, you don't have to thank me. I understand. It's okay." Draco promised. Harry closed his eyes and smiled. He never wanted to let go of this. Whatever this new friendship was. In less than a couple hours he made a life changing friendship. One that he knew would be around for years. He let that sink in before he was ready to continue. 

"After we arrived at our safe house after leaving the manor I had a 'vision' of mine. The ones that let me see what was going on with Voldemort. It was his anger at me escaping. I saw him punish the whole room." Draco paled. Harry had to watch that? That is bloody awful. 

"I didn't see what he did to you. I blocked him out after a while. The screams and the pain of the room was getting to me." Draco couldn't even imagine having to witness that. It was bad enough living through it but to have a feedback loop like that would be so horrible. 

"Before I blocked it out, I saw him react rather oddly about the sword. When we were there we convinced the goblin to tell Bellatrix that the sword was a fake. She was so worried about it that it got me thinking that something was not right. Then when Voldemort demanded to know if the vault was still safe I knew I was right. My hunch was that there was a Horcrux inside her vault." Draco raised an eyebrow. To him it sounded like a big leap. But he learned long ago that Harry was not one to doubt. 

"So, I talked to the goblin and we hatched a plan on how to rob Gringotts." Harry smirked at the gobsmacked expression on Draco's face. "You never doing anything light do you?" Draco asked sarcastically. Harry let out a full-on laugh in response. "Oh, Draco that was good." He said chuckling. Draco smirked. "No. I don't. My plans are usually half baked and down near suicidal. But they always work out in the end." Harry said grinning. Draco shook his head with a sigh at such a typical Gryffindor response. He was honestly amazed that Harry had lived so far with a brash attitude like that.  

"While we waited for the opportune moment for the plan. I also talked to Olivander. I asked him about one of the Hallows." Draco's face lit up with excitement. "I asked him about the elder wand. I had another 'vision' Voldemort entered Dumbledore's tomb and took his wand." Draco was horrified. That is so wrong on so many levels. Not just the downright disrespect but can you imagine the smell? Draco wrinkled his nose in disgust. Well not that The Dark Lord had much of a nose though, Draco thought ruefully. 

"Voldemort had gone looking for something for months. I didn't know what it was. I was curious as to why he had taken Olivander hostage anyways. It was weird. So, I talked to him and told him that I already knew that the wand existed and I told him that Voldemort had it." This stunned Draco. The Dark Lord had the wand and yet Harry was still able to win? He was impressed and confused at the same time. 

"You should have seen Hermione's face when he confirmed that the Hallows were real. Oh man it was great. With her facial expression, you'd have thought that the Ministry had just announced the existence of Luna's Crumple-Horned Snorlack. It was worth all the self-doubt they put me through." Draco snorted at the wicked smile that graced Harry's face. If he didn't know any better, he would say that the smile was one of a Slytherins. 

"Back to the Gringotts plan. A strand of Bellatrix's hair got onto Hermione when she was being tortured. She transformed into Bellatrix. Ron transformed into a business man that was accompanying her. Griphook and I were underneath the Invisibility cloak. We used the imperio spell on one of the goblins so that we could get into the vault." Draco was impressed. "The goblins had been alerted that there could be an imposter coming for Bellatrix's vault. When we went through their protections the spells and potions wore off. Gringotts had been alerted that we were thieves. We ran to the vault and had to get past a dragon." Draco's eyes bugged out of his skull. 

"A dragon?" Asked Draco a little hysterically. He knew his aunts vault was an old one but to have a dragon guarding it was a tad on the extreme side. Harry nodded. "Yes, the dragon had been blinded and was well trained. We managed to get into the vault and found the next Horcrux. It was a goblet that had once belonged to Helga Hufflepuff." Draco let out a low whistle. The Dark Lord sure went all out on the items he chose as Horcruxes. 

"Once back out of the vault Griphook double crossed us. He took the sword and ran over to the horde of goblins closing in on us. We were cornered. We had no way out. So, we did the only thing possible at the time. We freed the dragon and hitched a ride on top of it." Harry paused to smile at the stunned expression on Draco's face. 

"You rode a bloody dragon out of Gringotts??" He asked weakly. If he hadn't already been sitting, he would have needed to. Gods he had thought it was just a silly rumor. Bloody hell. Harry laughed. "Yes, we did. Once we were safely off the dragon, Voldemort had been given the news about the break in." Draco winced. "Oh he was pissed alright. Not only did I see his anger I saw his thoughts about where his other two were. He mentioned Hogwarts and Nagini." Draco's brows rose. He had always known that The Dark Lord had an odd connection to the snake but to make a living thing a Horcrux was odd. So many things could have happened to the snake. Not to mention it could have corroded her from the inside. That type of magic isn't meant to be in something living. The darkness would have blackened out the soul of the snake in such a small creature. She must have been more than a snake. Perhaps The Dark Lord had given her some of his magic as well, to offset the side effects. To him it made no sense but nothing ever made sense when it came to The Dark Lord. 

"Ron and Hermione were wary about going back to Hogwarts but we had to. We had to get the rest of them. So we entered Hogwarts through a new portrait that lead straight through to the Room of Requirement." Draco was impressed. He did not know that. He had wondered how they had gotten in. He just thought that someone in the order helped them. 

"It took a bit of time to figure out that the next Horcrux it was Rowena Ravenclaw's lost diadem." Draco shook his head. He shouldn't have been surprised. Of course The Dark Lord managed to find the lost diadem. It was crazy how well thought out his Horcruxes were. 

"I talked with the Grey Lady. She was Rowena's daughter. She told me that she had given the information on how to find the diadem to Voldemort. I figured out that he had hidden the diadem inside the Room of Requirement. He was arrogant enough to believe that he was the only one who could have been able to get in there." Draco snorted. Figures. "While I was talking to the Grey Lady, Ron and Hermione had gone to the Chamber of Secrets and grabbed some basilisk fangs and destroyed the goblet." Harry smiled at the memory of being surprised at the pair, it really was an ingenious plan. 

"How did they get into the Chamber?" Draco asked with curiosity. His curiosity quickly grew to confusion when Harry started blushing. "Uh well Ron said I talk in my sleep and I guess that includes parseltongue." He said shyly looking away. Draco chuckled. He thought it was one of the cutest things he had ever heard. Not that he would ever admit that. "Well that is interesting." He told Harry with a smile. When Harry realized that Draco was not going to tease him about it he continued on with the story. "When Ron, Hermione and I searched the room we managed to find it. That was until you, Crabbe and Goyle came." Draco shifted uncomfortably. 

"It was the first time I had seen you since we escaped the manor. You looked like shite." Draco snorted and clutched his heart in mock outrage at that statement. Harry laughed and shoved him playfully. "Well you did. You were a little nervous and slightly jumpy but I didn't have time to think about you at the time. Then all hell broke loose when Crabbe lit the place on fire. Ron wanted to leave you all in there." Draco narrowed his eyes but he did have to admit that that would be the reaction that most people would have had. They were deatheaters after all.  

"There was no way I was going to do that. You were the one who saved me that night. Even if you hadn't there was no way that I was going to let you guys just die. I wish I could have been able to save Crabbe though." Harry said sadly. There were too many deaths in the war. Maybe if Crabbe had been saved then there would have been a chance that the boy would have changed his ways. 

Draco watched the emotions play across his face. He shook his head in amazement. Crabbe literally tried to kill him and here Harry was wishing he had been able to save him. "Harry I knew Crabbe better than anyone. That year he became twisted. He was not the Crabbe he used to be. Even if you had saved him he would have immediately tried to hurt you. He was not in his right mind. The darkness got to him. So don't be too upset alright?" He asked him gently. Harry thought about what he said and nodded slowly. 

"The fire that Crabbe had started was a fiendfyre." Draco sucked in a breath. He hadn't given it much thought at the time since everything was in chaos. What a bloody idiot. "The fire was strong enough to destroy the Horcrux though. So that was one good thing about that incident." Draco shook his head. That was good news but he still thought Crabbe was mental to have casted the spell in the first place. 

"So all that was left was the snake. We were on the up and up. One left. Despite the war going on I was glad. We were one step closer to continuing on. Then I had a 'vision' about Voldemort and Snape. Voldemort was upset about his wand. It wasn't working right for him. So Ron, Hermione and I went to the shrieking shack where they were at and listened in on their conversation." Draco raised his eyebrows. Mental. Dangerous. That was all he could think about. They got that close to The Dark Lord to listen in on his conversation? He scoffed, such Gryffindors. Didn't they have any self preservation?

"Voldemort said it was not enough that he took over possession of the wand from Dumbledore. The wand did not answer to him because he had not conquered the previous owner. Since Snape killed Dumbledore that meant that the wand would answer to Snape. So for him to get possession of the wand he would have to kill Snape." Draco made a disgusted noise. 

"So he went to kill Severus because of the wand? Not because of something Severus did to him. That is just twisted." He said curling his lip in distaste. Harry nodded sadly. "Oh I agree. He was wrong though." Draco looked up confused. "The problem with the elder wand is the history. Everyone who ever owned that wand dies. Why is that?" Harry asked. 

Draco tilted his head and started thinking. "Well because of the legend of the wand. They all want a piece of it. So they kill to get it and the cycle continues." He told Harry his theory. Harry nodded. "Yes, but what everyone seems to have failed to realize is that to conquer another wizard does not mean that you have to kill them." Draco nodded along but was still confused on where this was leading to. 

"So if you think back to the night Dumbledore was killed who was the one who got Dumbledore's wand away?" Harry asked. Draco's head snapped up with wide eyes. "I did." He whispered in shock. Harry smiled. "Exactly. That night you were the one who cast the spell that knocked his wand away. Even though Snape killed him the wand already had a new master. You." Harry grinned at the stunned expression on Draco's face. 

"Do you remember the next person who you went up against?" Harry asked. Draco furrowed his brows thinking. He looked sharply at Harry with a small smile. "I didn't fight you but you took my wand that night at the manor." He said with amusement in his voice. Harry nodded. "Right. So Voldemort going after Snape was pointless. He wasn't even the wands master. I was. I didn't know it at the time that we were eavesdropping. He sicked Nagini on him and left him to die. After he left I went into the room. I don't know what made me go in there. Maybe because I had known him for so long. There was something about the way he was looking, as if he was searching for someone. I don't know. I had to go in there. He saw me and he was relieved. I could see it in his eyes. It confused me. He had never in all I have known him been relieved to see me. Annoyed and disturbed to see me but never relieved. He withdrew his wand and out came a string of memories." Draco was stunned. Memories? What could have been so important to Severus that he needed to give the memories over to Harry?

"Hermione conjured a flask and the memories were put into the vial. Ron and I conjured a stretcher and we carried him back to the castle on it. I knew they were confused. Why was I bringing the man who killed Dumbledore back to the castle? Why was I bringing a deatheater in? Why didn't I just leave him there? To be honest I didn't know. Something was telling me I needed to. That I had to. That there was something off and that this was something I just had to do. So I did. I asked Madam Pompfrey to heal him. She was just as confused as they were but she did as I asked." Draco smiled at Harry. It was just like him to care for everyone. Even Severus. 

"The fighting had stopped at that time. Everyone was gathering in the great hall looking over the lost ones. It was hard Draco. It was so hard to see all the dead bodies. Percy. Lavender. Tonks. And so many more. I still see their faces Draco." Harry started crying. Draco reached over and pulled him into his lap and wrapped his arms around him. 

"Their faces haunt me. They remind me that I am still alive while they are not. This war was about Voldemort and me. It was my fault they died. All my fault. If only I had figured everything out sooner. If only I had chosen somewhere else for the final battle. If I had tried harder. If I did more. Then they would still be alive Draco. I ruined lives. I ruined families. It's all my fault. Mrs. Weasley lost a son. Andromeda lost a daughter and a husband. Remus lost a wife. I wish I had died that day too. Then I wouldn't have to feel all this pain. It hurts Draco. It hurts so bad." Harry choked on his words and gave up. He buried his face in Draco's neck and let out the tears he had been keeping bottled in for so long. He just let it all out. 

Draco couldn't take his words. They broke his heart to see Harry like this. The Dark Lord seriously screwed him up. For Harry to blame himself like this and think it was okay broke him. He felt tears pool in his eyes. He didn't bother fighting them. He let them fall. He hugged Harry tighter to him. He took a couple calming breaths trying to find the strength to speak. 

"Harry." It came out a little choked. Harry lifted his head to see Draco crying. He didn't like to see Draco crying. He knew it was because of him that he was crying and it made him cry harder knowing he caused Draco pain. "Shh. Harry it's okay." Draco tried to reassure him. He was rubbing circles into Harry's back. Harry shook his head. No. Nothing was okay. 

"Harry please listen to me." Harry stopped shaking his head. Pleased that Harry was at least trying he forged on. "Harry none of this is your fault. No don't shake your head at me." Draco said forcefully when it looked like Harry was going to argue. "I mean it Harry. Every single death that happened was because of one man. One. And it wasn't you. It was Voldemort." Harry stopped crying in shock to hear Draco actually say his name. It was the first time he heard him say it. "It was his fault. Not yours. He was a very twisted evil man. You are one of the kindest, sweetest, most loyal, generous, selfless and all around amazing person, Harry James Potter." Harry was flattered that Draco thought this about him. He was wrong but it was none the less flattering. 

"He chose to start all of this by going after you when you were just a baby. It was all his fault. You did the only thing you could. You stood up against him when no one else would. You have been burdened with this destiny since before you could walk. You have hated and despised this your whole life but you still knew you had to do it anyways. That makes you so beyond incredible Harry. Besides you, I cannot think of one person who would willingly take on everything you have done. Not one. You have had a hard life Harry. You have gone through every single thing thrown at you, no matter how dangerous. You are something else Harry and that is a good thing." Harry didn't want to be comforted but Draco's touch and words were doing just that.

"Everyone who went to fight knew exactly what they were getting into and they knew exactly who they were putting their faith and trust into. You Harry. They believed in you. And I know damn well they would do it all over again if they could. Harry, you cannot blame yourself for their deaths. You can't. This is something that is not your fault." It was so hard to take Draco's words in. He wanted to believe him. But it was so hard. So many deaths. It crippled him. 

"Tonks would never ever blame you for this. She would be sad that she could not be there for her family but she would never want you to feel so much guilt like this. None of them would." Harry started crying again. Draco tightened his grip and continued to rub circles on his back.

"But if you blame yourself for their deaths then you are going to be giving up on all the things they sacrificed themselves for. They didn't give their life for you to wallow like this. They gave their life to protect you Harry. They gave their life to ensure that their loved ones and their children would grow up in a safe world. The world that Voldemort had envisioned was not a world a child should grow up in. They fought and died not just for you but for everyone else and to change the wizarding world. So don't belittle their sacrifice by blaming yourself. The blame resides on Voldemort and him alone." Draco firmly told him nuzzling Harry's head in comfort. He felt a little embarrassed. Words were not his forte. He just hoped that Harry understood what he was trying to say. 

They stayed in each other’s arms for a long time. Neither moving or saying anything. Harry soaked up all the comfort that Draco was giving him. It was something he never received as a child. He cherished it. Harry let the words Draco spoke wash over him. The guilt and the hurt was slowly ebbing away. It wouldn't go away completely. But the raging ocean of guilt had shrunk till it was just a small pool. He could live with this. The sadness would never go away but it would get better with time. It would be easier to deal with. For the first time in a long time he knew he was going to be okay. He was going to be alright. He had long ago given hope that he would make it out of the war alive. When he came out alive he was actually quite surprised. His body may have come out alive but his mind did not. He was just now beginning to feel something. Hope. He would be okay. And it was all thanks to Draco Malfoy. He snorted at the irony. The biggest headache of his life for the past seven years was his own personal savior. 


	6. Snape's Memories

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Thank your for the positive reviews I have received. Very kind of you. I enjoyed writing this story a lot and I am glad people are enjoying the end result of my hard work. Here is the next chapter. :)

           Draco looked down at Harry in surprise. What was so funny? Odd moment for humor he thought. Harry looked up at Draco and stared into his silver eyes. Draco held back a gasp. The pain and the guilt he had previously seen was gone. Harry was looking at him with wonder and warmth. He had never seen anything more beautiful in his life, and it was directed at him. "What's so funny?" He whispered not trusting his voice to speak louder. 

Harry smiled warmly at him. "Irony. That's what is funny." Harry could see the confusion in Draco's eyes. "Draco Malfoy the boy who was the bane of my existence for so long is my own personal savior." He told him with a small sweet smile. Draco blushed. Harry's words sent a shiver down his spine. Harry thought he was a savior? Draco shook his head confused. 

"I mean it Draco. I have been lost for so long. Even before the war. I have been killing myself slowly trying to please everyone. Always doing what was expected of me even if it was too much for me. Never complaining. I have been a tool for the fight for so long. No one once asked me what I wanted. Nope. It was always demanded of me. They just assumed that since I am the boy-who-lived that I wanted to fight in a war. That I would just automatically want to save them. A war to protect fickle, spineless arse hats who were too afraid themselves to do something. They thrusted this responsibility on a mere child just emerging into their world. They let me bare the stress of the whole world while they did nothing but sit at home on their arses while I risked my life. That took its toll on me. I was losing myself. Not even sure who I was anymore. I have been slowly cracking for years. It only got worse during the war. I know it's only been three days since I killed him. But those three days have felt like an eternity. An eternity of despair. I was going crazy. I really was. I have no doubt that I would not have lasted much longer. Either I was going to go insane and need to be locked up in St. Mungos or... I probably would have just ended it all." Draco gasped in horror. He would have killed himself? His heart clenched at the thought. No. No. It was so wrong. Harry couldn't die. Not after everything he had gone through. 

"I couldn’t see past the pain or the guilt. I couldn't see anything. Couldn't feel anything. I just wasn't myself. I couldn't even recognize myself in the mirror. It was that bad. But Draco you have saved me." Draco's heart started beating faster. "It will take time to get back to where I will be healthy and at one hundred percent. But for the first time in my whole life I am okay. I feel so free Draco. I can feel again. It's not much but it is a start and it is all thanks to you." Harry threw his arms around Draco's neck and hugged him tightly. 

Draco smiled and hugged him back just as tightly. He never felt more relieved in his whole life. He had been so worried about Harry since the moment he sat down. When he saw the haunted look in those beautiful emerald eyes he had been so scared for him. But now, he felt giddy with relief. Harry was going to be okay. That thought alone made his heart feel like it was dancing. 

"Thank you." Harry whispered. Draco smiled. "Harry, you are more than welcome. I am just glad that I could help at all." He told him with as much feeling as he could possibly muster. Harry closed his eyes and drank in the warmth from the sweet slytherin beside him. He sighed in content. He could stay like this all forever. The thought alone sent him into a wave of confusion. What was it about Draco Malfoy that made him feel so safe? So wanted? So complete? He was feeling things so strongly and so deeply that they scared him. He had never in his life felt this way. Not even about Ginny or Cho. They paled in comparison. It had only been a couple of hours with Draco and he was feeling like he had known him his whole life. It was as if nothing else mattered. This was so confusing. In the past, he probably would have run away screaming at his emotions. Damning the fates and damning his own existence. But now he found he simply didn't care. He wanted Draco Malfoy and he was going to get what he wanted. It was too soon to act on this but he would eventually get him. He just needed to know how Draco felt about him first. He leaned away slightly so that he could look into Draco's eyes. He almost swooned at the warmth and care that he could see in them. In the past Draco’s eyes were always a hard steel. Never showing any other emotion except contempt. But now, staring into deep silver pools of tenderness, Harry had to wonder how he could ever have considered the other teen as cold. 

Draco had felt a shift in Harry. He was confused as to what was going on. When Harry looked into his eyes he felt as if he was in a trance. He could see determination in his eyes. He was unsure of what Harry was so determined about but he loved the emotions he could pick out in his eyes. They were beautiful, so green. A cross between the rarest of emeralds and a dark grassy hill. But not just his eyes. Everything about Harry was beautiful. His hair, his lips, his nose, his skin, his hands, his whole body, his personality, his caring nature, the pure aura of Harry was  beautiful. He had to mentally slap himself to stop his train of thought. He had known ages ago that his obsession with Harry had turned into a crush. A big giant one. But crushes w ere for children. Not war hardened men. What he felt for Harry went past that. He wanted Harry Potter in every way imaginable. He wanted to be there for Harry every single day for the rest of his life. He wanted to take care of Harry, wanted to be the one he wakes up to each morning. He wanted to be the person Harry thought of when needing to tell about his day too.  He just wanted to be with him. He was determined to get this. Not once in his entire life had he stood up for himself. He never went against his father's wishes. He never got what he wanted. But he would be damned to let that continue. He fought in a war for fucks sake. Sure, it was on the wrong side. But still! Draco was no longer the coward he used to be. He was going to get Harry Potter. First, he just needed to figure out how to do that. 

Harry saw determination in Draco's eyes. He wondered what that was about. He smiled at Draco and his smile grew when the smile was returned. He felt as if he was forgetting something. His smile fell slightly. "Oh, I almost forgot about the rest of the story." He laughed at himself. Draco chuckled. He had been so focused on his feelings for Harry that he had also forgot about the story. 

Harry rearranged himself in Draco's lap so he could look at Draco's face more comfortably. He didn't want to get off. Draco smiled when Harry sat back down. Maybe his feelings were being returned. Surely Harry didn't sit on just anybody. He didn't want Harry to get back up. He liked the warmth and comfort the other boy brought. 

"So while everyone was in the great hall looking after their loved ones I slipped out and went into Dumbledore's office and used his pensive to see Snape's memories. And let me tell you, it was a life changing experience." Draco eyes widened. Life changing? What could his godfather possibly have in his memories that were life changing? The man isn't that interesting. 

"Before Snape started Hogwarts he met Lily Evans. My mother." If possible Draco's eyes widened further. Say what? "They became fast friends. She kept doing accidental magic a lot. Snape told her what was happening and explained all he could about magic and Hogwarts. Snape didn't have the kindest childhood either. His dad was a muggleborn and hated magic. My mother's sister hated magic. Said it made my mum a freak. When they got on the Hogwarts express both of them were excited. They were leaving behind their not so happy childhood for the safety of Hogwarts. Snape was telling her all about how he was going to be in Slytherin just like his mother was and her family before that. Lily didn’t particularly care about which house she was placed in. She just wanted to be in the same house as Snape. Now my father and Sirius over heard this conversation and made fun of Snape for wanting to be in Slytherin." Harry narrowed his eyes. He was still ticked off at his dad for that. 

"Lily disliked my father immediately after that. Snape was her best friend. Not to mention only friend. She was placed in Gryffindor while he was placed in Slytherin. Despite that they were still best friends. The only problem was as the years grew on Snape grew more interested in the Dark Arts. As were his friends in Slytherin. Lily did not agree with this, she disliked a lot of his friends in Slytherin. One day, Sirius and my father cornered Snape and an argument resulted. They were rude and uncalled for. Lily tried to intervene but to Snape it made him appear weak. He snapped and called her a mudblood.” Draco sucked in a breath sharply. Severus was always harping on the slytherins for such language. They all assumed that it had to do with his father being a muggle. He felt slightly guilty, Draco used that word quite a lot. Partly to hold up the image that his father wanted. But partly because that’s just what you do in Slytherin. He didn’t exactly feel guilty for calling people of that status a mudblood. It’s what they are. Just as he is a pureblood and Harry a half-blood. The name itself went back since the founder’s time. Muggleborns just took offense to the word when it wasn’t meant to be. They needed a class and that was the name, it was never intended to be an insult. As the years went by and new cultures came into the wizarding world the word was twisted into something it just wasn't. A mudblood hadn't meant to signify dirty blood like they thought. It was just to signify that their magic came from a different source then purebloods and half-bloods. Many years ago the purebloods tried explaining this but people see injustice w here there isn't. It is easier to victimize yourself then to admit that you could have been wrong. 

"She was gutted. The word itself wasn't uncommon. Slytherins were always calling her one. But to hear it from Snape of all people hurt her. He tried apologizing immediately. But she wouldn't forgive him. He kept trying for days but she wouldn't listen. I could tell how sorry he was. The moment he said it, he wanted to take it back. That much was obvious. I wish I could say that I understood what was going through my mum’s mind. But I don't. It wasn’t even the worst thing he could have called her but he was still obviously sorry. She knew it but didn't care. I don't get it. But maybe that is just me. Maybe I am more forgiving than others. I don't know." Draco smiled slightly. Harry was a very forgiving person. But he had to agree with him. That was a bit extreme to end a friendship of so many years over a slip up. But at the same time, he could see where her anger could come from. That was a big slip up. 

"I am not sure if he was in love with my mother or just really good friends. It was hard to tell. There was love for sure but it didn't look like he was in love with her. I want to ask him but I feel that it do more harm than good. Plus he is not the most social guy around." Harry smirked. Draco snorted. Severus social? Laughable. That’s like saying the Dark Lord was a nice guy. 

"After he lost her friendship he was depressed. I believe that pushed him further into the Dark Arts. He willingly joined Voldemort right out of Hogwarts. It was not like you Draco. He chose this. He quickly climbed the ladders and became one of Voldemorts best deatheaters. He wanted Snape to get a position at Hogwarts to spy on Dumbledore. While Dumbledore was doing the interviews, Snape listened in and caught the beginning of a prophecy." Draco's eyes widened in recognition. 

"Professor Trelawney was there for the divination spot and during the interview she had an actual premonition. It was the prophecy that was put in the ministry. Snape only heard the beginning portion where it talked about a child being born with the power to vanquish Voldemort. It said that a child would be born to those who have thrice defied him, born in July. That was all he had heard because he had been found out by the owner. He immediately rushed back to Voldemort and told him everything he had heard." Draco scowled. He was not happy with his godfather, no one had told him about this. He wondered if his father even knew. Maybe, considering he was a deatheater at that time too. 

"There was more to the prophecy though. It mentioned that the child would have powers that the Dark Lord did not. If he had heard that he may not have ever bothered with coming after me. Who knows? Personally, I think he still would have. He would have seen it as a cocky thing. No one could possibly have powers he didn't have. So I think he still would have come after me." Draco smirked at the sarcasm in Harry’s voice. "Now I am going to tell you something but you can't laugh." Harry warned him with amusement in his voice. Draco was curious. He nodded his agreement. "Okay. There were two children born in July who could have fit the prophecy." Draco was stunned. Two? "One was me. And the other was a pureblood." Draco's eyes widened. What?

"Now going off everything Voldemort preached about purebloods and how more powerful they are than everyone else, you would think to him that the pureblood child would be the one that he would go after." Draco nodded along. It would make sense. "But Voldemort himself was a half blood." Draco gasped. He had heard rumors about that but he never actually believed them. It seemed too wild to be true. His father couldn’t have known, there is no way a Malfoy would bow to a half-blood. 

Harry laughed at his reaction. "Yes. His father was a muggle. When he chose which kid to go after, he went after the one who was like him. To me that shows how much stock he put into his own beliefs if he was going to go after me. Now if he had gone after the other child I would have grown up normal with no fame. And the Savior of the world, the-boy-who-lived and the golden boy would have been..." Draco was dying with anticipation. "Neville." There was silence. Draco blinked for several long seconds before he burst out into laughter. 

He laughed so hard it shook Harry who was still on top of him. Harry tried to look stern but Draco's laughter was making him smile. He was not going to laugh with him though. Neville was a great guy. Draco couldn't help it. Neville Longbottom the golden boy? He had never in his life heard anything as ridiculous as that. The pure craziness to it made him laugh harder than he ever had in his life. To think that if Voldemort had gone after Neville that perhaps he would be pining after him instead of Harry. That thought was chilling enough to stop the laughing. Ew. No way. He shook his head. No, it was more than just being Harry that he liked. He liked his personality and his heart. He knew that even if Neville had been the golden boy that he would still be pining over Harry. 

Draco grinned at Harry. "Sorry Harry. I couldn't help it." He said with absolutely no sincerity. Harry narrowed his eyes in mock anger. "You know Neville is a great guy." Harry told him smiling. 

"I am sure he is. I don't even know him. It's just the shock of it all that got me." He said rubbing his hands across Harry's back. Harry tried to respond. He really did but those hands were so distracting. He shook his head and forced any thoughts away. 

"Okay enough silliness. Let's continue." Draco smiled. He could tell he had been distracting Harry. That thought alone made him happy. Perhaps he stood a chance at winning his heart after all. 

"So, after Voldemort told his deatheaters that he was going to go after Lily and James Potter's child Snape begged him to spare Lily. No one else by Lily." Draco narrowed his eyes. "I was only slightly insulted at that. Voldemort refused. Said that she would have to die as well. He pretended to go along with him. He rushed to Dumbledore and begged him to protect her. Dumbledore was not very trusting of Snape. He was also a little disgusted that he had already asked Voldemort to only spare Lily. But Snape agreed to be his spy in return for keeping the Potter's safe." Draco was stunned. Snape had turned spy that long ago? He had been a spy for that long? Impressive, even if he was disturbed that his godfather hadn’t cared what would happen to Harry and James Potter. 

"After they died Snape was distraught. Dumbledore told him that Voldemort was not truly gone. That he would come back. Snape was disgusted. He never wanted to go back to Voldemort if the man came back. But Dumbledore told him there would be a time when he would have to go back. The only reason he was there with Dumbledore was to save the only remaining link to Lily Potter." Draco smiled slightly. Who would have guessed Snape had a soft spot? 

"I think the only reason he hates me so much is that I look like my dad. But that's not my fault. I would change it if I could." Harry looked at Draco sadly. Anger coursed through Draco. He loved Severus he really did but he was going to be getting a stern talking to the next time he saw him. 

"Dumbledore went over all the plans and all of the things that he figured was going to happen in the near future. One thing that I need to explain is the seventh Horcrux. Dumbledore knew about it the whole time and he never told me about it. Never. Not once." Harry grit his teeth in anger. How could Dumbledore have blind sighted him like that? It isn't like he didn't have the time. They spent so many hours together during his sixth year. He had ample opportunity to do so. Draco tensed slightly. He had a bad feeling about this. 

"The night Voldemort came to kill me a piece of his soul broke off at the act and he unknowingly created a Horcrux. The piece of the soul latched onto the only living thing in the room." Draco gasped and gripped Harry tighter. "He never even knew. The whole time he didn't even know. He was so beyond repair that he didn't even know how badly his soul was. Seven times. Bloody hell that is unthinkable." Harry sighed lost in thoughts about Voldemort. 

Draco coughed a little to get Harry's attention. "You said that Dumbledore knew?" He asked a little disgruntled. Anger flashed in Harry's eyes. Draco thought it made those emerald eyes greener and brighter. "Yes. He also knew that if I was to face off against Voldemort and to truly kill him that ALL of the Horcruxes w ould have to be destroyed. Including me." Draco growled out in anger. He didn't even realize how tight his grip was on Harry. Harry smiled slightly. It was nice to have someone react like this over him. 

"What kills me is that he didn't even tell me. That's what pisses me off. I am not a fragile little boy. He could have told me. My whole life I was groomed to become the weapon that would kill Voldemort and he couldn't even muck up the courage to tell me that I would have to die in the end. Where is the Gryffindor in him? He calmly told Snape that I would have to die, with zero emotions. Like my death wouldn’t even matter. In the memory, Snape was pissed. He couldn't understand why he had painstakingly kept me alive all these years to just off me at the right time. I was slightly touched at that. He ended up admitting he was only doing it for Lily. But hey he was still angry on my half so I can pretend it was for me." Draco snorted and shook his head. 

"There were some other memories. Like the day I turned 17 and was taken away from the Dursleys and we were attacked by deatheaters. Snape was with them but he also was casting spells against deatheaters when no one was looking. Gutsy if you ask me. But when has Snape ever been timid?" Draco burst out into a fit of laughter. The words 'timid' and 'Snape' did not belong in the same sentence. 

"Also, he was the one to cast the patronus." Draco gasped. Really? He would have to ask Severus about it sometime. Harry saw the shock on his face. "Yes. He was the one to put the sword out there. Why it had to be in a bloody frozen pool I will never know. I am sure he could have figured out another way to give it to me. A warmer way. I think he just missed torturing me in detentions. So it was payback." Harry said with a mischievous glint to his eyes. Draco laughed, surprised at Harry's humor. That was one thing he did not know about Harry. Since he had never been graced with the pleasure of being close enough to him. He was going to find out every single thing about Harry from now on. 

"Yes that is probably true. I think he missed your wonderful potion skills." Draco teased. Harry pouted causing the Slytherin to laugh warmly. "I am not that bad." Draco gave him an incredulous look. "Okay maybe I am but I am at least better than Ron and Neville at potions! You have got to at least give me that." Draco pretended to think it over. Harry rolled his eyes. "Alright I suppose I will give you that one." Draco finally conceded. Harry threw his hands up in the air in triumph, causing Draco to roll his eyes and hide a grin. 

"You know Snape is one of the bravest people I have ever met." Draco arched an eyebrow. "I know he doesn't like me but everything he did for me, it means a lot to me. No one has ever looked out for me like that. He hated me but he did it anyways. I admire him Draco. I just wish I could tell him that. I wish he could see past my father to see me. I want him to see Harry. Just Harry. After everything he did for me I would love to get to know him. There are not many people who would do that for someone. I know he loved my mother but she treated him so poorly after that night. I wish she would have forgiven him. I wish my father hadn't been such a prat to him. I wish I could change things. I don't want to be hated for things that are out of my control." Harry bit his lips to stop the tears. He was not going to cry over Snape. Draco's heart clenched. Snape treated him like rubbish and he was over here admiring him still? Good lord he is amazing. 

"Okay moving on." Harry said with a grin that didn't match the sadness in his eyes. "So after the memories I had the new knowledge that I was meant to die all along. Not morbid at all." Draco snorted. "But to be honest I was kind of glad." All humor vanished as Draco frowned. "Don't look at me like that Draco. I was not in a good frame of mind at the time. The dead faces I had seen an hour previously were still haunting me. I was actually okay with this. On my way out of the castle I found Neville and told him that he would have to find a way to destroy Nagini. I knew that after I died that the Ron, Hermione and Neville could do it. I had to leave my faith in my friends. So I made my way over to the forest where Voldemort and the death eaters were. Before I was too far in I remembered something that Dumbledore left me in his will." Draco was surprised that Dumbledore left him anything. But if he was going to leave a student anything it would be to Harry. 

Harry reached into his bag and pulled out the snitch. He pressed into Draco's palm. Draco looked at it curiously. "He left you an old snitch?" He asked confused. Harry smiled and nodded. "It was the first snitch I ever caught. Do you remember that game?" He asked. Draco thought back to the first time he saw Harry play. He smiled when he remembered how proud he was of Harry that day. He was glad to see Harry so excited about something. He furrowed his brows trying to remember how he caught the snitch. 

"Wait isn't this the one that you almost swallowed?" He asked, wondering where this was leading. Harry's smile grew bigger. "Yes it was." He told him as he wrapped his hand around Draco's and leaned in till his face was very close to Draco's. Draco's heart started beating fast. His breath caught in his throat. What was Harry doing? Harry heard Draco's breathing hitch and he smiled internally at that. Maybe he had a chance with Draco after all. 

He waited until there was only the snitch in between their mouths. He let out a small breath on the snitch and leaned away. Draco wanted to close his eyes when he felt Harry's hot breath ghost across his face. He forced them to remain open. When Harry leaned away Draco let out a breath of half frustration and half out of relief. Harry lit up his wand and that was when Draco saw words form on the snitch. He frowned. "I open at the close. Well that is vague. What rubbish is this?" He asked a little irritated at the lack of a clue and from the strange closeness they just shared. 

Harry laughed. "I thought the same thing. Like he couldn't have left me a letter with some type of clue in it. I honestly had no idea what it was about until I started walking into the forest. It was like a light bulb flicked on and I knew what I had to do." Harry stopped talking at the confused look on Draco's face.

"Light bulb?" Draco asked trying to wrack his brain of what in the world that could be. Harry laughed loudly. "Sorry it is a muggle expression. A light bulb is something Muggles use to light up their houses." He said grinning at the wonder in Draco's eyes. "Really? How does that work? Bulb? That sounds like glass. They have glass that lights up?" He asked genuinely interested. Harry thought the expression on Draco's face reminded him of Mr. Weasley when he was around anything Muggle related. Harry smirked at Draco. 

"Ask me that later. I promise to explain it okay?" He asked with amusement sparkling in his eyes. Draco huffed. He could tell Harry thought his interest was funny but he loved the way his eyes were sparkling in mirth so he figured he could put up with it. He smiled and nodded his agreement. 

"When I walked into the forest I knew what I had to do." Harry leaned back in. "I am about to die." He said quietly. Draco's eyebrows rose at his words. There was a small click and the snitch opened revealing... nothing. It was empty. "What was in it?" Draco asked with excitement. His mind was reeling with the possibilities of what could have been in there. It would have had to been something small. Maybe a ring? Or jewel? Or even something shrunk down? 

"It was the final Hallow." Draco's jaw opened in shock. That was not something he was prepared for. Harry smirked, he loved seeing the different expressions on his face. He doubted very many people ever got to see a surprised Draco before. "Yes. It was the resurrection stone. Voldemort was never interested in this Hallow. Why would he? Who did he want to see? The stone had been a part of the ring that Dumbledore destroyed with the sword." Draco's eyes lit with understanding. 

"The one that blackened his hand?" He asked. Harry nodded impressed. "Yes. The same one. Voldemort may not have had any interest in the stone but to Dumbledore and to me it was something precious." Draco hugged Harry closer to him. "I only used it the one time. I knew it couldn't really bring the dead back to life, just a part of them. Like a ghost but not quite. I was about to die, I wanted to see them one last time. The stone showed me my parents and Sirius. They told me how brave I was, they told me how proud they were of me. I tried apologizing to Sirius but he told me that I had nothing to apologize for. They told me they would be with me until the end. Seeing them that last time made everything okay. I could do it. I could face my death. I could willingly go to my death to save everyone. So that is what I did." Draco was amazed at the courage it took for Harry to do that. Merlin knows he never would have been able to do that. 

"I calmly walked into the rest of the forest and I confronted Voldemort. The stone had slipped from my hands somewhere in the forest. My wand was tucked away, I didn't even lift a single finger in my defense. I let him do it. He cast the killing curse on me and his aim was true." Draco gasped. How is he still alive? 

"I can see the question in your eyes. You are wondering how I am alive. That is a good question. I am not entirely sure myself. I believe that when he cast the killing curse at me it resonated with the part of Voldemort's soul that was inside me and it killed that off. I was not actually dead." Draco was amazed. Harry survived a full-blown killing curse again? And lived? It was insane. "I actually was taken to crossroads if you will. It looked like Kings Cross Station, except everything was so white and bright. I could have gotten on a train and gone into the after life or I could be sent back to finish off Voldemort." Draco was gobsmacked. Harry could have just left? "That was the hardest decision I have ever had to make in my life. You have no idea how hard it was to go back. I didn't want to. What did this life have for me? There was nothing good waiting for me back here. Death was painless, the curse hadn't hurt. I could have easily got on that train without a second thought. I wanted to give the rest of the world a two finger salute and say you handle Voldemort now. It would have served them right." Harry paused narrowing his eyes. Draco wasn't sure what to think. He could understand where Harry was coming from but the selfish part of him was mourning the thought of Harry dying and never being given this opportunity to get to know him.

            "But my whole life had been built up to this moment. The moment to finally get rid of the evil bastard. How could I walk away now? I knew I had to go back. No matter how much I dreaded the thought, I had to finish this. With my decision made, I was sent back." Draco was proud of Harry for having the courage to come back. Other people might have thought it was common sense to come back. After all, who wants to die? But knowing the things that Harry has gone through, death would have been the easiest thing for him. Coming back took a lot of guts to do. It was resigning yourself to the fate that you never wanted to begin with. Because death was Harry's ti cket out of his messed up life. To willingly choose to come back to that fate was something that Draco was very proud of Harry for. 

            "The a ttack influenced Voldemort as well. He was blown backwards from it. He didn't dare approach me. I think he was afraid. He sent your mum." Draco gave a small smile. "She knew right away I was still alive. I think that scared her. That I could take on the curse and still be alive. It should have been impossible. She asked me if you were still alive. I told her you were. She lied to Voldemort and told him I was dead. She saved my life that day Draco. Your mother is a brave person. I see where you get it from." Draco blushed at the compliment. He was proud of his mother. Not many people would willingly lie to Voldemort. And she did for him and to save the wizarding world as well. 

"I was carried out by Hagrid to the front of the castle. I am not sure what exactly you saw so I will just explain it anyways. I could see the disbelief on everyone's faces when we got there. I watched as Neville used the sword of Gryffindor to slice of Naginis head. I was so proud of him. I knew he had been a good choice. This was it. There was no other Horcruxes. All seven were gone. This was my chance. When they all realized I was still alive I could hear the cheers from the light side and I could hear the cries of disbelief from the deatheaters. One by one they all started apparating away. If it hadn't been such a serious moment I probably would have laughed at their cowardice." Harry and Draco snorted. "But I can see where they were coming from. I mean I had just been sent a killing curse. I was defenseless. No one was there to die for me that time. The spell hit me dead on and I still survived. If I had been someone other than who I am I probably would have been afraid as well." Harry shook his head in amusement. 

Draco thought about it and he had to agree. It is something unbelievable. To have survived the curse twice. He had to admit that if he hadn't been pining after Harry for so long he probably would have been afraid as well. 

"I could see the fear in Voldemort's eyes. He couldn't figure out how I was still alive. I taunted him. I couldn't help it. It is not every day you see a scared Voldemort." Harry smirked. "I told him all about Snape. I told him how the elder wand would never work for him. How I was the true master. I could see the wand light up at my words. He knew it. The wand knew it. He cast the killing curse at me one more time, I used the expeliarmus curse at him and it sent his own spell straight back at him. He was dead. Officially dead. For good." Harry smiled at that. It was the first time he smiled when thinking about Voldemort's death. 

Draco smiled hugely at Harry. It was a little hard to wrap his mind over all of the details. It was a tad bit overwhelming. To think how powerful and amazing the boy on his lap was. A sudden thought occurred to Draco. 

"What did you do with the elder wand?" He asked genuinely curious. Harry smiled. "Well I used the wand to fix my wand that Hermione broke. I didn't want the elder wand. It had a bad track record. I did not want any relation to it what so ever. So I snapped it in half and chucked it off the bridge." Draco was stunned. What? He had the most powerful wand ever to exist and he bloody broke it? Say what???

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully you are enjoying yourselves. I shall see you tomorrow with another chapter!


	7. I Do What I Want

            Harry laughed at Draco's shocked face. "Yes I know what you are thinking. But I didn't need it. The wand does not make the wizard. I was perfectly capable of killing Voldemort without any special wand. I didn't even kill him with my own wand. I used yours." Draco was once again stunned. Harry used his wand? His wand killed Voldemort?

Harry smirked at his facial features again. He would never get over shocking Draco. It was far better than angering him like he used to. "Which reminds me." Harry began as he reached back into his bag. He pulled out Draco's wand and handed it to him. Draco's eyes lit up and he looked at Harry with wide eyes. "I believe this is yours." Harry said gently. 

"Your giving this back to me?" Draco asked thickly like he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Of course Draco. It is your wand not mine. I thank you very much for it though. The couple months I had it was of good use. It worked just as well as mine did. I did not mean to steal it back there but I am grateful that I had it." Harry apologized. Draco shook away the apology. "Thank you for giving this back to me Harry. It means a lot." Draco said smiling warmly before he yanked Harry into his arms and holding him tightly. 

Harry closed his eyes at the contact. He could get used to this, being in Draco's arms was so refreshing. So warm. Not even a fire ever got him this warm. He felt so safe. So protected. So cared for. He never wanted it to go away. Draco pulled away with a questioning gaze. 

"So you had all three hallows? You were like a master of death or like a master of the Hallows? That is amazing." Draco said in an awed voice. Harry chuckled. "I suppose but that is not what I was after. I am happy with just the cloak though. I don't need the other two." Draco nodded in understanding. 

"So the cloak is how I could never figure out what you three used to get into." Draco mused with amusement. Harry laughed. "Yes. We used the cloak to sneak out at night all the time. We used to all fit underneath it when we were younger. Now I doubt two of us could fit." Harry said with a smile.

Draco smirked. "Do you want to test that theory?" Draco breathed out quietly. The tone of his voice caused Harry to shiver slightly. Draco noticed this and his smirk grew bigger. Harry smirked back. "Maybe another time." Harry replied raising a lone eyebrow. Draco's smirk turned into a smile. "I will hold you to that Harry." He warned. Harry smiled sweetly. 

Harry's smile fell as he thought about something that has been bothering him. Draco frowned, wondering what was up with the sudden mood change. "Draco can I ask you something?" Harry asked nervously. Draco nodded as he said, "Anything Harry." Harry took a deep breath. 

"What if... what if I really did die?" Draco's breath hitched. "What?" Draco asked a little scared at the question and very confused. "What if what died that day wasn't the Horcrux? What if... what if I am not... good. What if all that's left is the bit of _him_?" Harry looked down not meeting Draco's eyes. "Oh Harry, what makes you think that?" Draco asked more calmly then he felt. On the inside his heart was breaking for the boy who lived through so much. He wasn't sure how to handle this. He was so inept at the emotional support aspect of things. What if he made it worse?

"Look at the locket. It twisted Ron's emotions and got to him after being on him for a short time. Ginny was possessed after a year of writing in the diary. Voldemort's soul was inside me for 17 years Draco. Way longer than them. What if it twisted me? What if who I am is not really me? What if the soul inside me merged with my own? Who is to say what died that day was even me? I told you how I have always had anger issues. Well I thought that was just my connection with Voldemort. But he is gone and I am still angry. So angry. All these negative feelings and thoughts that I thought would go away when he died are still here. It makes me wonder if anything that is left is still good. I am scared Draco. I don't want to be evil. I don't want to be like this." Harry said as he laid his head down on Draco's shoulder and closed his eyes. He didn't want to see what his confession did to Draco. He didn't want to see the disgust that he feared was there.

Draco sighed softly as he rubbed reassuring circles on Harry's back. "Harry you are not evil nor will you ever be evil. Your statement alone was enough that it should be obvious. Harry evil people want to be evil. You want to be good and that is exactly what you are." Harry thought about what he said and it reminded him of what Dumbledore once told him. It reassured him. 

"And about the anger and negative feelings. My only piece of advice is to embrace it." Harry leaned back and looked at Draco in shock. Draco grinned at Harry's expression. "Don't look so surprised. I mean it. Harry, you have lived your whole life denying your own wants and needs to please everyone else. No wonder you are angry. I imagine a lot of what you are feeling are repressed emotions. But being angry is not a bad thing. If you control your anger as to not lash out at others, then embrace it. Get angry. Get mean. Get tough. Use those negative emotions for good." Harry tilted his head in slight confusion. 

"How can negative be good? Sounds like an oxymoron to me." Draco laughed. "Harry think like a Slytherin. Use the negative to get what you want. You don't have to be bad to get your way. Use what you already have. Your anger is a part of you. Embrace it." Harry smiled at those words. No one ever told him to embrace it. Even Sirius had seemed scared when Harry mentioned his anger during his fifth year. Everyone just told him to hang in there and that it would get better. They never stopped to consider that the anger was never Voldemorts. That the anger was his own. It was a part of him. He could use this, he could control it and make it work. Draco was right. It was very Slytherin. 

"Draco do you think I have been affected by being a Horcrux?" He asked sadly. Draco considered his knowledge of Horcruxes, which albeit was not a whole lot. He considered what he knew of Harry and what he knew of the Voldemort. "That is a hard question Harry. I honestly have no idea. I would love to tell you that there is no chance whatsoever that you were effected but I honestly don't know." Harry was surprised, he assumed Draco was going to tell him the same old 'everything will be fine' speech he always heard from everyone else. But he was beginning to realize that Draco was unlike anyone he had met. "From what I know of you Harry and what I have seen of you, I am inclined to say no. But there is so much that I don't know about you Harry. But I can say that if there are any side effects then embrace that as well. Whatever could be left if there is anything has been a part of you for so long. It's you now. If you don't like something about yourself then change it. Or embrace it. That's the beauty of life, it's yours to do with what you wish. Your body your rules." Harry grinned at him. 

"How do you do it?" Harry asked amazed. Draco lifted an eyebrow. He had no idea what Harry was talking about. "How do you take every single one of my worries and wash them away? You make me feel like I can do anything. You shove my doubts away. I don't understand it." Harry said trying not to blush. By the heat radiating off his cheeks he knew he failed. 

Draco's face lit up with his own blush at Harry's words. He had no idea he had this much of an effect on him. He was just trying to help Harry. He was so happy to find that he succeeded. To know that he a deatheater made Harry Potter feel like that, it was indescribable. Draco reached over and lifted Harry's chin so he could see those pretty eyes that he loved so much. 

"By telling you the truth." He told him simply. Harry's answering smile was so beautiful it took away Draco's breath. Harry's eyes were filled with an emotion that Draco couldn't identify. Whatever it was it was memorizing, enchanting even. 

Draco's words made Harry feel dizzy. It was a simple statement but it made him realize that no one had ever been so honest with him before. He used to think that Dumbledore was honest but he always kept his cards close to his chest. Draco lays it out in the open. Calls them like he sees them. It is so refreshing. Something he is not used to. Draco's silver eyes were filled with so much warmth, he could see the truth of his words clearly in those eyes. It was like a drug. One he never wanted to kick. It was beautifully sickening. Another oxymoron. Neither one could tell how long they stared into each other’s eyes. It was like a spell. Neither one wanting to move for fear of breaking it. 

Suddenly Draco smiled at Harry. Seeing him smile made Harry's heart start beating faster. He loved that smile. It was so much better than his smirk or his sneer. His smile was breathtaking. Harry smiled back and gently laid his head back on Draco's shoulder. Draco closed his eyes and hugged Harry to him. This was a moment he never wanted to forget. He was sure that his feelings would be returned if he acted upon them. But he was unsure if now was the proper time. Harry needed time to heal. He has waited years for this chance, he is not going to rush into anything. He would wait a life time for Harry. 

"Draco will you be coming back to Hogwarts? McGonagall said that they would do a do over year for all the people who couldn't come due to the war." Harry mumbled in his neck. Draco shivered at the feeling of those lips on his neck. He had to take a moment to collect his thoughts. "My father probably wouldn't want me to." Harry picked up his head and glared at Draco. "I didn't ask what your father wanted. What do you want Draco?" He was surprised at the anger in Harry's voice. Million galleon question though. What did he want?

"I have always loved Hogwarts. It would be nice to have a normal year here. But I don't think I would be welcomed Harry. I was a deatheater. The mark is clearly on my skin. No one would want to be near me. Parents wouldn't want their children to go to school knowing ex deatheaters were there." Draco realized as he said it that he really would like to go back for another year. Harry's glare softened slightly. 

"Draco Lucius Malfoy." Draco looked up startled. "Fuck them." Draco snorted. "I am serious. Who cares what they think. We both know who you are." Harry grabbed his left arm and lifted Draco's sleeve. He ignored Draco's wince. He leaned towards Draco's dark mark. Since Voldemort's death the mark had faded some. It was not a vibrant black. It was so faded it looked like a muggle tattoo that had been done many years ago. An ugly tattoo. Harry leaned down and kissed the mark gently. He looked up at Draco through his dark lashes. "This mark does not define you Draco. This mark is not who you are. You are not a deatheater. You are Draco Malfoy. An honorable, brave and amazing man who did what he thought was right to save his family." Harry kissed the mark one more time and slid the sleeve back down. 

Draco was at a loss for words. When Harry lifted his sleeve, he was confused. He had no idea what Harry was planning. But the sweet gentle kiss to his mark was definitely not what he thought it was going to be. "You are amazing." Draco said with a thick voice. He was trying to hold back his emotions. Harry was literally giving him everything he had always wanted. Forgiveness. Harry was telling him that he was better than the mark. Since the moment he got the mark he lost a part of himself. Harry just gave him that little piece back. For the first time since getting the mark he felt like himself. He felt human. He felt alive. He felt safe and cared for. 

Harry grinned at him. "It is about time you figured that out." Draco choked out a surprised laugh. "Oh I have always known Potter. Can't have you getting a big head on us now can we." He teased. Harry smirked. "Is that so Malfoy? Well I learned how to be conceited from watching you." Draco snorted and shook his head. 

"So let me ask you once again what do you want Draco?" Draco took a deep breath. "I am coming back to Hogwarts." He gave a shaky smile to Harry who let out a victory yell. "Alright!" Draco shook his head at Harry's amusement. "Now before today I was going to tell McGonagall that I was not going to come back. But after talking to you I am going to do what I want. I am coming back with you." Draco grinned. He had hoped that Harry was going to come back. Hogwarts would not have been the same without him. "I'm glad." Draco said laying his head on Harry's shoulder. 

Harry let out a content sigh. "Have you given any thoughts on what you want to do outside of Hogwarts?" Harry asked. "Well I know my father wants me to go into politics like he did." Harry let out a growl. Draco chuckled. "Okay okay I get it. But I am not sure what I want. I like potions a lot. I could always take on an apprenticeship under Severus. Or I could open up my own Apothecary shop. That would be cool too. Or maybe I could invent my own potions. Maybe travel for a bit. See what else is out there. I don't know. I am not sure what my father would say though." Harry sighed. When would Draco learn? 

"Draco repeat after me. I do what I want." Draco grinned. "Oh this definitely sounds like a slytherin saying. I do what I want." Draco repeated. Harry smirked. "I didn't quite hear that, you may have to speak up." Draco grinned. "I do what I want!" He yelled as loud as he could. Harry grinned and hugged him tightly. "That's it. That is what I want to hear. You are a fully-fledged adult Draco and you will do as you damn well please. If I have to talk to your father I will." Harry offered. Draco looked up stunned. He could tell that Harry meant it. He really would talk to his father for him. "As sweet and flattering as that option is, I think it is about time I talk to my father myself. It is something I need to do." Harry smiled. "I understand." 

"What about you Harry?" Draco asked. Harry tilted his head lost in thought. "I am not sure. Everyone assumes that I will become an Auror. But I don't want that. I have spent way too long chasing after Voldemort. Sure I would be good at it but it is not what I want. I wouldn't be happy. Everyone thinks they have my life planned out for me. They all assume that I will marry Ginny and have a bunch of children and become the best Auror around." Harry scowled. Draco's heart clenched. Was Harry still with the Weaslette? He hoped not. 

"Harry repeat after me. I do what I want." Harry smirked as his own words were used against him. "I do what I want!" Harry yelled. Draco smiled. "And what is it you want Harry?" He asked quietly. "Well I definitely will not be marrying Ginny." Draco's heart soared. "I don't like her like that. She is more like a sister. I will not become an Auror. I like quidditch but I know that the fans would not go to see me play. They would go just to catch a glimpse of _The_ Harry Potter. I am not into that. I haven't found something I am passionate about yet. But when I find it, I will do what I want." Draco smirked. "That's the Harry I know." Harry smiled at that. 

The two of them spent quite a bit of time talking. They talked about anything and everything they could think of. To simple questions about tastes to harder questions about their families. Draco was going to ask Harry a question when he heard Harry yawn. He looked down at the boy cuddling into his chest with a look of adoration on his face. Draco's heart raced as he looked at him. 

"Harry I think it is time to go to bed. I have no idea what time it is but it is defiantly in the middle of the night or early morning. We have been talking for hours." He said gently running his fingers through Harry's hair. Hmm, it was a lot softer then he thought it would be. Harry let out a small moan as Draco's long fingers caressed his hair. He loved it. It took a moment for Draco's words to invade his mind. 

"I know but I don't want to go. I like this. I like talking to you. I don't want it to end." Harry whined. Draco shook his head. "It doesn't have to end. We can owl each other. Also if you would like we could spend some time together this summer. I leave tomorrow to go back to the manor. But once I am settled back in we can do whatever you want." Draco held his breath as he waited for Harry's response. He was worried about being rejected. 

Harry's heart beat faster at his words. "I leave tomorrow as well. I think I will spend some time at Grimwald place. It is the only home I have. I would love spend more time with you Draco. Let me know when you are settled and I'll be there." Harry said warmly. He was so glad Draco wanted to continue this friendship. As silly as it sounded he couldn't bear to part with him. He liked him too much. 

Draco almost couldn't believe that Harry agreed. Harry wanted to spend time with him. Harry Potter wanted to spend time with him... Draco Malfoy. He had to repeat that several times before his brain kicked in realizing that yes, it was indeed actually happening. 

Harry yawned again. "I don't want to get up. I feel safe in your arms." Harry blushed when he realized he spoke out loud. He ducked his head into Draco's neck hiding his face. Draco chuckled. "I will always be here for you Harry, so I am glad that you feel safe. If you don't want to get up, then what do you want to do?" He asked curiously. Harry blushed again. Good question. What did he want to do? He could go back up to his bed in Gryffindor but that would mean facing Ron and Hermione and for some reason that did not sound appealing at the moment. He really wanted to stay with Draco. That is what he wanted. 

"I want to stay with you tonight." Harry said still hiding his face. Draco had to blink away his shock. He pulled Harry's head away from his neck and tilted it till he could see into his eyes. "Can you repeat that?" Harry blushed hard. Draco thought it was beautiful. "I don't want to go back to Gryffindor. I want to stay with you. I like talking to you and spending time with you. I am not ready for it to end. I know we will hang out when you get settled but I am impatient." Draco smirked. "So I am taking my own advice. I do what I want. I want to stay with you tonight. And I am damn well going to." Harry said grinning at the shocked look on Draco's face. 

Once he got over the shock of his words Draco threw his head back and laughed. Oh merlin Draco was arse over tits for this boy. Harry grinned at the beautiful laugh that Draco let out. "Okay Harry. You can stay with me." Harry let out a yell and wrapped his arms around Draco's neck and hugged him tightly. Draco sighed and wrapped his arms around Harry's waist. He was content to stay there all night wrapped in Harry's arms. But the chilly wind was hitting his face. 

"Harry I am staying in the Slytherin dorms is that okay?" A mischievous glint was in Harry's eyes as he looked at Draco. "That is fine by me. That is the last place anyone will expect me to be. I love it." Harry said chortling. Draco snorted. He was right, no one would expect to find him there. Draco shifted slightly letting Harry know he needed to stand up. Draco groaned when he stood and stretched out muscles that hadn't been used in the cramped position he had been in for hours. Harry smirked. "Would you like me to massage your legs for you?" He asked when he saw the pain in Draco's eyes. Draco gulped. "Uh no. I think I can manage. Thank you though." Harry's smirk grew as he saw how uncomfortable he was making Draco. Despite the words, Harry could see the spark of interest in his eyes. 

Draco was intrigued by Harry's smirk. It was... predatory. It gave him chills. The good kind. Oh he wanted a massage alright. But tonight, was not the night. Besides once he started he would not be able to stop and he was willing to wait till Harry was ready. Harry leaned into Draco's side till his mouth was pressed against his ear. "Maybe next time then." Draco shivered at the warm breath tickling his ear. Oh merlin Harry was killing him. He smirked. "I will hold that to you Harry." Draco warned once again. Harry laughed out loud. "I was hoping you would say that." Harry smirked. "Lead the way." Harry said before Draco could reply. 

It was so dark out that Harry didn't bother with the invisibility cloak. No one was out to see them. They walked shoulder to shoulder, almost touching. Draco could feel the heat of Harry's body. He wanted to reach out and take his hand but decided against it. They reached the dungeons pretty quickly. Once inside Draco led Harry to his dorm room. No one was in there which pleased both boys. Neither one of them bothered to change their clothes, too tired. Draco laid down under the blanket and raised an eyebrow in a challenge. Harry grinned in response. He walked over to the bed and kicked off his trainers. He laid down next to Draco and turned to look into his eyes. Draco liked the feeling of another body next to him. It made it even better that it was Harry. He sighed contently. 

Harry loved the look on Draco's face, it was so open, so soft and so different from the usual hard face that Draco always wore. He leaned in and kissed Draco's cheek. "Goodnight Draco." He whispered. Draco's face heated up at the kiss. He broke out into a big grin. "Goodnight Harry." He said just as quietly. Both boys fell asleep with a smile on their faces, wondering what the next day would entail.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another end to another chapter. I'll give a little hint about what the next chapter is about. Someone finds Harry and Draco. Any guesses on who? I shall see you all tomorrow with another chapter. :)


	8. The Row

            Harry woke up feeling warm and relaxed, he hadn't ever had that good of a night’s sleep before. No nightmares either, that was odd. It took a moment for him to realize that yesterday did happen and it wasn't a dream. Everything with Draco had been real. He could feel the steady heartbeat of Draco underneath him letting him know that at some point in the night he had cuddled into him. He could feel Draco's arms wrapped around him holding him tightly to him. He sighed happily. It felt wonderful being in his arms. He wanted to wake up like this every day. Part of him wondered how a single night could have changed things so drastically. Was it normal to feel this attached to someone overnight? It’s not like he is a stranger, he has known Draco for seven years. Sure, they hadn’t been the best of years but he understood Draco on a deep subconscious level. He could honestly say he knew Draco better than he knew Ron and Hermione. Harry knew a lot about his best friends but nothing like he knew Draco. You don’t bare your soul to someone without forming a connection. Draco was the only person he had ever told his whole life to before. A little voice in his head snidely told him that Draco could ruin him with the information that he told him last night. But the rest of him just _knew_ that Draco would never do that. And not because of how much Harry could tell about Draco either. There was something between them know. Whatever it is, it’s wonderful. It’s strange how much has changed. Yesterday Draco was just an old rival. He hadn’t hated him, specially sine he saved Harry’s life but they were far from friends. And now... now they were something. Something real and tangible.  

            Something had woken him up but he was too tired to remember what. He could hear whispers. That sent all thoughts of falling back asleep away. His survival instincts kicked in. Harry strained his ears trying to figure out who and what they were saying. He cracked his eyes open slightly but couldn't see anyone. So that meant they were behind him. Not a good tactical advantage for him.

            "Who do you think it is?" Harry recognized Pansy Parkinson's voice. Harry grinned. Oh this will be good. "I have no idea, I can't see his face." It took Harry a couple seconds trying to place the second voice. He wanted to smack himself when he realized it was Blaise Zabini. The slytherin was always on the quiet side. Hardly heard him talk. Of course, Draco's best friends would come and check up on him. He grinned when he tried to picture what their reactions would be when they realized it was Harry Potter laying in Draco Malfoy’s bed. Oh he was definitely enjoying this more than he should be.

            "Did you know he was gay?" Pansy asked in a wounded voice. "No, he never said anything to me. But maybe he was worried to tell us." Blaise tried to reassure her. She scoffed. "Like we would care. As long as he is happy then I am happy." Harry instantly liked her for that comment. He himself had never considered liking blokes until Draco.

            “Besides I have always suspected. I mean I have never met a boy who spends so much time primping his hair in the bathroom as Draco. He takes twice as long as me!” Pansy said with a snort. Blaise let out a low chuckle. “You know you are right. The signs were there all along. Remember that time I told you I found a makeup bag in our bathroom? Draco said it was his for Halloween. It was March Pansy, March. Come on!” Pansy laughed out loud. It sounded slightly muffled, like she was covering her mouth.

            "Do you think they shagged?" Blaise asked with no tact. Harry almost snorted. He could get used to them if they continued to act like this. They were not behaving like the cold slytherins he knew they were capable of. But Draco surprised him last night, so he planned to keep an open mind. Pansy let out a muffled giggle. "I don't think so. They both have clothes on. I am just glad that he is finally getting past Potter." Harry stopped breathing. What? "I know what you mean. It was so sad seeing him pining after the boy all these years. Not that he would admit it." Blaise said with amusement in his voice. Harry grinned and relaxed. So Draco has been fancying him? He felt years lighter. He wanted to wake him up and snog him. The steady breathing of Draco let him know that he was still out to the world. He let out a groan letting Pansy and Blaise know he was 'waking' up. He purposefully kept his back turned to them and leaned over and put his glasses on. He saw parchment and a quill laying there. Perfect. He composed a quick letter. He could feel their eyes on him the whole time.

            Harry stood with his back to them and stretched. He took a deep breath, he composed his face making sure not to let them see how amused he was and turned around. Pansy's mouth dropped open. Blaise let out a squawk of surprise. Which Harry was distinctly proud of, it is hard to get a slytherin to show emotions. He gave himself a mental pat on the back. Harry rubbed his eyes sleepily. "Morning." Harry said trying not to smile at their stunned faces. Gods this was fun.

            "P-Potter?" Blaise asked weakly like he couldn't believe who was standing there. "Call me Harry, Blaise. I think we will be spending more time together so no need to call me by my last name." He stretched out and offered his hand to the boy. Blaise looked down at too long for Harry's liking, he was about to pull his hand away when Blaise reached out and gripped it. Harry let out a small smile and then held his hand out to Pansy. She quickly shook his hand. "Pansy. Blaise. It is nice to see you but I unfortunately have some packing to do. Please see that Draco gets my note, will you?" They both nodded still not saying anything. Their faces were still surprised. Harry grinned. "Thank you. I will see you another time. Good day." Harry smirked when they nodded again with no words. He waited till he was down the stairs and out of their tower to start laughing. He laughed all the way to the Gryffindor tower. He was still chuckling when he entered the common room.

            He groaned internally when he saw that Ron, Hermione and Ginny were sitting there waiting for him. They looked surprised to see him laughing. "Harry where have you been?" Hermione demanded shrilly. Harry really did let out a groan this time. "What's so funny mate?" Ron asked raising an eyebrow. Harry walked over to his favorite chair by the fire and sighed as he sank into it. He was not looking forward to this.  

            Harry ignored Ron's question. "I went to the quidditch field to think last night and lost track of the time." He said a little vaguely hoping that they would let it go. Hermione and Ginny shared a look. Gods, he hated that girls could do that. Have an entire conversation with just a look? No wonder he never understood them. Hermione raised an eyebrow. "You lost track of time? All night? I can tell by your clothes that you didn't sleep outside." Harry groaned again at her deductions. What was she? An investigator? Did she think she was his mother? Why does it always have to be fifty questions when it comes to his motives. Can’t a guy not tell his friends _everything_ he does. It’s not like he would care if Hermione or Ron was gone all night. Good for them. How was it any of their business anyways? Ron frowned. "Were you with someone?" He asked. Merlin, was there no privacy anymore? Harry chanced a look at Ginny, worried about her reaction. He could care less if she disagreed but he was not interested in a row right now. She had an eyebrow raised but she didn't look upset. No, she looked curious. Good so she at least was taking the breakup well. He never loved her per say, but she was a good friend. And he really did consider her family.  

            "I was with someone but it is not like that. We are just friends." Harry said quietly. Internally he smirking. Friends for now. It wasn’t exactly a lie. Ahh the perks of being a closet slytherin.

            "Harry, you seem more... normal today. What happened?" Hermione asked bluntly. Harry snorted at her lack of tact. Reminded him of Blaise. At least she wasn’t afraid to tell him the truth. "Well last night down at the quidditch pitch I had a nice long conversation and talked about... stuff and it really helped me." Harry grinned thinking about Draco. Ron frowned again crinkling his forehead. "You can talk to some chick you just met but you can't talk to us about it?" Harry's grin vanished. He frowned at Ron's jealousy. "Ron it's not like that. You know I would talk to you about it if I could. It’s that we have so much in common, more so than I ever imagined. They told me about their life and I told them about my life. It was almost therapeutic and cleansing. I only told them about myself after I learned somethings about them. If I didn’t find a reason to tell them about me then I wouldn’t have. It’s not that I like you less, it’s just they understood me Ron." Ron was still feeling a little stung, he crossed his arms across his chest and looked away. Hermione and Ginny shared another look. Gods, that was really starting to irritate him. They both realized Harry's lack of gender when he spoke of the other person.

            "Harry." Hermione said gently. Harry was instantly on guard. He knew that tone. That was her ‘I am going to be gentle in a delicate situation’ tone. The tone she used when she wanted to prevent him from flying off the walls. "You weren't with a girl, were you?" Ron's mouth dropped open in utter shock. Harry blushed despite trying not to. "Erm… well no."

            Ginny grinned at Harry's discomfort. She was happy that he snapped out of the funk he had been in. Even though they weren’t together she was glad to see him doing better. It slightly stung that he was completely over her. She had understood why they had to break up during the war but she had hoped they would get back together now that it was all over. But to see him happy like this was giving her the closure she needed to move on. She was so happy she could kiss whoever helped him.

            "You’re gay?" Ron said with his mouth hanging wide open. Hermione smacked him hard on the back of the head. "Ron!" She scolded crossly. Harry smirked as he watched Ron wince and rub his head gently.

            "Well maybe... I don't know. If not, then Bi at the very least." Harry said laughing at Ron's chastised face. "Who is it?" Ron asked trying to be supportive when in reality he did not want to know at all. Imagining Harry with a bloke weirded him out. But he was his best friend so he would be there for him.

            Harry shifted uncomfortably. He didn't want to tell them. He may have come to an understanding with Draco but his friends hadn’t. He wasn’t about to tell them any of things they talked about last night. He doubted Draco was going to tell them either. Ron and Hermione had a lot bad history with Draco. They wouldn’t understand. "He is just a friend. What's it matter?" He asked as he looked around the room for the quickest exit. The three of them shared a look. What is with the silent communication today??

            Hermione frowned wondering why he was panicking. "Harry why don't you want us to know?" She asked suspiciously. "We don't care who he is as long as he makes you happy." Ginny said gently. Ron nodded. "Right it doesn't matter who it is. It's not like it is Malfoy. Go on you can tell us." Ron said trying to make a joke. Harry paled and dropped his face in his hands. They gasped in unison.

            "Tell me you are joking Harry?! He's a bloody deatheater!" Ron exploded. There were many things Ron could handle but this was not one of them. If his best friend was into guys, cool not his cuppa but whatever works for him. But his best friend into Malfoy was wrong on so many levels. All he could think about was how Malfoy was a coward on the wrong side. The side that killed his brother. The side that tortured Hermione. The side that got Bill’s face deformed. The side that killed Dumbledore. Malfoy had been a part of that side and he couldn’t understand how Harry could fraternize with the enemy.

            Harry raised his head and glared at Ron. "No I am not joking Ron and you know nothing about him or his life. You may think you do but you don't." He said in a dangerously low voice. His tone shocked the whole room. They never heard such anger in his voice before, or at least directed at them.

            "It's Malfoy, Harry! Of course I know him! I know he is a right foul git and has been for years! He is a deatheater! His side lost the war. His father tried to kill you on multiple occasions for crying out loud!" Ron stood up yelling while clenching his fists.

            Harry sat there staring daggers into Ron. "Draco is not his father. You have absolutely no idea what he has gone through so don't assume you know anything." Harry yelled back. Ron couldn't believe what he was hearing. Had Malfoy done something to Harry? Was this some kind of trick? Or had Harry finally lost it.  

            "Did your fight with Voldemort leave you daft? It's Malfoy!" Hermione and Ginny gasped. Harry was stunned. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He was so angry. A glass on the table exploded. Ron looked at it wearily. He knew Harry did that.

            "Ron I will tell you this once and I mean only once. I will be friends with whoever the fuck I want to. You have no say in it. I will do what I want. Either deal with it or get the fuck out of my life." Ron was gobsmacked. Harry was giving him an ultimatum?

            “Harry, you know we trust your judgement. We do. But don’t you think this is a little sudden? I mean yesterday you two were still enemies and now you are friends? It just sounds odd.” Hermione tried to reason. She honestly couldn’t understand what about Malfoy would make Harry defend him so strongly. Something big had to have happened between them and she was determined to know what.  

            “I know it sounds odd Hermione. But you weren’t there last night. We talked for hours. About our lives, likes and dislikes. We talked about what made us who we are. You just wouldn’t be able to understand and I’m not asking you to. You don’t have to get it, I just need your support.” Harry pleaded. Hermione still looked unsure. Ginny was wary but at least she wasn’t hostile like her brother.

            "He's just using you Harry!" Ron yelled after he got over his shock. Harry looked at him like he was insane. "How is he using me? What could he possibly gain from being my friend?" Harry asked incredulously. Why is it when the shit hits the fan Ron can’t handle it? Can’t he just be there for him? Friends are supposed to be there for you no matter what.

            "For his trial!" Ron yelled at Harry like was stupid. Harry paused frowning. "What trial? He never mentioned a trial." Hermione raised an eyebrow in surprise. Ron was shocked.

            "Harry, Malfoy and his parents are being tried for their crimes in the war." Ginny said quietly. Pain seared through Harry at the thought of Draco being put into Azkaban. "He didn't even mention it Ron. If he was using me don't you think he would have asked for my help?" Harry asked before he turned around and stomped out of the common room and made his way to the great hall. He could hear them scramble after him. He wished they would leave him alone. He was not in the mood to have a fight. His great mood from this morning vanished. Harry sighed internally.  

            He was lost in his thoughts of figuring out how to help Draco with his trial. He would be damned to let him go to Azkaban. He wondered why Draco never mentioned it to him. If Draco didn't want to tell him then he was going to respect that but he was going to help regardless. Harry was so consumed with his thoughts that he didn't even register that Ron was yelling at him.

 

**Ten minutes previously (Draco's room)**

Draco woke up and instantly knew Harry was gone. He panicked for a moment. Did Harry regret staying the night? It wasn't as if they did anything but maybe Harry was rethinking everything. He shook his head to clear the panic. He opened his eyes and groaned. He could have slept longer but now that he was awake there was no way he was going to be able to fall back asleep. He reached out a hand to the side of the bed where Harry had slept. It was still warm so he hadn't been gone too long. He noticed a piece of parchment on the pillow. He sat up quickly and didn't even notice his friends watching him. He looked over the letter.

 

_Draco,_

_I am sorry that you have to wake up to a letter but I had to leave so that I could pack. Perhaps we can meet in the Great Hall for breakfast? I wouldn't mind if you brought Blaise and Pansy with you. I would like to get to know them too since they are your friends. I was serious about spending more time with you so be prepared to be bombarded with letters till you can see me. I was going to wake you but you looked so peaceful that I couldn't bring myself to disturb you._

_I have had nightmares daily since I was fourteen but last night was the first night that I slept without one. That is another thing that I have to thank you for. Again, you are my own personal savior. You have no idea what that means to me. I will see you at breakfast should you decide to come._

_Harry._

           

            Draco grinned and plopped back down on his pillow and let out a happy sigh. The thought of seeing Harry again gave him butterflies. He loved that Harry kept calling him his savior. Even if it was false, it filled him with so much warmth. There was a loud cough. He let out a very un-Malfoy like screech as he jumped up.

            Blaise and Pansy started laughing hysterically from the bed next to Draco's. Draco glared at them. "Bloody hell you scared me! Don't ever do that again!" Draco warned darkly. The previous screech made his threat very hallow. They shared a look and grinned at him. Draco rolled his eyes. "Why are you two watching me sleep? Quite creepy if you ask me. I am sure you could have found something else to amuse yourselves with." He drawled. Blaise snorted. "We had come to check up on you but imagine our surprise to find Potter in your bed. Care to tell us what that is about?" He smirked as he saw his best friend grow flustered. Not often one gets to see a Malfoy as anything other than cool and collected.

            Draco blushed. "Well I came across him last night in the quidditch field and we talked through a lot of things and we are friends now." He explained in a rush. Pansy raised an eyebrow. "Friends? I don’t know about you but my friends don’t sleep in my bed." She said suggestively waggling her eyebrows. His blush grew bigger. "Yes. For now." He replied with a mischievous grin. They all broke out in laughter. "So you have a plan on catching yourself a Gryffindor?" Pansy asked thrilled that Draco was finally feeling like himself again. He had been so depressed for ages. If Potter was the reason for the new spring in her best friends step then she'd welcome him with open arms.

            Draco smirked. "Not sure yet. I think he likes me but he has been through a lot so I am going to take my time to make sure he is okay, before we rush into anything." Blaise was shocked at Draco’s patience. Which is something the Malfoy heir is not known for. "You really like him, don't you?" Blaise asked quietly. Draco smiled gently. "I do Blaise. I really do." Pansy and Blaise smiled at each other.

            "I think he likes you." Pansy said smirking at the way Draco's face lit up. "Why? What did he say?" He asked in a rush. Blaise smirked. "He told us to call him Harry and said that he would be seeing more of us most likely. I think he was implying that he would be around you more." Draco blushed. On the inside he was screaming with joy. He jumped out of bed and threw on a change of clothes and used a charm to make himself clean.

            "What are you in a hurry for?" Blaise asked amused. Draco handed him the letter while he looked himself over in a mirror making sure he looked good. Blaise raised an eyebrow and showed Pansy the letter. She let out a little squeal. "Oh Draco he so likes you." He looked at her through the reflection in the mirror. "You think so?" He asked biting his lip. They both snorted. "Yes." They said in unison. Draco grinned at them warmly. Blaise looked over the letter one more time raising an eyebrow. "What is this about you being his savior?" Draco flushed all over again at the words. Not in embarrassment but pleasure. He loved that Harry thought that. Pansy's eyes widened. Draco cleared his throat. "It's nothing. Alright let’s go." He demanded and stalked out of the room. He was not about to tell them any of the things Harry and he talked about. That was between the two of them. They shook their head in disappointment as they followed him out. Perhaps they could weasel the details out of him later.

            They didn't pass anyone on the way down. There was only a couple people eating breakfast. The castle was nearly empty. The destruction was still all over the place. There was a crew of workers cleaning up the rubble. House elves could be seen doing odd jobs around the castle. Everyone else had left and gone home. The only reason he had stayed was to talk to Harry and to make sure his godfather was okay. Severus had been recovering in the hospital wing. Severus was released last night at some point so he had no reason to stay after breakfast. They sat down at the empty Slytherin table. Draco was too nervous to eat. He was about to start freaking out in his impatience when he heard yelling. He looked up curiously. The yelling was getting louder the closer they got to the great hall.

            "Oi! I am talking to you!" Ron yelled at Harry as he ran after him. Harry had been steadily ignoring him but it was getting harder and harder. Couldn’t he take a hint? Hermione and Ginny stayed silent not picking sides nor joining in. They came along to make sure nothing happened. Harry was about to walk into the Great Hall when Ron yelled again. "Coward!" Harry whirled around angrily. Draco was stunned to see Harry and Weasley arguing. The anger on Harry's face should have been enough of a warning but Weasley was never the brightest. Even Pansy and Blaise paled a little at the anger on his face. He was the savior of the wizarding world for a reason.

            "What did you just say?" Harry asked in a low voice. Ron looked scared for a moment before he plucked up the courage to keep going. "You heard me. You are running away from me." Ron said as he glared. Harry let out a humorless laugh. "Running away? No Ron I left so I wouldn't hurt you. But you seem to not value your life. Watch what you say to me." Harry warned darkly.

            Blaise, Pansy and Draco shared worried looks. They never saw him lose control like that. Apparently neither had Harry's friends. They were stunned.

            "Do you hear yourself Harry? He has already corrupted you. You need to forget about Malfoy. He is obviously messing with your head. Is it a potion? We can get you checked out. Come on, let's go see Madam Pomfrey." Draco glared. They were arguing about him? He didn't want to come in between Harry and his friends. He knew how much they meant to Harry.  

            Harry tried to reign in his anger, it was difficult with the shite Ron was spewing. "Ron I told you earlier either get used to this or get the fuck out of my life." Draco gasped quietly. "You would choose him over me?" Ron asked incredulously. "In a heartbeat." Harry promised. Pansy and Blaise shared a proud look. Their opinion of Harry increased tenfold. Draco was stunned. Did Harry mean it? Why? Why would he say that?

            Ron was gobsmacked. "After everything we have been through Ron, I had hoped that you would be there for me. What does it matter to you who I am friends with? I am not asking you to be his friend. I am not asking you to even like him. I am just asking you to support my decisions like I would do with you. He saved me Ron." Draco's face flushed as Pansy and Blaise sent him questioning looks. Ron shook his head sadly.

            "You really have been addled by the fight. You should get your head looked at to make sure Voldemort didn't screw with it." Everyone gasped. Harry couldn't keep away the anger. Every single glass window in the Great Hall shattered. Ron paled. Harry took a step closer to Ron. Who instinctively took a step back. Ron could see the anger on his face and it scared him. Ron was up against the door. He had nowhere to go.

            "I told you to watch what you say to me. I meant it. One more insulting word out of you and what happened to the windows will happen to you." Harry warned. Part of him wondered if he should feel sorry for threatening him, he was his best friend but a bigger part of him was disgusted at Ron's behavior. How could he be so thick?  

            "Harry he is a deatheater! His kind killed Percy! Think about what this would do to your image. You are the savior, a friendship with Malfoy would ruin you. He has always been a git to you. He has never cared about you before now. He isn't worth-" His words were cut off. Harry punched him so hard a sickening crack could be heard across the silent room. "You don't even know him Ron. I won't stand around and listen to you berate him. You called me a coward but that word belongs solely to you. The war is over Ron. If we are to start a change in the world to make sure that nothing like this happens again then you need to look past your own prejudices and your ignorance. Draco is an amazing person and if you bothered to even look you would see the same thing." Harry's anger was waning the more he talked about Draco. It amazed him that even thinking about him calmed his anger. He looked to Hermione who had her mouth open in shock. Ginny was torn between shock and anger. Why was Harry being so protective of Malfoy? He never got like that when they were dating! And Harry was just friends with him! Was it really necessary to punch Ron? He was just speaking his mind.

            Draco blushed at his words. Harry was defending him! He loved it. No one had ever stood up for him like that. Not even his parents. He swore he fell even further with him at that moment. Pansy and Blaise shared a knowing look. If they had any doubts about Harry's feelings before, they were wiped away now. It was obvious how much Harry cared for Draco. This type of anger went way past friendship.  

            "Get him away from me Hermione. Take him to the hospital wing. Or home. I don't care which. Just get him the fuck away from me. Just looking at him sickens me." Harry said bitterly not even bothering to look at Ron. Hermione and Ginny grabbed a hold of Ron and turned to take him away. Hermione stopped and looked over at Harry.

            "I'll talk to him. He'll come around." Harry shook his head. "I don't care if he ever does." Hermione's eyes filled with tears. "You can't mean that." She choked out. Harry looked at her sadly. "I do. After everything we have been through. All the sleepless nights. All the memories, the good, the bad and the bloody worst. Ron is willing to throw it all away for his own hatred. He talks about the prejudice of the slytherins. Hypocritical arse. That is not a friend of mine. Just go." Harry told her. She nodded and they took off without another word.

            Harry took a calming breath trying to will away the remaining anger. He raised his hand in the air and the glass repaired itself instantly. All evidence of his anger wiped away. Draco raised his eyebrows. Wandless magic? Not even a spell with a wand would have repaired all the windows instantly. He would have needed to redo the spell a couple times. There was just too many windows. He looked over to his friends and saw their surprise as well. Harry turned around and saw that Draco had seen the whole thing. He was mortified. Perfect, they just had to see that. He groaned as he walked over to him. "Well this is embarrassing." He said as he sat down and clunked his head against the table. They laughed. Draco rubbed Harry's back.

            "It wasn't embarrassing Harry. It was bloody brilliant. Thank you, Harry. No one has ever defended me like that before." Draco said proudly. Harry lifted his head and looked at him surprised. Draco smiled gently. "I told you to embrace it and you did. It was amazing." Harry smiled. The more he thought about it he was glad that he let out his anger. It felt good. He felt free. He laid his head on Draco's shoulder and closed his eyes.

            "Thank you. I don't know how you do it. You have this uncanny ability to make everything better." He said with a sigh. Draco chuckled. He lifted Harry's chin with his fingers. "It's a secret." He whispered as he stared into Harry's eyes. Harry's breath hitched as he looked into those beautiful gray eyes. "I like secrets." Harry whispered back. Draco smirked. "Is that so?" Harry nodded not trusting himself to talk. All he could think about was how close their faces were. A cough jarred him from his thoughts. He looked over to see Draco's friends. He jumped slightly breaking the trance they were under. Draco glared at Blaise. Pansy smirked.

            "Draco is right. That was brilliant." Blaise praised ignoring the daggers his friend was glaring at him. Harry flushed as he looked down shyly. "Erm thanks." He was uncomfortable about praise. Not many people ever congratulated him before. He busied himself with grabbing food to cover up any awkward pauses. The rest of the group exchanged puzzled looks. Draco shook his head letting his friends know that he had no idea what that was about.

            When Harry composed his face, he looked back up pleased to see they were all eating as well. "So what are all of your plans for the summer?" He asked curiously, changing the subject. Pansy and Blaise looked at Draco who tried to discreetly kick them. This did not go unnoticed by Harry. He was slightly amused that Draco didn't want to tell him about the trial. It filled him with warmth. How could Ron think that Draco wanted to use him?

            "Um well my family has something planned in about a month and if everything goes to plan then I will have the rest of the summer to do absolutely nothing." Draco said looking down at his food. He did not want to tell Harry about the trial. He was so nervous. He didn't want Harry to intervene on his behalf. Which knowing Harry he would do. He was not about to trouble Harry over his problems when Harry had so much going on already. Pansy and Blaise shared worried looks.

            "Well before your family trip do you think we could spend some time together? I want to show you around to some parts of my life." Draco looked up, his face lighting up. He smiled warmly at Harry. "I would like that." Harry smiled. He was glad that his anger hadn't scared him off. Maybe it was a Slytherin thing.

            "You know we could always plan a way to get Weasley back." Pansy blurted out. Harry looked at her considering the thought. "Hmm. And what would you do?" He asked curiously. His question surprised the table. They thought for sure that Harry would have tried to convince her otherwise.

            "My my it looks like there is more to the golden boy then we thought." Blaise said with a smirk. "I can see why Draco is interested in you." Draco flushed and aimed a kick at him. Harry himself blushed and looked down at his food with a smile on his face.

            "Do add spiders to whatever plan you cook up." Harry said after he calmed his blush down. "Spiders?" Blaise asked curiously. Harry snorted. "Do you remember our third year when we were learning about boggarts?" Draco was the first to figure it out, he burst out laughing. Once the other two remembered what Ron's boggart had been they quickly joined in on the laughter. Harry smiled at them. He was beginning to really take a liking to them. They were not at all like he had thought they would be.

            "You are wicked. I like it." Draco said smiling. Harry blushed but smiled back. "Is there a story behind his hatred of spiders?" Pansy asked. "Oh Merlin yes." Harry said as he launched into the explanation of what happened their second year. By the end of it they were all laughing and looking at Harry with respect. "I can't believe you made it out of there alive. You were so young. I am impressed." Blaise said with a slight awe to his voice. Harry shrugged and looked down at his food embarrassed. "Erm well I have always been good at surviving. I was already adjusted to dangerous situations. I guess it was just second nature." While Harry played with his food the others frowned.

            "You don't like compliments?" Pansy asked gently. Harry looked up at her. "I just don't get them often and they make me uncomfortable." Harry whispered. Everyone looked sharply at him. What was he talking about? He's the savior of the world for crying out loud. Harry saw the looks and shook his head. "Everyone knows who I am and knows what I have done but everything I do is expected of me. Already mapped out. So if I do something good it has already been assumed. They praise me for who they think I am but not for what I actually do." Draco reached over and pulled Harry into a hug. Harry sighed at the contact and closed his eyes.

            Pansy and Blaise shared a concerned look. They had no idea who this Harry was. They like everyone else had just assumed that they knew him. "Well then I will spend every day filling your head with compliments till it makes you cocky." Draco teased running his fingers through Harry's hair. Harry laughed warmly. "Is that so I will be just like you?" He asked cheekily. Draco snorted with a smile. "Prat. I will have you know I am not cocky. I just tell the truth." Harry laughed out loud enjoying the feeling of being in his arms. Harry pulled away from the hug and instantly missed the warmth. He laid his head on Draco's shoulder not wanting to completely let go of his contact. Draco smiled widely at that. He looked up to see Pansy and Blaise smiling at the duo. Draco rolled his eyes at them. With his friends and Harry by his side, Draco knew he could handle whatever life could throw at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think of the fight with Ron? Was Harry too harsh? Let me know your thoughts. Next chapter, Draco confronts his father. See you next time. :)


	9. Facing Severus Snape and Lucius Malfoy

            Too soon for both Harry and Draco's liking it was time to leave. They promised each other they would write as soon as they were able. Harry bade them all a safe trip and gave Draco a kiss on his cheek before hurrying away slightly embarrassed. Draco apparated home with a smile on his face rubbing the spot that Harry kissed, completely forgetting about Blaise and Pansy, leaving them staring at the spot Draco apparated from with amused eyes. He didn't even notice that he had made his way inside. Nor did he notice when he made his way into the dining room. He certainly didn't even realize his parents were talking to him. His mind was filled with thoughts of Harry and how adorable he looked right after he kissed him on the cheek. He subconsciously rubbed his cheek again with a big smile. His smile grew when he thought about sending him a letter. He was worried that it was too soon. He had just left him minutes ago. Draco sighed happily. He should probably worry about how quickly he was falling for Harry. But he couldn't bring himself to care. Life was too short. And he was tired of not get what he wanted. So who cares if it was too soon. 

"-raco. Draco! DRACO!" Draco startled and jumped slightly looking around the room with wide eyes when he realized his parents and his godfather were staring at him like he had lost his mind. He flushed all over and tried to look away. "Erm what was that mother?" He asked quietly. Severus and his father snorted. 

"Where was your head at? I have been trying to get your attention for a couple minutes now." His mother asked curiously. Narcissa had never seen her son act like that before. Nor had she ever seen him smile so warmly. Not that he smiled often at all. If possible, he went even redder. "It is nothing." He coughed trying to clear the embarrassment. Severus snorted. Draco looked sharply at him. 

"I believe young Draco is in love." Severus said with a sneer. His mother raised her eyebrows. Draco groaned and covered his face in his hands. His father chuckled at his son's embarrassment. He was actually enjoying this. With the Dark Lord gone he had hoped his son would snap out of the funk he had been in for so long. Lucius knew he needed to be supportive of his son, something that he had not been his whole life, if he was going to restore the family name. He felt a tiny pang of guilt at knowing that he had made many piss poor decisions that unfortunately effected his son. Only a tiny pang though, it was the job of the heir to bide his sires wishes after all. 

"Well whoever she is I am sure she is lovely." Lucius said quietly. He was expecting some kind of recognition that he was trying but it was the wrong thing to say apparently as Draco lifted his head and glared at him. He was so surprised at the glare he was rendered speechless. Never has his son glared at him. Not even when he brought him to the Dark Lord did he glare. He couldn't possibly fathom what was wrong with his statement. Lucius thought he had been rather nice. 

Narcissa also could not understand what riled her son so much. She was actually quite proud that her husband was being considerate. Severus furrowed his brows for a moment lost in thought. His eyes widened and he subconsciously let out an "Oh." Of understanding. Draco's eyes also widened. He shot his parents a look of panic. He had no idea how they would react to finding out he was gay. Severus saw the panic and smirked in amusement. Ohh this would be fun. He hadn't had any entertainment in such a long time. 

Narcissa and Lucius shared a confused look before turning to their son. Draco shook his head. No this is not the time. He wanted to tell them after he was already in a relationship with Harry and therefore they couldn't attempt to sink their claws into him further. Draco didn't want any of their negative opinions to affect him. He thought about Harry and what Harry would say to him if he was here. He thought of the phrase Harry made him say. "I do what I want." He whispered quietly to himself. Everyone in the room shared a look. They heard what he said but had no idea what it meant. 

He squared his shoulders, took a deep breath and stared at his parents with determination. Lucius arched an eyebrow. He was impressed with his son. This was a side of him he had not seen before. "Father I appreciate your statement but I am not interested in a woman. I am interested in a man." Both his parent’s jaws dropped. If the situation had been different Draco would have laughed at their expressions. It was so unlike them. Severus didn't even bother hiding his glee. He had to restrain from laughing outright. 

Lucius was gobsmacked. His son was gay? He was mad that he never knew or even saw it coming. Was this a new development? He was not sure on where to take this. He was not against homosexuals, he just never thought his son would be one. He thought over his emotions. Did he care if son was gay? Kind of. He was worried about an heir. The Malfoy line could not die out. But if he was going to have a spot in his son’s life he would need to be accepting of him. They could come with alternatives for children later. Because there would be children regardless of what his son’s preferences were. He sighed. 

Draco braced himself for the worst. He could take it. He would take on the world for Harry. That included the wrath of his father. "Well then whoever he is I am sure he is just as lovely." Lucius bit out a little uncomfortably. Narcissa looked at her husband in awe. She was so proud of him. Draco was stunned. He felt confunded. He couldn't believe it. His dad approved? He was so happy he wanted to jump for joy. So he did. He bounced up and down and threw himself at his father and hugged him tightly. Lucius stiffened at the hug. He hadn't received a hug from his son since he was three. He awkwardly pat the back of his shoulder hoping the contact would end soon. 

"Oh thank you father. I was so worried you wouldn't approve. But it didn't matter to me if you did. Nothing was going to stop this. Not even Voldemort himself would have stopped me." Everyone in the room gasped slightly at his use of the Dark Lords name. Draco didn't notice he was too excited. He stepped away with a big grin on his face. 

"So who is the lucky guy?" His mother asked still recovering from her son mention his name. The grin vanished off his face and he looked down at his feet. Everyone shared a worried look. Draco did NOT want to tell them it was Harry. His dad may approve of this but there was no way that he would be okay with Harry Potter. He was worried. 

"Erm that doesn't matter. I will tell you his name later." His parents shared another look. Who could have Draco so worried? Severus's mind was reeling. Who could possibly have caught Draco's attention that he would be so worried about telling his parents? 

"Okay I can see that it's bothering you. We will let you tell us in your own time." His mother said softly. Draco shot her a look of relief. "How long have you liked him?" She asked trying to keep the conversation light. He appreciated her efforts. He sat back down and smiled warmly. "Oh ages. I do mean ages. Since I was eleven. But it was really just more of admiration at first. But we aren't exactly together... yet." Severus's eyebrow arched. Since he was eleven? He couldn't remember Draco ever showing interest in anyone unless it was to bully Potter. His eyes widened. No way. It couldn't be. Gods anyone but him. 

"What do you mean yet?" Lucius asked raising an eyebrow. Draco gave a small smile. "Well he has been through a lot in his life and the war left him... a little broken. I don't want to rush into anything so I am going to be there for him as his friend until I think he is ready for anything more." Narcissa let out cooing noises. Lucius and Draco looked at her a little shocked and slightly disgusted. 

"That is the sweetest thing I have ever heard. Oh I am so proud of you Draco." She said rushing forward and giving him a hug. Draco was unsure of what to think. This was the first time in years his mother hugged him. Neither of his parents were the maternal sort. What was there end game? Why the show of care? What were they after? Draco knew they didn't care about his happiness so why act like they were a family?

Lucius smiled at the sight. He hadn't felt this close to his family in years. "Does he like you?" Narcissa asked. Draco smiled widely. "Yes. We haven't talked about it but I think so. Pansy and Blaise said it was obvious. We talked last night for hours and hours. Well into the morning. It was... nice. We worked over some issues that we had and he told me his whole life story. I learned so much about him. Every word he spoke I fell more and more for him." Draco sighed lovingly. He should probably care how much of a sap he was turning into but he didn't care. If it continued, he would probably wonder if he was turning into a Hufflepuff. Part of him was worried about how much he was telling his parents. First rule of being a Slytherin: _Words can be used against you. When in doubt, silence is your friend._ Draco knew his father was cataloging everything he said. 

Lucius smirked. His son had it bad, he just hoped that the boy returned his feelings. The last thing they needed was for the boy to take it bad and this to get out to the papers. They couldn't afford any negative attention, not with the trial just around the corner. Severus paled a little at Draco's explanation. God no, let the fates be on his side. Just this once. Please.

"Draco, is he a Slytherin?" Draco winced. Damn his godfather was too smart for his own good. "Erm no." He refused to look at him. Instead he looked at his father who was currently looking at Severus with an eyebrow raised. "It wouldn't happen to be a Gryffindor would it?" Draco winced again. He chanced a look at his face and saw recognition on his face. Well shite. No way out of it now. 

"You have got to be kidding me Draco!" Severus said exasperated. "Really you could do so much b-" His rant was cut off by a window shattering. Draco stood up angrily. Everyone was stunned. "Don't. Don't you dare insult him! You have no idea what he has been through!" Severus scoffed. "No! You don't! I know everything Severus. He told me everything." Severus paled slightly. Everything? His parents shared 'what the fuck' looks with each other. Draco looked at the curiosity in his mother's eyes and the calculating look in his fathers. He couldn't talk freely in front of them. Draco closed his eyes and hoped this works. He raised his hand and thought of several privacy spells, not only that but he also just willed his magic to allow the illusion of privacy so that his parents couldn't hear what he was about to say. 

"And I for one am astounded at your behavior." Severus raised his eyebrows. That was not what he expected. "You look at him and see your past. News flash he is not his father! He is the most caring, loveable and sweetest person I have ever met. You have no idea what kind of life he has lived. What kind of abuse he lived through at home." Severus paled. Abuse? "Despite that he treats everyone with respect." Severus scoffed again. Draco glared. "Everyone that treats him with respect that is. You never once gave him a shot. You have clung to the past so strongly you couldn't even see a boy so starved for attention. You couldn't see a boy who wanted to please everyone. He has lived his whole bloody life being used as a fucking weapon. He didn't get a choice in the matter. He didn't get to say no. He was so alone for so long. If you want to hate him then hate him for something he has actually done to you. Do not hate him because you are too cowardly to see past your own hate for his father. Because once again he is not his dad. He has done absolutely nothing to you. You have treated him like shite for no reason. You need to grow up! You were supposed to be the adult and instead you acted more of a child then he ever did! You assumed you knew him without even bothering to try. And you know what the worst thing about it is. Part of him thinks he deserves it." Severus winced. This is not how he intended the conversation to turn out.

"He blames himself for everything. Even their deaths." Severus gaped. How could he blame himself for that? He was a baby. "I tried to make him see reason but years of thinking that won't go away overnight. Years of verbal abuse don’t go away overnight. Years of self-loathing don’t go away overnight. He said he admired you. Can you believe it? You treat him like dirt on the bottom of your trainers and he admires you. He was bitter with his mother for never forgiving you." Severus closed his eyes tightly. Gods his heart felt like it was breaking. "He said if it had been him he would have forgiven you. He couldn't understand why she wouldn't. He sees the world in different colors then anyone I have ever met. He even said his dad was a prat. He wished he could change things. He said you are the bravest person he has ever met." Shame coursed through Severus. He wanted Draco to shut up. He didn't want to hear any of this. He wanted to crawl back into his hole of ignorance and pretend like this conversation hadn’t happened. He wanted to go back to a world where things made sense and he wasn’t actually feeling guilty over his treatment of Potter of all people. 

"For you to watch over him regardless of how much you hate him. He said that no one had ever been there like that for him before. He had no one Severus. No one. Can you imagine that? Despite the way you treated him he was in awe that you did." Severus put his head into his hands. He felt like the biggest arsehole in history. Draco was right. He couldn't look past his own anger and bitterness to see Potter for who he was. He was just a boy. He was a grown man and yet he was the one who acted so childishly. 

"It kills me that you put him through all that. What kills me more is that I know he would forgive you." Severus snapped his head up in shock. Draco paused pleased to see the pain in his eyes. Good. That meant some of what he is saying was getting through to him. 

Draco nodded. "Yes. I know he would. He has a heart of gold. But he is hurting Severus. He was so broken. He said he wished he had died that night. Both as a baby and during the war." Draco let out a sob. Severus's eyes went wide in horror. "He was in a bad frame of mind last night. He said that if I hadn't come along that night to talk to him that he would have faded away. He implied that he would have killed himself." Severus paled. Potter always seemed so strong. So full of himself. So confident. This made him feel so much guiltier. 

"He thinks that what is left of him after the war is... the item..." Draco said vaguely shooting him a meaningful look. Severus's brows furrowed trying to understand what Draco was trying to say. Draco sighed. "The seventh." Severus gasped with wide eyes. Draco nodded sadly. He knew he needed to give some details of their conversation or Severus would never understand. He knew his godfather would never tell a soul of the things he was revealing. "He… he has been through more horrors then I can imagine. And he did a lot of it alone. Can you imagine it? Would you ever want to be in his place? I sure wouldn't. I would have died long ago if it had been reversed. He just wants to be seen for who he is. After everything he has been through I think he deserves that. Just... give him a shot. Please. You owe it to him. Not for me. Not because I fancy him. But you need to do this for him. Please." Draco begged. 

Severus nodded weakly. He was so ashamed of the way he has acted all this time. He needed to talk to Potter and let him know how sorry he was. He was not looking forward to that at all. Apologies are not his thing. Draco said he would forgive him but he didn't deserve any forgiveness nor did he want it. Part of him wished he hadn’t come to the manor. But a bigger part knew he needed to have been put in his place. 

Draco let out a whoop of victory. "Oh thank you Severus. Thank you so much. You don't know how much this means to me." Severus smiled weakly. "You really care for him don't you?" Draco's face softened, his eyes brightened and a small sweet smile graced his lips. "Oh yes I do."  Draco released the privacy wards with a sigh. Most of them were gone but the main one held. His parents hadn't heard what he said. 

Lucius and Narcissa had been thoroughly shocked through Draco's angry rant. They had never seen him so angry. Specially at Severus. He was not someone people ever yelled at. Despite not being able to hear what was being said, they could clearly see the anger in Draco's eyes and the shame in Severus's. Lucius was dumbfounded that he hadn't been able to expel all of the silencing charms. There had been some basic ones and even some darker ones that he had taught his son but there was one that he couldn't figure out. It had been put up with a spell he had never seen before. It was different, almost like it had a will of it's own. Which confused him. Where could he have learned a spell like that?

Narcissa had a strong suspicion on who her son's love interest could be. Her son said he fancied him since he was eleven. He was not in Slytherin and was in Gryffindor. He had a hard life and was hated by Severus. The options of people that could be were pretty slim. She sent Lucius a look but she could tell he was lost. She smirked at the fact that she figured it out before he did. But the smirk faded when she let the implications of who it was sink in. They would have to tread carefully if he was to be involved. 

"So opposites really do attract." Narcissa said smirking at everyone's surprise. Draco was impressed he figured his father would have figured it out first. "You... don't mind?" Draco asked wringing his shirt in his hands worriedly. Lucius saw this and frowned. He was frustrated at how scared his son was and he was also upset that his wife seemed to know who it was before him. 

"Oh I don't mind. I actually think it is a brilliant match. I should have seen it sooner. You constantly complained about him. I was beginning to think you had an obsession." Severus snorted. Draco blushed while Lucius tilted his head trying to think. The only person he ever heard Draco complain about was Potter. His eyes widened when everything clicked. "No way." He whispered. He couldn't believe it. Potter? Harry bloody Potter. Gods his son sure knew how to pick them. 

Draco shot his father a worried look. Had he figured it out already? He tried to control his facial features but his panic was making it obvious on his face. "Potter?" His father asked weakly. Draco closed his eyes briefly and nodded firmly. No point in lying. He opened his eyes to see a shocked look on his father's face. He tried looking to see if there was any hate or disgust but he couldn't see any indications. Just the blank mask his father always wore.

Lucius could see the distress all over his son's face. He knew he would need to think carefully about how he worded his thoughts or he was going to lose his son and any chance of restoring their name. And with everything going on with the Malfoy name he needed his son’s support. The only way for the Malfoy name to get out of the mud was for Draco to make something of himself. His son liking Potter was such a shock. The boy who had caused him so much pain these past couple years was his son's love interest. Karma really was a bitch. He sighed loudly. "I suppose you could have done worse." He finally replied. Severus and Narcissa shared a stunned look. Never did they ever think that Lucius would be okay with his son fancying Harry Potter. 

Hope sprang to Draco's eyes. He wasn't insulted by the back handed compliment. He knew if his father had meant what he said it would have been with malice. "Do you mean it?" He asked quietly wringing his hands once again. Lucius could see the hope in his eyes and he smiled slightly, good he could work with this. "Yes. I won't have you pining away after him though, so make sure you tell him how you feel soon." Lucius advised strongly. He meant it too. He may be okay with all of this but he was not about to see his son moping around wondering if Potter loved him back. That was not something he wanted to see. He would be damned to see his son acting like a crushed lovesick school girl. 

Draco nodded furiously. "Yes father." He said with excitement laced through his voice. Draco wasn’t an idiot. He knew his father had an ulterior motive. Maybe his father was going to try to use this as a way to get pride back to the family name. Whatever his father’s plans were, Draco was determined they would fail. No one used Harry like that and would get away with it. Before Lucius could respond an owl flew straight through the broken window. The owl dropped a letter straight on Draco's head. He scowled at the owl as the room broke out in laughter. He looked to where the owl had flown in and with a twinge of embarrassment remembered he had been the one to break the window. Draco raised a hand and the glass repaired itself. 

The room was stunned. "When did you learn wandless magic?" Severus asked curiously. Draco looked up just as stunned as they were. He hadn't even realized he had done it. "I-I am not sure. I was just copying what Harry did this morning." During the heat of the argument with Severus he hadn't realized he was using wandless then too. He said a little distractedly. Severus arched an eyebrow. "Potter was performing wandless magic?" He asked as Draco nodded. 

"Yes. I was in the Great Hall with Pansy and Blaise when Harry and Weasley came in yelling at each other." Severus's eyes widened. Trouble in the golden trio. That was surprising. "Weasley said that Harry's brain must have been addled by the fight with Voldemort if Harry was willing to be my friend." Lucius and Severus let out a growl, neither one ever caring much for the redhead. Narcissa gasped in outrage. How dare the red menace insult Draco. 

"What did Potter say?" Lucius asked suspiciously. Draco smiled softly. "Well as soon Weasel said that every single window in the Great Hall busted." Lucius's eyes widened comically. "Harry told Weasley that he didn't know what he was talking about. He defended me. He told Weasley that he could either get over his hatred of me or he could get out of his life." Severus's eyes widened dramatically. That was most... unexpected. Narcissa and Lucius warmed up to the idea of their son being romantically involved with Potter. 

"Harry warned him not to insult me and he unwisely did not listen. He started in on me again and Harry punched him so hard in the face there was bone breaking. It was a sickening sound." All eyebrows raised. "He told Granger to get him out of there and he told her that he didn't care if Weasley ever came around to the idea. He was so angry. But it is to be expected. After everything they have been through you would think he would have been there for him. At least that is what Harry said." Lucius and Narcissa shared a look. If Potter really cared about their son then they could use that to their advantage.  

"After Weasley was taken away Harry raised his hand like I did and all the windows were repaired at once. It was quite a sight to see." Lucius’s eyes bugged at that. To do all that without a wand? Impressive indeed. Before anyone could say anything, the owl gave an impatient hoot. Draco chuckled at the owl and picked up the letter. 

__

_ Dear Draco. My personal savior,  _

_ I told you I was going to bombard you with letters. I was not kidding. I feel rather embarrassed about sending the letter so quickly. It can't have been more than a half hour since you departed. As strange as it sounds I already miss your company. I have finally packed all of my things. I will be spending time at Grimwald place if you would like to stop by. Any time. I have started working on a project. No I won't tell you what it is. It is a surprise. Don't scowl. I know you like to get your way. Not this time.  _

_ It is so lonely here. So quiet. I walk through the halls and I am reminded of Sirius so strongly. It makes me wish for comfort. Maybe I need a cat. Oh Merlin I am going to turn into one of those crazy cat ladies. I can already picture your confusion. You are probably turning your head slightly wondering what I am talking about. It is a muggle expression. They call women that when they can't find love and have no one to talk to. So the women get a bunch of cats and live out their lives talking to the cats and pretending they can talk back. Not that I am a woman. But same theory I suppose. Awkward.  _

_ I hope you are having fun or at least enjoying yourself. I know what you are thinking. I can already see you rolling your eyes. What could you be enjoying when we only just saw each other. I saw Ron on my way out. I don't think he saw me though. Which is a good thing, I am still angry. Madam Promfrey fixed him up well enough but that only made me want to go over and mess up his face again. Fucking prat. I should be sad about it all but I am just too angry to care at the moment. I am actually enjoying the anger. That would probably sound weird to anyone else but I know you understand. Thank you for that. Thank you for letting me be angry. Thank you for teaching me that it is okay to be angry. Thank you for letting me be me. Just thank you.  _

_ I was contacted by the Ministry. They don't want me to go back to Hogwarts for our makeup year. They offered me a position as an Auror. Express, with no training. That is just not what I want to do. I politely declined… okay I told them to get bent. Charming right? With my people skills I might just become a politician. Also, fuck them. When has the Ministry ever done right by me? No thanks. Besides you'll be at Hogwarts. Sounds much better than going to some stuffy office learning to be an Auror. Risking my life fighting the bad guy for people who don’t care about me. They only care about what I can do for them. _

_ I still have no idea what I want to do. Maybe I will just do nothing. I could lounge around all day and write memoirs of my life. Ha. As if anyone would want to read that. Don't even think about defending me Draco. I can already hear you trying to tell me that I need to have more confidence and that anyone would love to read about me. Anyways, I think it will take some more time before I decide what I want to do. Nothing is attracting my attention.  _

_ Enough about me. I want to talk about you though. I loved your plans for after school. I think it is fascinating, well actually no. I think you are fascinating. Talk to your father. Let him know what your plans are now before you start school. The quicker you get it done with the better. Remember, I do what I want. Just repeat it until you are ready. You can do this. You have the strength to take control over your life. I believe in you.  _

_ I was wondering if you knew how Snape was doing? I am not comfortable sending him a letter but I do hope he is doing well. He didn't look so good the last time I had seen him so I am a little worried. Did the venom clear his body? Any lasting effects? Will he be okay? If he needs any help let me know. You don't have to let him know that it would be coming from me. I know I am not his biggest fan but I really would like to help if I can.  _

_ I should probably do something useful today. I think I shall get started on my project. It will take up a lot of my time. But if you ever want to pay me a visit don't hesitate. I will make the time. I have bored you enough, I will go. Hopefully I will see you soon.  _

_ -Harry _

_ P.S. This bird is a gift to you. I know you have your family owls but I had a hunch that you yourself don't have one. He is a tad on the small size but he is still growing. He reminds me of you. Sweet and caring but stubborn as hell and can have a mean strike if pushed. I asked him if he would make the journey and he bit me! The little bugger. I hope you like him. If not, you can send him back to me. I haven't picked out a name. I figured you could do the honor. Take care Draco. _

_ _

_ _ The occupants in the room watched the emotions play on Draco's face with growing amusement. Who knew he was even capable of all of them. They certainly hadn't seen them before. They watched with arched brows as they could see happiness, humor, confusion, frustration, fright, embarrassment, pleasure, pride, more happiness and a lot of adoration. 

Draco felt his cheeks pink a little as he read the letter. Gods he was over the moon for him. He knew he probably looked like a fool grinning from ear to ear. Draco looked down at the little owl with wonder. He wondered how Harry knew he didn't have his own owl. Their owls were for the whole family. It wasn't like he needed one just for himself. Why bother when his parent’s owls were there? But looking at the little owl in front of him, Draco felt such affection for Harry. It was so sweet to gift him like this. 

The owl looked up at him with beautiful dark blue eyes. His fur was a dark brown with white spots. He was a little thing but he was so cute. He disagreed with Harry's assumptions. This owl reminded him of Harry not the other way around. He reached out his hand and let the owl smell him before he stroked his head softly. The owl let out a noise that resembled a purr. Draco smiled at him. The blue of his eyes was almost as memorizing as Harry's green eyes. He knew the perfect name. 

"Azure." Draco mumbled quietly to the owl. The owl gave an affectionate nip to his finger as if to say he liked the name. Draco grinned at the owl and looked up to see curious looks from the others. Draco cleared his throat. He didn't really have the words to explain so he just shoved the letter over to Severus. He didn't want bother waiting to see their looks. He looked back down and spent the time petting his new owl. 

By the time he was finished cataloging all the things he would need to take care of his owl in his head Severus was done reading. Draco snatched it away before his parents could read it. Severus was surprised at the distrust Draco was showing his parents. For him to have only showed the letter to him it showed his parents that he was not going to play their games. Severus rolled his eyes. Purebloods. They couldn’t just talk out their problems, like normal people. 

“Well his affection for you is clear.” Severus said smirking internally at the disgruntled looks on Narcissa and Lucius’s faces. Draco snapped his head up to look at his godfather. "You think so?" He asked, hating the insecurity that could be heard in his voice. "Obviously." Severus drawled handing the letter back to him. Draco glared at him. Partly due to his tone but mainly for the fact that Harry was still caring about his godfather despite his atrocious behavior. Severus sighed. He knew he had a lot to take care of concerning Potter. It was one thing to hear it from Draco but another to see the evidence. 

Lucius was outraged that his son would show the letter to Severus but not them. He knew his son was suspicious but he had hoped his approval of Potter would have Draco’s resolve softening. Looks like he would have to try harder. 

“The letter mentioned something about your plans for the future?” Severus asked. Giving Draco a pointed look. Draco narrowed his eyes at his godfather. How dare he force his hand. He sighed, not really wanting to start a row with his father. 

"I am going back to Hogwarts.” Draco held up a hand when it looked like his father was going to interrupt. “I am going to finish out my final year that I never got to do. I am not going into politics." 

Lucius raised a brow in surprise at the words and also the finality that his son spoke in. This was news to him. "I have no idea what I want to do yet. I want to do something regarding potions. I don't know if it will be a mastery in potions or something else. I haven't decided yet. I may even want to take a year off and travel. Again, I don't know. I will tell you when I finally do decide." His tone was final, indicating that he didn't give a damn what any of them had to say on the matter. 

Severus and Lucius both arched a brow. They were wondering where this new assertive side to him came from. Narcissa was proud of the man he was turning into, she just wished he wasn’t going against their plans for him. Draco squared his shoulders. "I am not asking. I will be 18 in less than a month. I have been an adult for a year. I do not need your permission. I have never wanted to go into politics. I am going to make a name for myself and it will be the furthest thing from everyone’s expectations of a Malfoy. If you disagree with my decision, then tough shite." Severus had to hold back a snicker at the thunderous look on Lucius's face. "Again, I don't need your permission. I am my own person. I am my own man. You cannot force me into it either. You can take away my inheritance if you wish. Although since I did come of age a year ago, you would have to fight that in the courts and believe me I will take you to court. I don't think you want negative attention right now." Draco said with a hard glint in his eyes, thoroughly enjoying this. 

His parents were gobsmacked. Who was this person and what happened to their child? Lucius was furious with the thinly veiled insults. Narcissa was just stunned speechless. On the outside Draco was standing firm and proud. On this inside however, he was a mess. Good god he just threatened his father. He was sure he was going to kill him. What was he thinking? Lucius was stunned. No one besides the Dark Lord has ever threatened him before. No one. Part of him bristled at the fact that his son even dared to speak to him like that. Another part of him was... proud. His son grew a back bone. One that would take him far in life. He needed his son to be on his side. He had a hunch all of this had to do with Potter. He would have to find another to get his son following his footsteps in becoming a politician but for now he would have to let it go. There was still time. 

"Draconis." Draco cringed internally at the use of his whole name. It took everything he had to keep the strong façade going. "I will remind you of whose house this is." Draco nodded. "I will not have you speak to me like that again." Lucius warned darkly. "I have come to the realization that I cannot force you into anything you do not want to do." Draco's heart started beating faster. What a load of shite. That was exactly what he had been doing Draco’s whole life. Did he think he was fooling anyone? Did he honestly think he could worm his way into Draco's heart? It was 17 years too late to attempt that. 

"Whatever you decide to do is fine with me as long as you make a decision before the end of your school year. I will not have indecision on your part prevent you from actually getting a job." Draco let out a relieved breath he hadn't been aware he was holding. If his father had a leg to stand on, he would have given an alternative just now. So his father had to come up with a back up plan. Good, that gave Draco time. "Yes father." Narcissa was once again stunned at the changes in her son. She had half a mind to make sure he wasn't imperiused or an imposter. 

*Pop* A house elf apparated into the room. "Master Malfoy a Mister Dirkley is here to see you." The elf squeaked. "That would be the lawyer. Send him in Izzy." Lucius said with a sigh. Draco took the opportunity to leave with Azure. He made his way to his bedroom and transfigured a cage for the owl. He did not want to stick around and listen to the boring plans for their trial. He didn't even want to think about the trial. Draco picked up a piece of parchment and wrote out a reply to Harry. Azure started hooting to get his attention. He stuck his little leg out through the bars. 

"You just delivered. You need to rest. I can send this out with one of father's owls." Azure glared up at him and hooted angrily. He stuck his leg out as far as he could go. Draco smirked at the bird in amusement. "If you are certain." The owl hooted. He unhooked the cage and tied the letter to his leg. "Make sure he gets the letter and if you would like you can rest there if need be." Azure nipped his finger a little harder than necessary. Draco chuckled in response as he opened his bedroom window. He stood and watched the owl fly off into the distance well after he was long gone. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Harry defends Draco last chapter. Draco defends Harry this chapter. Only fair right? ;)  
> Did Draco say too much to Snape? I would like to hear your thoughts. Should he have found a better way to confront his godfather?   
> There was a bit of foreshadowing here, any theories on Draco's sudden ability to use some wandless magic? I won't be explaining just yet but I would love to see if anyone has picked up on what it could mean.   
> Until next chapter. :)


	10. Letters

            Harry was currently in the study at Grimwald place pouring over many of the law books that the black family library had. He was rather surprised at how many of them there were. Although, them being a questionable pureblood family who was used to getting their way shouldn't have surprised him. Harry had already sent out a letter to Kingsley asking for the records he needed to look over. He would have to drop by Gringotts soon as well and see if they could help him out. Harry sighed, there was so much to do.

            Harry was trying not to think about his letter. Was it too soon? Would Draco reply? Would he think his letter silly? Was his invite too forward? He was a bumbling mess of nerves. He sighed and grabbed a quill determined to focus. Harry tried putting Draco and the letter in the back of his mind. He was going to find a way to ensure that Draco and his family would come out of this trial unscathed. Part of him loathed to help Lucius in any way but he couldn't help but feel bad for him as well. If Lucius really had regretted joining Voldemort than he had to do this. The man wasn't as brave as Snape though. He could see the cowardice in the senior Malfoy to just go along with the homicidal maniac. If he had truly wanted out, then he could have found a way. Like Snape. The thought alone sent a little guilt through him. Not everyone is brave though. There was a reason Lucius was not put into Gryffindor. The slimy git. He would definitely be having a long talk with the man after this was all said and done with, that’s for sure. Also he wasn’t about to help Lucius for free either. He knew the man would never stop trying to run Draco’s life. Harry would help Lucius with this trial in return for something much more valuable than the man would be willing to part with. But the beauty of the man’s sensitive position would entail that he didn’t have a leg to stand on. Harry would get what he wanted. That much he was certain. And there wasn’t a damn thing Lucius Malfoy could do to stop him.  

            A tapping on his window cut off any further thoughts. He looked over and could see the owl he gifted Draco with. Harry rushed over quickly and yanked the window open. The owl hooted appreciatively. Harry was excited to get a reply. He pat the owl on the head as he took off the letter. He ripped open the envelope.

 

_Harry. The real savior,_

_I was a little surprised to see you write to me so quickly. To be honest I was about to write to you myself so don't feel bad. I miss your company as well. I am intrigued about what this 'project' of yours is. Perhaps you could give me a hint? I would love to accept your invitation. Is tomorrow too soon? Say noon?_

_Crazy cat lady? You are quite right that I had no idea what that was. The only thing that came to mind was Umbridge and her weird obsession with cats. She is a right loon so maybe that expression applies to her. I am astounded that you think you will never find love. You are quite the heartthrob. I do believe that I will be the one to have a bunch of cats. Could you imagine the manor filled to the brim of so many furry animals? I think it would give my father a heart attack. What a way to go._

_Speaking of my father, I told him. I was so scared. But I didn't let him see it. I even threatened him. Me. I actually threatened him. Good gods I thought he was going to kill me. He ended up saying that he couldn't force me into anything and that I needed to decide before the end our do over year at Hogwarts what I want to do. What a load of rubbish. It’s like he forgets exactly who he has been training to take over his place. I know sneaky like the back of my hand. He is planning something. I just don’t know what. I couldn't believe that he didn’t have a back up plan in place. Not very Slytherin if you ask me. I am ashamed. **Slytherin rule #20: A good Slytherin knows to always have contingency plans.** I am still shocked it went so smoothly. It is thanks to you though. I wouldn't have had the courage otherwise. _

_My parents know about our friendship. It came as a shocker to them. Severus was the one to figure it out. He is doing fine by the way. He wants to talk to you though. I anticipate he will seek you out at some point before term starts. Don't worry, it is nothing bad. I promise you. My mother didn't mind about us being friends. My father was surprisingly okay with it as well. Probably since you killed his former master. That was my attempt at a joke if you haven't figured that out yet. I imagine the only reason he is okay with it is because you are you. He probably is thinking of ways to use your fame to improve the Malfoy name. Despicable. Don’t worry, I won’t let him._

_As much as it pains me to say this. But perhaps it is a good thing that you did not mess up Weasley's face again. He is your best friend. I would never want to come between the two of you. I have heard many insults in my time. I can take his as well. Maybe the two of you should have a talk? I do not want to be the reason your friendship failed, you could grow to resent me otherwise._

_I am proud of you for telling the Ministry no. Lovely choice of words by the way. Not that they didn’t deserve it. You know, the Ministry really needs to be gutted and rebuilt. With new people that won’t be afraid to change things up. I mean honestly, what good has the Ministry done to anyone in the past 100 years? Their legislations are literally bought. The laws that get passed goes to the highest bidder. The person with the highest bank account bribing the rest till they get what they want. The Minister is never qualified for the position. They say the Minister is picked by popular vote but that just isn’t true. They know who is going to be picked before the election even starts. Not sure if it’s a rigged system or the people are just mindless sheep following the masses. The Ministry is corrupt, plain and simple. I loathe to think of the laws that will be passed now that the world is ‘safe’. I imagine the laws are not going to be pleasant ones. I heard from father that Umbridge (who is still working at the Ministry) is trying to pass a law barring any dark creature from entering any public establishment. They are to owl orders or find a back entrance so that their presence doesn’t disturb normal law abiding wizard citizens. Her definition of dark ranges from werewolf, vampire, fairy, dwarf, giants, half giants, to centaurs. For them to even be recognized that would mean they would have to be branded for the rest of the world to even know that they are a ‘dark’ creature. Don’t think she is the only one to think like this either. She has a backing of her own. They never would have attempted this legislation prior to the war. Only since some of the werewolves, giants, centaurs and some vampires fought in the final battle. This is just the tip of the iceberg. I can just imagine all the other laws the Wizengamot will come up with. Not just on dark creatures, I imagine all kinds of restrictions on wizards as well. To ensure that there could never be another Dark Lord again. They thrust their beliefs on the rest of us and hide behind the law to shield them. I really dislike the Ministry._

_Now that the both of us are indecisive of our futures, maybe we will find out what it is we want together? And you are right, I am defending you. I think a memoir of your life would be quite interesting. It would be pretty entertaining to read about all of your adventures firsthand. You do need more confidence Harry. You Prat. I would read it._

_Thank you for the owl. I do not know how you knew that I do not have my own. You are too smart for your own good. I have named him Azure. I think he reminds me of you actually. He is very strong willed. He bit me as well so don't feel too bad. I told him if he was tired that he could stay the night with you. I don't think he liked that too much. I doubt he will stay. If he is up to it then have him send a reply letting me know if it is okay to see you tomorrow. I hope you have a great rest of your night Harry. Thank you. For everything._

_Draco._

           Harry laughed warmly. Excitement flared strongly. Draco wanted to visit him tomorrow! He deflated a little bit as he looked around. The place wasn't exactly up to par. He sighed. "Kreacher!" He yelled. There was a *Pop* "Yes Master Harry?" Came his croaky reply. Harry shifted uncomfortably. "Um... err well tomorrow at noon we will be having a guest coming by. I need you to start cleaning and making the place more presentable. I will help of course." Harry added quickly.

            Kreacher looked up at him in surprise. Help? That was not something that he has ever been offered before. Kreacher was unsure what to think. Tis an insult to think that an elf couldn’t do as Master pleased… but the place was dismal.

            "Normally I will not be needing helps Master Harry but if you want the place cleaned by noon then I will be needings it." Kreacher said reluctantly. Harry smiled gently. "Okay. Let's get started. I would like the place to look good for Draco." Harry mumbled more to himself.

            Kreacher's eyes widened. "Is master talking about Draco Malfoy?" He asked a little awed. Harry nodded and looked at him questionably. "Oh my Mistress would have been proud to have the honorable young Master Malfoy in the house. Oh yes I will get started straight away!" Kreacher croaked loudly clapping his hands excitedly.

            Harry smiled bemusedly and shook his head. Well at least he is happy to do it. That's all that matters. "Okay I will send a reply to Draco and I will be right down to help you." He promised. Kreacher was about to walk out when Harry's words reached him.

            "Is... is Master Harry friends with Master Malfoy?" The elf asked hesitantly. He admired the young wizard very much but did not want to go against his Master incase this was not a social call. Harry smiled widely. "Yes. And hopefully more." He said with a small blush. Kreacher's eyes widened comically. "Oh... well then perhaps Kreacher should get the polish cleaner out as well." Kreacher said as he walked down the stairs mumbling to himself.

            Harry shook his head at his antics. He strained his hearing to see what Kreacher was saying. The words 'Master Malfoy is such a nice boy.', 'I do hope Master Harry marries him.', 'What a fine addition to the family that would be.', 'I must tell Mistress right away.' came out. Harry blushed all over. Marriage? Kreacher better not say anything like that tomorrow. He sighed at the thought of marrying Draco before he slapped himself mentally. No can't think like that. Not even dating… yet. Baby steps Harry, baby steps. Harry reminded himself.  

            He composed a reply and wisely did not ask Azure if he was up to it. The owl stuck out his leg and gave a challenging look to Harry. As if daring him to question it. He tied the letter to his leg and watched him fly out the window in amusement. The bird was a character alright. He made his way downstairs and spent the remainder of the day cleaning with Kreacher. The elf was downright ecstatic. He was cleaning with a vigor Harry had never seen before. If he had more time he would be amused by that but as it was they were working on a time crunch.

            Draco spent the rest of the day trying to find something to keep his mind occupied. Without Voldemort breathing down their necks he was at a loss at what to do. He could work on school work but that would be such a waste. There was still four months until his final year was to begin. Draco was surely no Granger. He was not about to start his homework already. That would just be improper. He ended up just reading many different books in the library inside the manor. Some of the books were on the school list for the upcoming term. He decided to not count that as actual school work. He was just bored, that is all. That certainly didn’t make him like Granger. He was about to call it a night when Azure started tapping on the window. He rushed over and instantly forgot about any previous thoughts of sleep.

            "You alright?" Draco asked the owl softly. Azure attempted to glare at him but he was too tired. The look came across as just slightly disgruntled. Draco chuckled as he took the letter off the bird and told him to get some rest. "I won't be needing to send any more letters tonight." He promised. Azure looked grateful at that, he hooted softly before flying over to his cage and promptly falling asleep. Draco smiled at the stubborn bird shaking his head. He tore open the envelope and began to read.

           

_Draco. The better savior,_

_Tomorrow at noon sounds perfect. I was not expecting it to be so soon. Don't worry, that is a good thing. I do have to warn you that I have not set foot inside Grimwald place in quite some time. I will be cleaning it out so it won't be too bad. But I apologize in advance if it is not the best._

_Nice try but you are going to have to do better than that if you think I am going to give out any clues. I know how to keep a secret. Perhaps a counter offer? Make it worth my while and we might be able to work out some details._

_Heartthrob? Me? You might be the one that needs glasses not me. You are the only one who knows of the colossal mess that I am. So I do not think that I will find love anytime soon. But you Draco are the actual heartthrob. You could have anyone you wanted. They would be crazy not to want you. So, no crazy cat lady for you. Ha! Leave that to me. Maybe after I get about ten cats I'll introduce them all to you. The image of you with a houseful of cats and the absolute horror on your father's face was enough to send me to a fit of laughter. I think Kreacher (my house elf) thought I had lost it. Nothing unusual, he always thinks that._

_Speaking of your father. I am so proud of you. I knew you could tell him. You have always had it in you. I wish I could have seen his face though. It would have been priceless. I am happy that your parents are okay with us being friends. Don’t worry about me Draco. If your father thinks he can use me then he has another thing coming. Nor will I let him use you. I know you can take care of yourself but if he does come up with a backup plan and you need help I am here for you. Perhaps killing Voldemort did have some perks if your father is scared of me._

_I am glad to hear that Snape is doing alright. Although I am concerned about him wanting to talk to me. I have learned over the past seven years that anytime he wants to talk to me it can't bode well for me. Usually I walk away with a detention and a migraine from his insufferable personality. Part of me wonders if I will walk away with my life. Ha! Okay so maybe that was an overreaction. But he can be a little scary when he wants. I guess I will just pull on my Gryffindor britches and just hear him out._

_As for you not wanting to come in between Ron and I, well don't worry. The fight may have involved you but it revolved around Ron's ignorance. This is not something that is your fault, nor could I ever grow to resent you. If he wants to apologize to you and me then perhaps I can forgive him. Yes I expect him to apologize to you. I will not go to him. He is on the brink of throwing away seven years of friendship. Seven years of sharing secrets. Seven years of sneaking out after curfew. Seven years of laughter. Seven years of jokes. Seven years of copying Hermione's homework when she wasn't looking. Seven years of annoying the teachers. Seven years of adventures. Seven years of just being brothers. He is willing to get rid of all of that just because I want to make room for you in my life too? That makes everything I just listed leave a bitter taste in my mouth. You don't go through everything we did just to throw it away because I make a new friend. I never asked him to be friends with you, I just asked him to accept it. If he can't do that then I don't want to continue a friendship with him. To me it wouldn't be worth it. Please, please do not blame yourself. You did nothing wrong. You were there for me at my lowest. You were there for me at my darkest. I honestly owe you so much for talking to me last night. I... I fear what could have happened. Ron isn't seeing this because he refuses to acknowledge it. Which is his own fault. Not yours. Never yours. Okay? Don't make me have to knock some sense into you._

_I agree with you about disliking the Ministry. They are utterly useless. I didn’t realize it was that bad. To think that as long as you have money you can influence the rest of the Wizengamot like that. It sickens me. When one can’t trust their own government, you know there is a problem. You would think that after the war everyone would come together and try to make the world a better place. That was too much of a Hufflepuff mentality, wasn’t it? Well one can dream. I can’t stand Umbridge. I keep hoping I will wake up one day and the Daily Prophet will report that she has had a bizarre accident and keeled over. Again, one can dream._

_I don’t understand why people must see those who are different as dark. None of those mentioned are dark creatures. They are just creatures in general who want to live their lives out in peace. Turning into a wolf once a month does not make you ‘dark’. Drinking blood does not make you ‘dark’. There hasn’t been a murder by a vampire since 1850. Not since the blood donor legislation came out. Probably the only decent legislation for vampires to come out of the Wizengamot. Giants are so terrified of magic they stick to themselves in tight nit groups. Centaurs prefer the stars over anything we could offer them. It's not like they would be going into any establishments. She just wants to legally spew hatred. Dwarves haven’t come out of hiding since the last goblin war, too afraid they would be next. Fairies usually stick to their own realms anyways. If wizards would get their heads out of their arses they would realize that magical creatures are not ‘dark’. It is a prejudice that I can’t believe is still around. You would think after so long of being integrated that we could all live in relative harmony. I suppose that still sounds Hufflepuff huh? Well maybe the world needs more Hufflepuff viewpoints. As well as a new Ministry. Maybe you and I could change the world. Or at least the Ministry. Not exactly sure how we would do that. It’s a thought though._

_Thank you for being proud of me. It has been a long time since someone was proud of me. It felt bloody good telling them no. I honestly want to do it all over again. Hell, even just saying no to someone feels good. I have never said no to anyone when it concerns me or my future. It was a head rush. That might sound silly. But I really want to tell someone no. Maybe you could use your slytherin ways and find me someone else to tell off? Finding out what we want to do together? I say yes. That sounds like a plan. I don't know how much good advice I can give you but I will sure try._

_Azure. He is a character. I think he is the perfect pet for you. Once he calms down. If he calms down. Sorry ha-ha. You don't need to thank me for anything. But if it matters, you are welcome. I am the one who should be thanking you. So, thank you._

_See you tomorrow Draco. Sweet dreams._

_-Harry._

 

            Draco let out a sigh of relief at seeing that Harry was okay with meeting him tomorrow. Excitement flew through him. What was he going to wear? This project was really intriguing him. Harry's words of wanting to make it worth his while was so... Slytherin. It made him proud. He briefly wondered whose Kreacher was to begin with. Odd name, not that he had any room to talk. Draco was an unusual name even for the wizarding world. He flushed at Harry calling him a heartthrob. It pleased him to no end. Draco felt better about the Weasley situation. Harry was right. It is not his fault that the Weasel behaved so atrociously. He was positively giddy thinking about what would happen the next day. It took quite some time to calm down and actually get some sleep.

            The next morning, he almost overslept. He woke up with only an hour till noon. "Fuck." Swore Draco. He scrambled into his closet to see if he could find something quickly. He was panicking. Nothing looked good enough to wear. "Izzy!" Draco yelled. A *Pop* and there stood the elf.

            "How can Izzy be of help to you Master Draco?" She asked with a slight bow. Draco sighed dramatically. "Izzy I need to find something nice to wear and nothing here is working. Help me!" Begged Draco not even looking at her. He had his face in his hands and was about to admit defeat.

            Izzy's eyes went huge. She had never seen young Master Draco so upset.

            "Stay here Master Draco. I will be right back." Warned Izzy. Draco nodded still not looking. Izzy reappeared a couple minutes later with Narcissa.

            His mother looked around at the now very messy room with wide eyes. Draco was always so clean and tidy. Usually bordering on OCD, just how they liked it. "Draco what is going on?" Asked Narcissa. Draco startled at hearing his mother's voice. He looked up from his hands. "Mother I need help." Begged Draco. Narcissa nodded wide eyed with curiosity. "I am meeting Harry in thirty minutes and I have nothing to wear." Narcissa blinked rapidly for a moment before laughing outright.

            Draco glared at his mother. "I ask for help and you laugh at me!" He said outraged.

            Izzy looked down nervously. This was not how it was supposed to go. Mistress was supposed to help not make it worse.

            Seeing his outrage only caused her laughter to increase. Draco growled and went back to his closet throwing the clothes he didn't like behind him. Narcissa calmed herself down and chuckled at her son’s bizarre behavior. "It's just that when Izzy said it was a matter of importance that I come help you, I just assumed that it was a big deal and I get here and you are acting like a loon." Draco craned his neck to glare at his mother.

            "This is a big deal mother." Admonished Draco. Narcissa pressed her mouth firmly together to keep from laughing at him again. By the narrowing of Draco's eyes, she knew she failed. "I'll help you. Just calm down." Narcissa warned. A look of relief flickered on Draco's face before he nodded.

            With the help of his mum and Izzy, Draco was able to find a decent outfit. As he looked at himself in the mirror he had to admit it made him look good. He was wearing a silver dress shirt with black pin stripe trousers. The shirt matched his eyes and made them stand out. Draco decided to leave out the hair gel and to go with just a natural look. His hair had a slight curl to it and the ends.

            "You look like a proud pureblood." Narcissa breathed as her eyes shined.

            Draco rolled his eyes. Couldn’t she just say he looked good? Why do his parents have to resort everything back to blood status? "Harry is going to be blown away." She smirked at the blush covering her son's cheeks at her words.

            "First date?" Narcissa asked. Draco's blush grew much to her amusement. "No. I'm just going to spend some time with him at his house." Draco said quietly. Narcissa arched a brow. "You panicked and demanded my help and this isn't even a date?" She huffed disgruntled and thoroughly put out. Draco laughed at her expression.

            "Sorry mother. I will wait till our first date to next ask for your help." He promised as he checked the time. "I have to go." He gushed before rushing out of the room and flying down the stairs. Not even bothering to wait for a reply. Narcissa shook her head and wondered if not for the first time, why they didn’t have a second child. Perhaps that child would have turned out how they wanted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter is shorter than you are used to. Don't worry, I'll make it up to you in the next chapter. See you next time.


	11. The Noble House of Black and the Connection That Changed Everything

            It was a couple minutes prior to noon. Harry was pacing in the living room frantically. Kreacher was watching in growing amusement. "Is something wrong Master Harry?" Harry looked up. "I am nervous. Is it clean enough in here? Do I look okay? Should I change?" Gushed Harry as he raked a hand through his messy hair.

            Kreacher shook his head. "The house is clean. Master looks presentable." Kreacher reassured. "Master already denied all the rest of the clothes. There is no other clothes." He mumbled under his breath bitterly. Harry blushed when he heard that. So perhaps he overreacted earlier. Harry was about to apologize when the wards warned him of an upcoming apparation. He waited till there was a knock at the door before taking a deep breath and opening it slowly.

            Harry's heart stopped beating for a moment as he took in Draco's appearance. He was stunning. Harry smiled warmly and stepped aside to let him in. Draco was a little speechless when Harry opened the door. Harry was wearing dark blue skin tight jeans with a deep green dress shirt. The green matched his eyes to a tee. It was remarkable. His usual messy hair bringing the outfit to breathtaking.

            "Welcome. It is not much but it is home." Harry greeted warmly.

            "Not much. Oh if only Mistress could hear that. The noble house of black being not much." Kreacher croaked in despair clutching his head.

            Draco looked around curiously at the voice and was surprised to see a very old house elf. He raised a brow at Harry who chuckled. "This is Kreacher. He has been a part of the Black family from the beginning." He explained. Draco's eyes widened. "This is the House of Black?" He asked excitedly. Harry furrowed his brows slightly.

            Kreacher puffed out his chest proudly. Finally, someone was respecting the house.

            Draco saw Harry's confusion and grinned. "My mother has told me stories about the family parties that were held here. She was a Black before marrying my father. They were legendary according to my mum." Harry's eyes widened. "That I did not know. I inherited it from Sirius." He whispered softly.

            "I am sorry." Draco retorted sympathetically. Harry smiled warmly. "It's okay." He promised.

            "It is an honor to meet you Master Draco." Kreacher said ecstatically. Draco raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Likewise." He replied cordially.

            Harry snorted in amusement, which cause Draco to look at him in confusion. "Kreacher loves the Malfoy name. Says it's a proud family name." He explained with a smile. He leaned in closer. "He will definitely like you more than me. He said you are a good boy." He stage whispered. Draco chuckled at that.

            "It is true. And it will be even better when the two families merge again." Kreacher squeaked out.

            The statement had Draco arching a brow, he was lost. He looked to Harry for an explanation and was surprised to find him red faced and looking down at his feet.

             "Ah Kreacher, Draco and I will be going to the study. I will call you if I need you." Harry told him quietly. He prayed to any god listening that Kreacher went without speaking. Unfortunately, the fates have never been on his side. So why start now?

            "Of course Master." He bowed to both Harry and Draco before walking away. His voice began trailing after him. "I can't wait to tell Mistress that Master Harry will be soon betrothed to a Malfoy." Draco's eyes widened and he spluttered in shock.

            Embarrassment filled Harry as he hung his head into his hands. "Oh gods." He moaned mortified.

            "Harry?" Draco breathed. Harry looked up apologetically. "He seems to think that you and I will be getting married. I have tried to tell him otherwise but he rather likes the idea." Harry explained not looking at Draco.

            The blush Draco could feel was something he was not proud of. "What would make him think that?" He asked smirking at Harry's embarrassment, it was endearing.

            Harry blushed further. "Um… I... err... I don't know." He said weakly not meeting Draco’s eyes.

            The obvious lie had Draco's brows rising. His smirk turned into a smile though. Harry saw the smile and his heart started beating faster. He sighed. "I told him to expect you. And he asked if we were friends. I said we were. That's all." Harry rushed out.

             Draco smirked, there was more to the story. He just knew it. "He got marriage from us being friends?" He asked dubiously. Harry blushed. "Ah yes." He said weakly. Draco was about to ask further but Harry straightened up and intervened.

            "Let's go to the library, shall we?" Harry quickly asked changing the subject. Draco smirked. "Lead the way." He replied. He would drop it... for now.

            When they entered the library, Draco looked around impressed. It was nearly the size of Hogwarts’s library. Definitely bigger than his at the manor, which surprised him. The room was cozy with a couple couches in the center of the room. Desks resided on both sides of the wall. Rows and rows of bookshelves lining clear to the back of the room.

            Harry realized he left the law books he was looking into on one of the desks. He spun around frantically. "Close your eyes." He said with a touch of panic. Draco was startled but did as he was asked. Harry scrambled to get the books put away. He summoned a trunk and shoved everything into it and spelled the trunk into the corner. "Okay. You can open them now." Harry said with a sigh. Draco opened his eyes and looked around the room. The only thing out of place was that some books were missing off the table. He looked to Harry with a silent question.

            Harry grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. It's my project." He explained.

            Ah that explains it. Draco sat on top of the desk and smirked at him. "Going to give me any hints?" He asked. Harry leaned against one the bookcases and shook his head. "Nope. I told you that you would have to make it worth my while." Harry reminded.

            "You know that is so Slytherin." Draco said with a proud smile. "Oh I know." Harry grinned wickedly. Draco got the feeling he was missing out on something but he smiled regardless. "I will just have to come up with something that you want then." Draco said with a dramatic sigh. Harry just shook his head in response.

            They spent the afternoon talking and laughing with each other, enjoying one another’s company. Draco looked around the library a little bit. He was wandering in the back when he stopped in his tracks. "Harry?" Draco called out excitedly. Harry walked over to him curiously. Draco turned to him with a pleading smile.

            "Harry, can I borrow these?" He lifted his hands to show Harry a small stack of potion books. "I promise I will give them back to you." He rushed out. Harry smiled. "Of course, someone should read them. We both know I am shite at potions." Draco snorted in amusement. There was no lie in that statement. He beamed at Harry who was thinking that all Draco had to do was smile up at him like that and he would give him the moon if he wanted. It was quite unfair actually. He fought in a bloody war, seen things that would scar the darkest of people, walked to his death and defied all logic by living, but yet a simple pleading look and smile from Draco and he was lost. The injustice was daunting.

            Draco shifted the books in one hand and threw the other around Harry in a hug. "Thank you!" He whispered in his neck. Harry shuddered causing Draco to smirk. That was the position they were in when a *Pop* resonated off the walls of the quiet library.

            "Lunch is ready young Masters." Kreacher croaked out causing the boys to jump slightly and break away from the hug.

           "Thank you Kreacher. We will be right down." Harry said dismissing him quickly hoping that Kreacher would keep his mumbling to himself at least until he was out of earshot.

            Kreacher was mumbling on the way out. "Oh definitely more than friends. Master Harry didn't need to worry. Mistress will be pleased." Seriously? Either the fates hated him or he had some really bad karma from a past life. Harry banged his head into the bookcase groaning.

            Draco blushed slightly but was pleased at the elf’s words. "Harry?" He whispered. Harry sighed and mucked up every ounce of Gryffindor courage he possessed as he turned his head to stare into Draco's eyes. There was no getting out of this. He wasn’t even sure if he wanted to. Draco's breath caught in his throat at the look Harry was giving him. The look was filled with many different emotions. Some he couldn’t quite name.

            "I like you Draco. A lot. More than a friend." Harry whispered back nervously.

            "Thank Merlin." Whispered Draco, before he walked forward and smashed their lips together.

            Harry froze in shock for a moment before he closed his eyes and relaxed into the kiss. Draco was worried when he didn’t get a reaction from Harry. He was about to pull away until he felt Harry’s lips tentatively moving against his own. He couldn’t help but groan at the taste, Harry tasted so sweet.

           Harry flushed at Draco’s groan but fuck that was intense. He parted his lips slightly and Draco took advantage immediately and slid his tongue inside to rub lightly against Harry’s.

            It was Harry’s turn to let out a groan. The feel of Draco’s tongue against his own was like something he never experienced before. With Ginny things hadn’t progressed this far. There was never a connection like this. Never any sparks, no chemistry. But… this… with Draco, was nothing but chemistry. They connected on a deeper level. Something primal, raw even but also gentle and soft. Harry wrapped his arms around Draco’s neck and deepened the kiss. Pressing his tongue harder against Draco’s, pushing the other tongue back into Draco’s mouth.

            Draco wrapped his arms around Harry’s waist, pulling him closer. Till neither one could tell where one ended and the other began. Draco tangled with Harry’s tongue pushing it backwards, with Draco chasing it back into Harry’s mouth. They wrestled for control until they needed to pull away to breathe.

            Both were panting against each other, with their foreheads pressed against one another. “Wow.” Whispered Harry as he replayed the kiss in his mind. He wanted to do it again.

           Draco let out a weak chuckle. “That is an understatement.” He stated with such a sweet smile that melted Harry’s insides. Neither one of them had ever had a kiss with such intensity or feeling before.

            “Either you kiss all your friends like that, or that was your way of telling me that you like me too.” Harry teased. Draco snorted.

            “Of course I like you too. You prat.” Harry smiled warmly at the admission.

            "What’s there not to like? You are amazing Harry.” Both boys blushed. Draco at the admission. What was it about Harry that turned him into a bloody sentimental Hufflepuff? In just a couple days his entire reputation of being a cold, hard Slytherin was shot to hell. Harry, at Draco’s words, he had never felt cherished like this before.

            “Already trying to fill me up with your compliments?” Harry teased. Draco let out surprised laughter. “I think you are pretty amazing yourself Draco.” Harry said loving the way Draco’s face heated up. It was a beautiful site to see.

             Draco thrilled at the admission lightly pressed his lips against Harry’s. To give the other boy a sweet gentle kiss. Harry loved the feel of Draco’s lips moving against his own. The kiss wasn’t intense as the first one but it was just as good. Neither noticed Kreacher’s reentrance, too lost in one another.

            “Kreacher came to check on Masters. But Masters don’t need help, even if they are being indecent.” Draco let out a low chuckle while Harry groaned in embarrassment. “We’ll be right down, Kreacher.” Harry said quietly. Kreacher nodded his head and turned around.

           “Master said that before. Perhaps Kreacher shall put a heating charm to keep it warm. Don’t know how long indecent Masters shall be.”

           Draco threw his head back and laughed. “Oh I like him.” He said with a mischievous glint to his eyes. Harry shook his head but had a fond smile on his face.

           Suddenly nervous, Harry cleared his throat. “So… does this mean…?” Harry trailed off, unsure how to voice his fears. Draco smiled softly at Harry’s anxious expression. “That we are together?” He supplied. Harry nodded, not able to speak. Draco grinned. “I would like that.”

           Harry’s nerves vanished, a relieved expression flickered briefly before a pleased smile graced his features. “Me too.” He whispered.

          Draco squeezed his hips once before stepping away and grabbing hold of one of Harry’s hands. “Now that that is settled, let’s go eat. Shall we?” He said not bothering to wait for a response as he dragged Harry towards the exit.

          Harry entwined their fingers as a calming started to spread inside of him that hadn’t been there in years. Harry smiled at the changes Draco ignited inside his life. He chuckled at the fact that his life could be turned around in just two days. He shook his head and let himself be led around his own home.

 

* * *

 

 

            Lucius and Narcissa were sitting in their dining room finishing up dinner when their son walked in. Well more like floated in, if you took in account of his dreamy expression that is. Lucius had half a mind to ask if his son had been spending time with the Lovegoods. Lucius who hadn’t realized his son had even left the manor was surprised to see his disheveled attire. He took in the slightly rumpled shirt, messy hair, flushed cheeks and glazed eyes with curiosity. Narcissa’s mouth dropped open in shock.

            Draco was not paying any mind to his parents, he wasn’t even aware they were in the room. His mind was solely focused on the day he had with Harry. After lunch, they spent hours talking and exploring the new relationship with each other. There was a significant amount of time exploring each other’s mouths as well. Not that Draco was one to kiss and tell. That would just be improper. All in all it was a wonderful day, even with the odd house elf’s mumblings. He couldn’t wait until the next time they would be able to be together.

            Draco sat down in the nearest chair and with great surprise realized that his parents were in the room. How embarrassing. Twice in two days he was caught not paying attention to his surroundings. He cleared his throat and tried not to show his shock. “Hello, how is dinner?” He asked conversationally. He flinched internally at the thunderous look on his mother's face. Probably not the best opener.

            Narcissa choked on air. “Dinner?!” She yelled with a hysterical edge to it. Draco and Lucius both winced. It was never a good thing when she got like this. Neither one could ever forget the last time her voice got this tone to it. The great Christmas debacle of 1990 when Lucius made the mistake of asking her if she was pregnant when she had seconds of every dessert. Not a pleasant night, rather ruined the Christmas spirit.

            “Draconis Lucius Malfoy you come in here looked like a thoroughly debauched slag and have the nerve to ask how was dinner?” Narcissa demanded. Draco leapt back as if he had been slapped. A slag?? Lucius was also stunned speechless. He couldn’t remember the last time his wife used language like that.

            “Excuse you? I am no slag _mother_.” Draco spat with venom. Narcissa flinched at the anger. Perhaps she was a tad harsh in her words. “You already know that I spent the day at Harry’s place. He and I talked through a lot of things and are now in a relationship. Contrary to your degrading language I did not sleep with my boyfriend. Even if I had, it is none of your bloody business.” Draco seethed in anger. Narcissa sat back stunned at her son’s demeanor. 

            “Don’t talk to your mother like that!” Lucius snapped. Draco turned his anger on his father. “If you had noticed, _I_ wasn’t the one who used derogatory language. _I_ was the one insulted, not her. _I_ was the one whose night was ruined. _I_ have done nothing but tell the truth _. I_ will show respect to those who show me respect. If you think I will just stand by and take her unjustified harsh words, then you are sadly mistaken. I did not endure the shite you both put me through _all_ my life to be treated like this. If you want to know something, then ask me about it! Do not make unfounded accusations that fit your concocted misconceptions.” Draco finished panting slightly. He was so angry. How dare they treat him like some errant child! Draco was partly astounded at his boost in confidence. A week ago he wouldn’t have even dreamed of talking to his parents like this but his anger overrode any fleeting thoughts of backing down. It was high time they took him seriously and realized that he was his own man and not some child they could mold to do their dirty work.

            Both Narcissa and Lucius were floored. How dare Draco talk to them like that? Who did he think he was? But at the same time they realized that he was not a child any longer. They had no control over him. They needed time to think about how to handle him. They needed to take a step back before they said something to alienate him further. That was the last thing they needed.

            “Now if you will excuse me, I have better things to do than be in the presence of the two of you.” Draco said in disgust, shaking his head and storming away not bothering to listen to the shouts of outrage telling him to come back. They could go to hell for all he cared.

            Draco slammed his bedroom door shut and spelled every single privacy ward that he knew of, in case they tried barging in. It wouldn’t stop his father but it would stop his mother. He paced back and forth fuming. How dare his mother say that to him? Never had he been more insulted. She’s his mother for Merlins sake. Perhaps he should have checked his appearance before coming home but it wasn’t like they had even done anything. Just harmless kissing. Harmless but thoroughly satisfying, Draco thought with a smirk. Even if he had slept with Harry it’s not like it’s any of her business! He is almost 18. An adult for nearly a year. If he can be considered an adult in the eyes of the rest of the world, then his parents need to get their heads out of their arses and realize that too. Draco sat down on his bed and sighed deeply. Maybe it was time to find a place of his own. He had the money from his trust fund after all. A fund that they could no longer touch. Besides, it’s not as if he would be living with them forever.  

            Harry was sitting down staring at the fireplace with a smile on his face. His day with Draco had been incredible. When he was panicking about what to wear earlier he never anticipated what the rest of the day would entail. He had figured they would spend the day talking and getting closer, which they did. He just hadn’t expected them to get so far. Was it happening too fast? Perhaps. They were now in a relationship. Which is the one thing Harry wanted the most at the moment. With no one around but the dust bunnies to witness, Harry let out a goofy grin at the thought of his relationship with Draco.

            There would be many people that wouldn’t understand it, they wouldn’t accept it. They would think that Draco was negatively influencing him. But they were wrong. So wrong. Draco was his savior, his light in the darkness that had been suffocating him for so long. They could never understand the horrors that both of them had to endure. They would never understand how much they understood one another. Harry knew the backlash of this would be bad. It would be plastered all over the Daily Prophet. Not that he wasn’t used to that but he didn’t want any negative attention on Draco. Draco had enough of that already with his father. The Malfoy name was not a good name at the moment. Part of him was tempted to protect Draco by ending whatever this was between them before they got too attached but his heart shot that thought down fast. Harry was already attached. He was too selfish, ironic considering he had never been selfish in his entire life. Always doing what everyone else wanted, never doing what he wanted. Well for once in his life he was going to selfishly take what he wanted, and that was Draco. He would hold onto Draco for as long as it was reciprocated, fuck what everyone else thought. He could already picture the field day that Rita Skeeter would make of this. But he couldn’t honestly give a damn. Maybe the rest of the world would see what made Draco so special. Maybe they would understand how important Draco was to him. And if they couldn’t… then he didn’t need them anyways.

            Harry was about to make his way to his bedroom and retire for the night when a wave of hurt pierced his heart. It was foreign, it wasn’t his own. Harry panicked looking all around as if an explanation was waiting in the shadows of the living room. The only times he had ever felt foreign emotions was with the connection to Voldemort. Dread filled him as the horrific thought that Voldemort could be back. Harry was close to hysterical terror until he forced himself to get a grip. The Horcruxes are gone, he reminded himself. _You saw his body fall yourself_ , he reassured.

            So if it wasn’t Voldemort then what was it? Who else could he possibly have a connection with? Who else could he possibly be feeling? Harry was scared. He didn’t want a connection with anyone, Voldemort had been bad enough. But with Voldemort he mainly ever felt anger, rarely anything positive but _never_ agony or pain. Whoever this was with, the person was hurt. Not physically, this was different. It was emotional pain. A wave of sympathy for the stranger surged within. Which startled him, why should he care if some stranger was in pain? That wasn’t his business. The pain was replaced with anger. A lot of anger. This Harry was used to. Harry bit his lip… could it really be Voldemort? Harry closed his eyes trying to follow the anger like he used to when a vision would take hold. The anger wasn’t following the path of scar like he was used to. Odd. There was no telltale sign of a vision either. So it wasn’t Voldemort. Relief washed through Harry like a freight train causing him to sag heavily.

            A sudden pang of familiarity arched through Harry’s being. Draco! He didn’t know how and he didn’t know why but he just knew that this was Draco’s emotions. Something was wrong with Draco. He didn’t pause to question the connection or even care why. He ran to the kitchen and grabbed parchment and set out to send a note to Draco.

            “Kreacher!” Harry yelled out. *pop* Harry thrusted the letter in his hands. “Find Draco and deliver this to him. Make sure you are not seen by anyone but him and wait for him to reply.” Harry demanded frantically. Kreacher took the letter and immediately disappeared, for once not bothering to mumble.

            Kreacher was worried. He had seen Masters face as he ordered him to deliver the letter to Master Draco. Master was scared. Not even when Master took on Master Regulus’s last wish was he scared. Not when he battled The Dark Lord was Master scared. Kreacher didn’t like it. Not one bit. Kreacher hoped Master Draco was okay otherwise he feared what his Master would do. It’s not common knowledge but a part of the bond that ties them to their Master’s family ensures that the elf knows the mental and physical health of their Master. To ensure that they can take proper care of the Master. While Master Sirius was in Azkaban the bond was dark and disturbed, like Master Sirius’s mind. Kreacher didn’t bother to care then. Master Sirius was a bad boy who broke Mistresses heart. With Master Harry, it had always been a strong bond but one filled with sadness and sometimes physical pain.

           After the Dark Lord died the bond was wild, chaotic and slipping into madness. The bond was slowly fading. Kreacher was worried that Master was dying, nothing else could explain the turbulence of the bond. He had been worried but then suddenly the bond righted itself and was stronger than it had been before. It was bright and thrumming with energy. It felt similar to when he had been under the care of Mistress Walburga, only brighter. Much brighter. Kreacher missed Mistress dearly but the bond had been dark even then. Bonds shouldn’t be that dark, it wasn’t healthy for the house elf. Master Harry’s brightness was a welcoming change. It filled him with such energy and magic, it was an honor to work for Master Harry. He knew that Master thought Kreacher would rather work for Master Draco but that was not the case. Oh no. Master Draco was a lovely boy from a proud family but Kreacher knew that no one else would have the brightness that Master Harry had. This is what house elves lived for, the type of brightness that Master Harry had. This is why they willingly choose to be bound to wizards. He would never admit it to Mistress but Kreacher was glad to work for Master Harry. Even if he was a half blood.

            Draco was laying down on his bed contemplating what to do when a sudden pop scared the wits out of him. He let out a very un-Malfoy like shriek. Luckily his wards included a silencing charm. Draco sat up sharply looking around for the intruder. He sighed in relief when he spotted Harry’s elf. “What are you doing here?” Draco asked sharply worried that something was wrong.

            Kreacher was relieved to see that Master Draco appeared to be fine, even if he was behaving undignified. There was no wounds or afflictions that he could see. “I was told by Master Harry to give you this letter. I am to wait for a reply Master Draco.” Kreacher croaked. Draco arched an eyebrow in surprise. He grabbed the letter quickly worried that something was wrong with Harry.

_Draco,_

_Are you okay? I don’t know how to explain it properly but I promise you that I am not losing it. I was about to head to sleep when I felt pain and a feeling of hurt inside me. It was not my own emotions. As you know, I used to experience emotions from the connection with Voldemort. I freaked. I thought he was back. While I was panicking I also felt anger. Then a familiar feeling of you Draco. I don’t if this will make sense but I felt that you were hurt emotionally and then I felt that you were angry. Very angry. I know this sounds like I have gone wonky but I promise you that I felt it. Are you okay? Is something the matter? Is there anything that I can help you with? I await a reply from you. Just send it with Kreacher._

_Hoping you are well,_

_Harry._

            Draco stared at the letter shocked. He reread it two more times to make sure he was seeing it correctly. Harry felt his emotions? How was that even possible? He didn’t doubt Harry, those were the exact emotions he had been feeling. There was no way that Harry would have guessed that after the wonderful day they had spent together.

            He closed his eyes and calmed his emotions like he did when clearing his mind for Occlumency. Once he was in a meditative state of mind Draco detected foreign emotions. Worry. Fear. That was odd. They were not his. He delved deeper and was hit with a sense of Harry. Pure Harry. It was as if he was under the sun. Such warmth was radiating around his presence. It was so bright and so wonderful. If he breathed deep enough he could smell his scent, almost taste him even. Harry was worried about him. The thought alone brought a smile to his face. Draco probably should have been worried about this connection. But he wasn’t, it felt right. To take away this warmth was criminal, he was already addicted to it. He wondered where the connection came from, why it was here. It didn’t matter in the end how it happened. Draco liked it, something about being connected to Harry filled him with such wonder. Being connected to someone so sweet and caring thrilled him to no end.

            Draco opened his eyes and stared into the worried eyes of Kreacher. “Take me to him.” Draco pleaded. “Please.” He added as an afterthought. Kreacher nodded and took hold of Draco and apparated them back to Grimmauld place.

            Harry looked up at the sound of Kreacher returning, hoping he had a reply. He was surprised to see Draco with him. Harry rushed forward and threw himself into Draco’s arms. “Are you okay?” Harry gushed. He stepped back to look over every inch of Draco he could see to make sure that there were no wounds. Harry felt a rush of fondness from Draco, causing Harry to pink up in embarrassment.

            “I am fine Harry.” Draco promised with an amused smile.

           “Do you know what is going on? I can feel your emotions Draco.” Harry said biting his lip. Draco shook his head. “I don’t know. When I concentrate I can feel your emotions as well. I don’t feel anything unless I try."

           Harry frowned. “I’m not concentrating but I still feel your emotions.”

            Draco narrowed his eyes in thought. Hmm. “Are you occulading?” Harry shook his head. “No I was pants at it. Never could learn it properly. But in my defense Snape was my teacher at it. You know how bad that was.” Harry felt more amusement from Draco causing him to grin in response.

            “Well I am occulading. Had to, to get around the manor with Voldemort in it. I guess it is just a habit now.” Draco explained. Harry considered this.

             “Makes sense. I could always try and learn it again.” Harry sighed in resignation. “I could teach you if you would like.” Draco offered, knowing that Harry wouldn’t want to ask Severus. Harry snapped his eyes up in hope. “Oh would you? That would save me from having to ask Snape for help.” Draco could sense a bit of desperation coming from Harry. He frowned internally, were the lessons that bad with his godfather? Draco nodded his head. The smile he received in return made up for the shite his parents put him through tonight.

            Harry was relieved. He did not want Snape teaching him. That would just be asking for trouble. “Will you tell me what happened earlier?” Harry asked gently, wrapping his arms around Draco holding him close. Draco sighed, loving the feel of being wrapped in Harry’s arms. He never felt so safe before. He welcomed it, taking all the warmth and comfort Harry could give.

            Harry choked up feeling the emotions Draco was releasing. If he had any doubts of Draco’s intentions before, he didn’t now. He could feel how much Draco cared for him. It was breathtaking. Harry squeezed tighter and focused on all the emotions he felt for Draco and tried to send them to him.

            Draco gasped in surprise at the onslaught of Harry’s feelings for him hit him, despite the Occlumency shields. He had always known he had strong feelings for Harry, before they had been dislike and longing for something you couldn’t have. But now, now his feelings were so intense it startled him. To know that his feelings were not only accepted but returned was an indescribable feeling. He reveled in it. Draco grabbed onto those feelings with his own and held them tightly. Cocooning them in a warm embrace.

            Harry smiled into Draco’s neck at the emotional hug Draco was giving him. Blimey, this was surreal. Harry had no idea what was going on with them but he loved it. Absolutely loved it. Nothing had ever felt this wonderful before. He just knew that it was meant to be. Something like this couldn't be a mistake.

            Draco reinforced his shield, dimming Harry’s emotions so that he could think. Harry’s emotions were so open and free that it was intoxicating. It was hard to tell where his even began. If he had kept his shields as they were he would have been overwhelmed. Draco remembered Harry’s question.

            “When I apparated home my clothes were rumpled from our kiss goodbye.” Harry flushed in pleasure remembering that enjoy full moment. “My mother said that I looked like a, and I quote, ‘Debauched slag’.” Harry gasped in surprise. He imagined that was probably a mild insult but still, for your own mother to say that about you. “That was what hurt me. My mother has never been one to insult me. A comment like that I would expect from my father but not my mother. If Pansy or Blaise had been the one to say it, I know they would have been teasing but my mother meant it. I could tell that she thought we slept together.” Harry was angry on behalf of Draco. How could his own mother say that to him? It couldn’t be a pureblood thing, must just be a rude bitch thing.

            “Even if we had it’s none of her business.” Draco finished angrily. Harry flushed slightly trying not to think about that. Draco smirked at Harry’s expression, his anger waning. “She could have just asked me why I was so rumpled.” Draco said indignantly.

            “I’m sorry Draco. I should have told you before you left but I was a little… distracted.” Harry admitted sheepishly. Draco smirked. “So was I. That was one hell of a goodbye.” Draco said with a mischievous grin. Harry blushed but agreed whole heartedly.

            “What did you end up telling your mother?” Harry asked quietly as he dragged Draco to the couch to sit down. Draco arranged them so that Harry was cuddled into his side before he started speaking.

            “I told her off. I told her that she was wrong to have said that to me and that even if it had been the truth that it wasn’t her business. My father told me not to talk to my mother like that. But I was too upset. I snapped at him too. Told them that there was no way I was going to let them treat me like that anymore. Especially not after all the crap that they have put me through. I stormed away and that was it.” Draco said with a sigh.

            Harry was quiet. He could feel the different emotions inside Draco. There was plenty of anger left over but there was also sadness too. His parent’s actions were hurting him. He felt so bad for his boyfriend. Maybe it was because he didn’t have parents but Harry just couldn’t fathom why Draco’s parents acted the way they do. It was obvious that they were hurting their son. Didn’t they care? Didn’t they want his happiness?

            “What are you going to do now?” Draco sighed lost in thought. “I was thinking about finding a place of my own. It’s about time I stepped away from their expectations and did my own thing. I have been thinking about for a bit, even before tonight. I just want our of their clutches. I want to live my own life. By my rules, not theirs.” Draco finished with a small smile.

            “I think that is a smart plan. Where do you think you’ll go? If you want, you can stay here with me. Until you find a place of your own.” Harry gushed out hoping Draco wouldn’t think it was a bad idea. Draco could feel Harry’s nervousness at the question. It was so endearing. What would he do without him? Be miserable most likely.

            “Thank you, Harry. I think I will take you up on your offer. I promise I won’t be here for too long.” Draco said reassuringly. Harry shook his head. “I don’t mind Draco. I like spending time with you.” Heat blossomed on Draco’s cheeks at Harry’s words.

            Harry smiled warmly and snuggled into Draco deeper. Neither boy had ever felt so content before. They reveled in it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't know if it's just me but I just love Kreacher. I always found him fascinating. :P  
> Hopefully you all enjoyed today's chapter. See you tomorrow!


	12. Pansy and Blaise

            Living with Harry was definitely a bonus for their relationship. Harry was a considerate housemate and wonderful boyfriend. Draco was given his own room but spent his nights with Harry. He kept the room for times when he wanted his space. Neither one of them were ready to take the relationship to the next level. So all they did was sleep on the bed. That alone was a wonderful thing for Draco. He adored waking up with Harry in his arms every morning. It was a sense of belonging like he never felt before. The warmth radiating off of Harry's body was something he was quickly beginning to crave. They drew closer to each other every day, sharing experiences and ideas for the future. Draco stopped looking for a place to live after a couple of weeks. Harry was thrilled that he was going to stay. Harry didn’t have to say it, Draco could feel his happiness through their connection.

            That was another thing that grew. The connection between them thrummed constantly. Always there, always in the background. Even if Draco was occuluding and couldn’t feel Harry’s emotions, he could still feel the link that connected them. He wasn’t bothered by that. He loved the knowledge that they were connected. Distance didn’t seem to affect the bond. They experimented to test it out. Harry apparated to France and even China but the bond still thrummed happily along. Nothing dampened it, nothing weakened it.

            Kreacher was thrilled to have Draco there permanently. Draco had feared for the elf's wellbeing when they told him he would be moving in. The odd little thing's eyes had grown impossibly large, his ears twitched so rapidly that Draco wondered if he had been cursed, his breathing had increased till he was panting as if he ran the entire house twice. What worried him the most was when the elf let out a pleased little gasp. Draco worried he now had a lifetime admirer. Is this what Harry felt with his fan club? It was not a pleasant feeling. Besides watching him with awe when they were in the same room, Kreacher behaved like a normal house elf. If any house elf could be considered normal that is. The more time Draco spent around the odd mumbling thing, he grew to like him. Kreacher was strange, no doubt about that but he was sweet and considerate in ways that his father's elves never were. Kreacher genuinely cared for both himself and Harry. It was almost like another friend. And isn't that odd? Him being friends with house elves? He imagined his father would shudder at the mere thought. He knew it wasn't dignified of a pureblood, he knew it just wasn't done to be friends with anyone considered below them. But Draco just didn't care. He liked Kreacher and that was all there was to it.  

            When they weren’t spending time together, Harry was working on his top-secret project. No amount of begging and pleading could get him to tell Draco what it was. It wasn’t that he particularly cared, he was just so intrigued. It wasn’t like Harry to not tell him something. Harry loved telling Draco things. Even boring mundane things like 'do house elves even go to the bathroom?'. Draco had just stared at Harry in disgust until he dropped the subject, he didn't want to know that much about them. So this project of his was killing him. While Harry worked on whatever it was he was doing, Draco was trying to research their emotional connection. The only problem was that the library was so massive. He had barely put a dent in the section regarding bonds. Every single book so far was about bonds that were partaken in with either a spell or a ritual and always by choice. He had yet to come across a single bond that happened on its own without the participant’s knowledge. Maybe there wasn’t an answer? Odd things are known to happen to Harry so it could be just another thing that to write off. But it was a mystery and if there was one thing that Draco couldn’t leave unattended was a mystery. So despite the evidence against ever finding an answer, He continued to search. He was determined to find an answer.  

            Draco was going to physically talk to his parents and let them know what he was doing but decided against it in the end. He sent a letter explaining exactly why he was leaving. He had Kreacher pack his things and that was it. Part of him felt guilty, not at the impersonal letter. But at the fact that he didn’t miss them. He should be missing his parents somewhat… right? He was no longer upset at his mother. The insult stung but he has been through worse. Draco wasn’t about to go back though. No, he needed to do this. Needed to get out of their clutches. He knew his mother loved him but she was so similar to his father. They rarely ever showed that they cared. Damn pureblood mentality. It’s been over a month since he left is house and came to Grimmauld place and his parents hadn’t sent a single letter in reply. That alone proved that he had made the right decision. He had been receiving regular letters from Severus though. His godfather hadn’t always been there for him but he sure of a hell showed that he cared for him more than his parents. Severus had been worried when he heard that Draco had left home. Draco rushed to assure him that he was doing fine and that he was happy living with Harry.

            Draco was starting to get nervous. The trial date was a week away. He was scared. He tried to hide it from Harry but that was so hard to do when you share an emotional connection with someone. Draco had to resort to only thinking about the trial when Harry was asleep. He still was unsure on how to tell Harry about it. He didn’t want Harry to get involved but he couldn’t just go without telling him something. If his trial came back guilty and he hadn’t told Harry… he knew it would just crush him. Which was something he wouldn’t do. Harry meant the world to him. He was not about to hurt him unnecessarily.

            Pansy and Blaise sent him a panicked letter when they realized he wasn’t at the manor. Guilt had plagued him when he realized he hadn’t been in contact with them since breakfast in the great hall over a month ago. He wasn’t avoiding them on purpose, things had just changed so drastically that he forgot to contact them. Besides, they hadn’t contacted him either until the panicked letter. The pair were to arrive later today for a visit. Draco was pretty excited. Now that he was free of Voldemort, free of his parents and free to do whatever he wanted, Draco had a new outlook on life. He was ready to enjoy life and see what it had in store for him. Having his friends over at his and Harry’s home was a great feeling. They shared a home. He was a little worried about what his friends would say about that. They might think that things were going too fast. They had only been together a month but Draco knew that Harry was it for him. Not just because of the connection either. The thought of not being with Harry sent a gut-wrenching feeling through him. It was close to physical pain. That wasn’t normal. No, what the two of them had was meant to be. He knew it with every fiber of his being.

            Life with Draco was… an experience. He is so full of life but still so snarky. Harry used to hate that snarkiness when they were younger. But now it was one of the things he loved the most about him. Draco always had a quick witty comeback for everything. It made conversations interesting. He never knew what was going to come out of Draco’s mouth. Draco was fun and outgoing, never afraid to try something new. Harry thought for sure that Draco would have reservations when it came to some muggle things. But Draco surprised him, Harry took him out to some muggle restaurants and Draco thoroughly enjoyed it. Draco loved seeing the way the muggles acted. He said it was like going to a play, Draco could watch muggles react all day with their silly inventions and odd ways.

            For Draco’s birthday on the fifth, Harry took him to an amusement park which was a new experience for them both. At first Draco refused to get on any of the ‘appalling death traps’, until Harry pointed out that no one had been harmed on any rides in a long time. He even conceded and allowed Draco to cast a discreet protection charm on their cart. The adrenaline rush and pure excitement on Draco’s face was worth it. After that, his boyfriend went on every single ride. Some of them twice. Draco was a little wary about trying any of the food the park had to offer. It was nothing like he was used to but that was part of the charm. It was something his parents would have hated so he threw caution to the wind and ate the ‘plebian tasteless concoctions’.

            The bond between them grew stronger with each day passing. Harry loved it. He knew that Draco was searching for answers but it didn’t bother him. Harry could tell that Draco loved the bond as well. Harry’s legal research in the hopes of helping Draco’s trial was coming along nicely. He was pretty confident that Draco would come out unharmed. He sent a letter to Draco’s lawyer and demanded to be a witness for the defense but refused to give his name and demanded that it go unaware for the Malfoy’s to find out. He knew it was risky to do but he offered to pay the lawyer double what Lucius was paying him if he allowed this to go quietly. Any man that Lucius Malfoy hired was bound to be only loyal by money. His hunch was correct when the lawyer sent back a contract stating that he would not breathe a word of a witness to the Malfoy’s. Some would call that unethical but Harry wasn’t breaking any laws he was just skirting a fine line. Hey, as long as it works.  

            Harry knew that Draco was scared. Part of him wanted to be hurt and upset that Draco wasn’t telling him about the trial. But he knew enough about his boyfriend to know that Draco was trying not to allow him to get involved. It was incredibly sweet but so unnecessary. Draco should know by now that Harry rarely ever stays out of things. If there is trouble then by all rights that means he is bound to be there right along with it. Just like a law of nature, 'Oh there's trouble over there? No worries Harry is probably close by'. It was just a part of Harry's life now.

            Hermione had sent a letter to Harry asking him how things were going. She never once mentioned Ron which let Harry know that Ron was still being an arse about everything. From her wording, he could tell that she was spending the summer at the burrow before school started. Normally by now Harry would have been sent a letter from Mrs. Weasley asking him over but no such letter arrived. Harry wanted to believe it was because she was still in a grieving faze since Percy’s death. But she invited Hermione right away. Harry knew it had something to do with Draco. Ron must have said something to the family. He couldn’t understand how a family that always preached tolerance and justice could have such a prejudiced view on things. All of this was just on him being friends with Draco. He shuddered to think of what their reaction will be when they discover that they were dating. Granted Lucius Malfoy had never treated them well, he could see where they would have issues with him. But Draco was not his father! If they just tried to see things from a different perspective, they might understand. Or if they could just hear Harry out, let him explain but no, they seemed to have formed their own opinion without any facts. If they couldn’t accept Draco, then he wouldn’t be accepting them. Which saddened Harry immensely but he wasn’t about to give up his boyfriend for them. Besides, family doesn’t do that to one another.

            Occlumency was actually pretty easy when you had a decent teacher. Draco was kind and patient with Harry. He never got upset when Harry wasn’t understanding something, he took the time to explain it properly. Occlumency was a delicate art. If done wrong it could seriously harm the participant. The mind isn’t something that should be messed with. If you don’t have trust with the person teaching, then it can do more damage than good. The walls protecting the mind must be built upon layers of trust and strength. Snape had gone about teaching Harry in the worst way. Harry was lucky that there wasn’t any lasting damage from their lessons. Draco had Harry start out with reading some books about meditation. That was one of the biggest steps of Occlumency, you can’t protect a chaotic mind. You must calm the mind first. It’s easier to control a still puddle then a rapid flowing creek. After he mastered meditation the rest was smooth sailing. Because Harry had already bared his soul to Draco there was no reason to fear the memories of his past. It was easy allowing Draco in and raising his shields against the probe. Draco had told him that Harry had surprised him. Draco had been worried that the lessons would be difficult based off of Snape’s teachings but Harry picked up Occlumency with ease. Which was something that Harry credited to Draco’s patient teachings instead of his own skills.  

            One would think spending so much time together that it could create problems between them but the best part of knowing the other person’s emotions was that conflict was almost nonexistent. Fights are hard to maintain when you can feel the other person’s emotions. It is easier explaining things when you can feel the sincerity behind the words. They understood each other on a level that other couples wouldn’t. So when one of them got frustrated it was easy for the other to take the necessary steps to stop a fight before it even began.  

            As much as Harry was looking forward to going back to Hogwarts he was also dreading it. The thought of the stares that he would receive was nauseating. He knew they would increase tenfold since he had defeated Voldemort. Everyone would be rushing to catch a glimpse at the savior of the world. They would all be whispering and wondering what kind of powers he used to off Voldemort. They would all be scrambling to get a piece of him. No doubt the increase in simple minded girls following him would increase. Not to mention his relationship with Draco was going to turn heads. They wouldn’t understand it. After six years of the constant fighting between the two of them that wasn’t too surprising. It would confuse them. He knew that Draco would become a target. The other students would think that Draco had done something to him. Harry didn’t fight in a bloody war to have to put up with petty childish stupidity. The first time some low life even thought about harming Draco, they would have another thing coming. Harry knew that Draco could take care of himself but he shouldn’t have to. This overbearing protectiveness surprised them both. Harry felt the need to protect Draco, to make sure that no harm could befall him. To him it was second nature.

            Draco didn’t want to talk about his parents. He tried to hide the hurt that their silence was causing him but Harry could feel it. Harry let him think he was hiding it but he would shower Draco with comfort regardless. Thinking about Draco’s parents always made Harry angry. How could they be so cold? How could they treat their only child like that? As much as he was annoyed with Mrs. Weasley he knew that she cared for her children. That was the way to raise your children, not with a cold hands off mentality. Draco had never known what it meant to be cared for, so Harry was determined to give that to him. Harry hadn’t been cared for either so he was driven to ensure that they both got the happiness that they deserved. With the emotionless raising, Draco could have turned out bad but Harry thanked his lucky stars that Draco turned out to be the man that he is. Even if he didn’t show others the human side to him, it was enough that he showed it to Harry.

            Even though it had only been a month together, both boys were enamored with each other. The feelings they held grew stronger with each passing day. Harry knew that Draco would be with him for a long time. Forever, if he could manage it. Life with Draco was pleasant and he couldn’t wait for more.

 

* * *

 

 

            Draco was obsessively cleaning the front room despite Kreacher’s appalled face.

            Kreacher took great insult to Master Draco cleaning the already clean room. It was an injustice to his ability to clean. He huffed and apparated away to start with dinner, hoping Master Draco wouldn’t move onto the kitchen to clean as well.

            Harry watched Draco rearrange the coffee table for the third time with a fond smile. “Love, calm down. It’s just your friends.” Harry tried to reassure.

            Draco stopped cleaning to stare at Harry. He knew he was being silly, it was just that he was nervous. What bugged him was that he wasn’t even sure why. It wasn’t like he was nervous about their reaction to him and Harry being together. They already knew how much Draco cared for him. Maybe he was nervous because he moved out and this was the first time they would be seeing the place. Whatever the cause was he didn’t like it.

            The sound of the floo rebounded in the room letting them know of the incoming visitors. Draco stood up straight and squared his shoulders trying to shove the panic he felt away. Blaise was the first one through. He landed with a grace that Harry envied. Harry was still having issues with flooing, he doubted he would ever get the hang of it. Pansy came through with less grace but more energy than Blaise. Draco’s face lit up when he turned to look at his two best friends.

            Harry smiled at the rush of happiness he could feel from Draco. He loved that Draco was able to be himself away from his parents. Draco’s happiness was infectious. Harry couldn’t help but grin.

            Both Blaise and Pansy shared a surprised look before they were enveloped in a tight hug as Draco flung himself at the two of them.

            “Woah there. Nice to see you too.” Pansy said with a giggle. Draco stepped back with an embarrassed look. “Sorry it’s just been a bit and I am glad to see you guys.” Draco explained with a shrug before stepping up to Harry and sitting in his lap. Harry’s arms immediately wrapped around Draco’s waist.

            Blaise’s eyebrows reached his hair line. Pansy let out a surprised, “Oh.” Draco grinned at their reactions. “So I take it you two are an item now?” Blaise asked sitting down on one of the chairs while Pansy took the one next to him.

            “Obviously.” Draco snarked with a smirk.

            Blaise chuckled while Pansy let out a squeal of happiness. “I am happy for you Draco. You both deserve some happiness.” She said with a grin. Draco was thrilled that his friends approved, he had known they would but to have the physical proof was enough for him to stop being nervous. With a jolt, Draco realized that that was why he had been so frantic. He hadn’t wanted anything to come between him and Harry.

            Harry was glad for the stamp of approval but it sent a wave of sadness through him. It made him wish that his own friends would be there for him. Hermione may not have had any hostility over them being friends, he knew that she would definitely not approve of their relationship if she knew. He knew Mrs. Weasley would have some negative things to say as well. Why is that to gain a boyfriend he has to lose a family? Why can’t he have both? Shouldn’t they want to be there for him? Shouldn’t they care whether he was happy or not?

           Draco felt the utter despair from Harry and it made his heart clench. You didn’t have to be a genius to know what was causing it. Draco turned his head slightly so that they were cheek to cheek. “Hey, stop that.” Draco said softly.

           Blaise and Pansy shared startled looks. They hadn’t known something was wrong. Was it something they said?

           Harry closed his eyes. Damn. He hadn’t meant to broadcast his feelings. He didn’t want to ruin Draco’s time with his friends. That wasn’t fair to him. He needed to get a hold of himself and be there for his boyfriend.

           Draco could feel guilt added to the sad emotions as well. He sighed. “Baby stop. It’s okay, you don’t need to be guilty. I know how much you wish your friends would pull their heads out of their arses.” Harry let out a startled laugh. Draco grinned. “I know you miss them. I wish they could accept this too. I don’t like seeing you sad.” Draco said quietly, forgetting his friends for a moment.

           Harry could feel the worry and care from Draco. He hugged him tighter to his chest as he let himself be immersed in his boyfriend’s affection for him. Draco smiled at the effect he had on Harry. Loving that he could calm him if needed or bring him out of a funk when required.  

           Harry opened his eyes and tilted Draco’s head till he could see his eyes. “Thank you. I needed that.” He rasped. Draco grinned and leaned in slightly to kiss Harry. Harry could feel the emotions behind the kiss as well, he let Draco reassure him with his lips. Harry was about to deepen the kiss when he heard a cough.

           They broke apart in surprise. Pansy was lightly fanning herself and glaring at Blaise.

           “Did you have to interrupt them? I was enjoying that.” Blaise snorted. “That is exactly why I did. I don’t need you salivating over there, you look like a bitch in heat.” Blaise raised his hands over his head to ward off the sudden attack of Pansy’s hands. Draco snorted but quickly realized that was a mistake when Pansy turned to glare at Draco. Harry tightened his hold. Pansy shook her head. “You are lucky you have the savior of the world as a boyfriend.” She warned darkly. But the twitching of her mouth gave way of her amusement.

           Harry laughed warmly. Blaise let his guard down when it appeared that she had calmed down. Mistake. As soon as Pansy saw an opening she smacked the back of his head hard.

           “Ow! Did you have to hit so hard?” Blaise asked while leaning away from her with a pout. “Yes I did. You don’t call a lady a bitch, dear Blaise. So uncouth of you.” She said while crossing her arms over her chest and glaring daggers.

            “Ah but that would imply that you are a lady.” Blaise retorted with a grin. Pansy let out a puff. “Hey, I am a lady!” She protested. Draco could feel Harry’s amusement at his friend’s antics. He sighed happily.

           Harry watched Blaise and Pansy banter back and forth with enjoyment. He hadn’t met anyone quite like them before. They were entertaining. They reminded him of Fred and George in a way. The two of them just knew each other so well.

           “Are you two together?” Harry asked interrupting their argument over who the true bitch out of the two of them was. They both blinked surprised at the question.

           Pansy wrinkled her nose at the thought. Blaise furrowed his brow and gave Harry a ‘are you crazy’ look. “No. We just are very close.” Pansy said finally after she got over the feeling of wrongness at the thought.

           Draco laughed out loud. “They tried once in fourth year.” Blaise and Pansy both glared at him. “Well you did.”

           “Yes, but that was an obvious mistake. Pansy is my sister. It only took an hour for us to realize that there was nothing romantic involved.” Blaise explained.

           Pansy nodded her head. “I love Blaise and couldn’t imagine life without him but not in a romantic way. He is my best friend. My friend for life.” They shared a fond smile.

           Draco used to envy their friendship. He was their friend, of that there was no doubt. But he hadn’t had the bond that they do. At times, it made him feel lonely. Even though they weren’t in a relationship, they had a friendship that he could never have with them. They had something he could never understand. They were like friend soulmates. Platonic friends that went beyond friendship and even family. But now that he had Harry and knew what a true bond felt like, the envy was gone. He still didn’t have a friend like they did with each other. But to him what he had with Harry was a million times better.

           Harry was curious as to the emotions he could feel in Draco but decided to ask about it later. Blaise and Pansy’s friendship was something he had never come across before. It intrigued him. They were like two sides of a galleon. They were opposites but always together. You couldn’t have one without the other. They complimented and completed each other at the same time. It was fascinating. 

           “Does that ever get in the way of relationships?” Harry asked. Blaise let out a sigh. “Oh yeah. Most partners can’t accept the friendship that we have. They feel threatened and it always causes issues. But I refuse to be with someone who can’t accept Pansy. Because she will always be in my life.” Pansy smiled warmly at her best friend.

           “Same goes for me. I can’t be with a man who can’t accept Blaise. Men will come and go but Blaise will not. He is my rock and best friend. We are a packaged deal. He will always be in my life. So dating is difficult. Most guys want my entire attention on them. I get that in a way, I do. But it’s just not possible for me. Most guys fear I will eventually cheat on them with Blaise but that is just silly. We have zero romantic interest in each other. Blaise just doesn’t do it for me.” Blaise gave a mock outraged expression, causing Harry and Draco to laugh.

           “Sorry dear but you don’t.” Pansy said with a smile and a shrug. Blaise smiled ruefully in response.

           “So Draco any word from your parents?” Blaise asked not thinking clearly. Draco’s good mood vanished. Pansy kicked Blaise while Harry started rubbing soothing circles on Draco’s skin.

           Harry could feel anger and sadness wafting off of Draco. “It doesn’t matter what they think or do love. I will always be here for you. If they choose to never talk to you again then fuck them. You are amazing Draco and it is about time that they realized this. I can see it, Pansy and Blaise can see it. You shouldn’t have to change who you are to please your parents. I’ll talk to them if you want.” Harry finished with narrowed eyes. Oh yes he would love to give them a piece of his mind.

            Draco felt a surge of warmth for Harry. Gods could he get any sweeter? He seriously doubted it. Draco was disgusted with himself for caring what his parents thought of him. If they didn’t want to talk to him then that was there problem. He just wished that his parents could see him as their son and not as an heir that could promote the family name. Isn’t he worth their love? Doesn’t he deserve it? Draco sighed. He was tired of feeling like he wasn’t worth it. Harry proved every day how much he cared for him and that was enough. Harry was his family now, as was Blaise and Pansy. *Blood may be thicker than water but love is thicker than anything.* Family isn’t always blood. Family are the people who want you in their life no matter what, the ones who accept you for who you are. The ones that don’t ask you to change who you are. The ones who would do anything to see you smile. The ones who know your faults but love you regardless. Family are the people who put your happiness first. Draco’s parents don’t fit into any of that.

           Blaise was shifting guiltily. Once again his mouth went off before he thought it through.

           Draco shook his head. “No thanks Harry. I don’t need them. You three are family enough for me.” Harry squeezed Draco’s waist gently and pressed a kiss to his neck. Draco sighed contently and looked over to see a pleased expression on Pansy’s face and a slightly guilty expression on Blaise’s face.                           

            “It’s okay Blaise.”

           Blaise let out a relieved breath before smirking at Draco. “When did you get to be such a Hufflepuff?” He teased. Harry snorted at the indignation in the bond.

           “Hey! Take that back. I will have you know I am a very intimidating Slytherin.” Draco stated with a mock glare at Blaise.

            Pansy winked at Draco. “Yeah Blaise, Draco has scary down to a tee. What with his makeup bag and gelled hair. He oozes intimidation. Scares the grins right off the first years.” Harry and Blaise let out peals of laughter. Draco huffed rather put out. “What is this rag on Draco day?” He asked disgruntled. Harry nodded through his laughter. “Yes, it is. I thought I put it on the calendar.” Harry said once he controlled himself.

            Draco shook his head trying not to smile. “Well you didn’t. Next time you lot plan to take the mickey out of me, I would appreciate it if it was scheduled in. That way I know when not to show up.” Pansy let out another laugh.

            Harry grinned. “My sincerest apologies my Lord, I shall strive to do better next time.” Harry promised with a grin. Draco smirked and leaned back against Harry. “Ahh that is much better. About time you learned that I was your better.” Draco teased.

            “Oh I have always known Lord Malfoy. Does your subtlety know no bounds?” Asked Harry with a poke to Draco’s side.

            “Why hide what you can easily flaunt?” Draco retorted with a grin.

            “Humble you are not my Lord. Tis a good thing you have me to please the masses.” Harry said with such a straight face that Draco had to fight to keep his composure.

            “The masses don’t want a humble ruler. They want a strong leader. Which is me. So you can keep all that humble pie to yourself love. I shall continue to flaunt my superiority, it did after all land me you, my great consort.” Draco said grinning.

            Harry shook his head. “Why fix what isn’t broken? Is that it?” He asked bemused. Draco nodded with a pat to Harry's hand. “Exactly. Now you are getting it.”

            “Merlin, you two are too much.” Blaise said smirking. Pansy was laughing silently. “I think they are adorable.” She said with a dreamy sigh, wishing for a relationship like that.

            Draco and Harry shared and affronted look. “Adorable? Pansy us manly men are not considered adorable. Come up with a better compliment.” Draco demanded. Harry’s mouth twitched.

            “But love that would imply that you are a manly man.” Draco put a hand to his heart and gasped in mock anger. “Oh you wound me great consort, you wound me.” Draco said dramatically pressing the back of his hand to his eyes.

            Harry laughed warmly. “I apologize my Lord. You are the manliest man that ever lived. I don’t know what I was thinking. Please forgive my lapse in judgement.” Harry begged him. Draco laughed. “Oh alright but you better not forget it.” Draco said with a smirk.  

            Pansy grinned and turned to Blaise. “See they are utterly adorable together.” Blaise shook his head with a smile. “That they are. I must admit.” Pansy shared a look with Blaise. Both ecstatic that Draco was finally happy. Harry was perfect for their friend.

            Before anyone could comment a *Pop* came into the room. “Lunch is served.” Kreacher croaked before apparating away. The group made their way into the kitchen and settled in to eat shepherds pie.   

            After an afternoon filled of catching up and trading stories, Blaise and Pansy left with promises to visit again soon. “I like them.” Harry said sleepily from his spot on top of Draco’s chest. Draco chuckled and looked down to see Harry half asleep. He shifted the blanket higher, to cover them and settled down for the night.

            “I’m glad, love.” Draco whispered as he kissed the top of Harry’s mop of a disaster he calls hair. Draco wrapped his arms around Harry and closed his eyes. His thoughts lingering on the day they had. His friends took to Harry really well. Anyone would have thought he had always been a part of their group. Harry didn’t take offense to Blaise’s harsh teasing and got along with Pansy’s odd sense of humor. Draco knew enough about his friends to tell that they really did like Harry. Slytherins weren’t subtle when it came to disliking others. They would let you know outright, being blunt is a tool of the trade when it came to a Slytherin. Which pleased him to no end, he loved his friends dearly but if he had to choose, it would always be Harry. So his friends getting along with Harry meant the world to him. The lovely thing about their bond was that he knew without a doubt that Harry liked his friends. Most relationships one of them might wonder if their significant other _really_ liked their friends or just pretended to. But it warmed his heart to feel the genuine interest Harry had for Blaise and Pansy. Draco fell asleep with a smile on his face, thanking his lucky stars that Harry was in his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Blood may be thicker than water but love is thicker than anything* That is a quote by Goldie Nash.  
> Hopefully you all will enjoy this chapter. I didn't go into a whole lot of detail with Blaise and Pansy but I did want to show a side of them that Harry wouldn't have known.


	13. Weasels and Disguises

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This Chapter is a tiny bit longer than normal. Couldn't have split it up if I tried. I guess that is good for you guys lol.

            The following morning Harry woke feeling warm and secure wrapped in Draco’s arms. Gods, he would never get sick of this. He lightly kissed Draco’s chest, feeling the steady heartbeat underneath him. Harry sighed contently. Could life really get any better than this?

            “G’morning.” Draco said sleepily. Harry grinned and looked up to see his boyfriend rubbing his eyes tiredly. “Morning, love.” Harry retorted leaning up to give Draco a sweet kiss, not giving one iota about morning breath. Draco sighed happily into Harry’s mouth. Partly at the kiss itself, but also at the emotions he could feel coming from Harry. They were intoxicating. To know how much Harry cared for him always made a little weak in the knees.

            Harry broke away to press a gentle kiss to the tip of Draco’s nose. “Can we go to Diagon Alley today?” Harry asked. Draco frowned at the turbulent emotions wafting off of his boyfriend. He could feel a wave of nervousness and fear. “What’s wrong?” Draco asked all sleepiness vanishing in an instant.

            Harry smiled at his concern. “Nothing is wrong. I just want to visit Fred and George at their shop.” Draco raised an unimpressed eyebrow at the omission. Harry sighed. “Alright, I am just worried about seeing them after whatever Ron must have told them. I… I am afraid to see their reactions once I tell them about us.” Harry finally admitted.

            Draco wrapped his arms around the brunette and squeezed him tightly. “Harry, don’t do that. Don’t tell me half-truths when I can feel the insecurity and fear on you. Of course we can go see them but I will be there with you. I am not leaving you alone in case they say something that upsets you.” Harry felt a rush of guilt at Draco’s words. He knew he wouldn’t have been able to hide anything from him but he just didn’t want Draco to worry.

            “I’m sorry. I just don’t like it when you worry about me. I am not used to someone being there for me. It’s a lot to get used to.” Harry mumbled into Draco’s chest.

             Draco lifted Harry’s chin so that he could see into his eyes. “I know. It is a change for me as well but you need to get used to it because you are stuck with me love.” Draco said with a grin. Harry flushed with pleasure and grinned right back.

            “Good because you couldn’t get rid of me if you tried.” Harry warned. Draco arched a brow. “Is that so?” Harry nodded vehemently. Draco laughed and hugged Harry tighter, letting his feelings for the boy in his arms answer for him.

            “Well we might as well get ready. But you are going to put a glamour on. I don’t want a rush of stares and well-wishers to make you uncomfortable.” Harry smiled softly at the care Draco was showing. He nodded his agreement and got up to change.

            After a satisfying breakfast and many kisses, they were ready to head out. Draco couldn’t get enough of Harry. If he wasn’t kissing him then he was touching him. Holding his hand, sitting in his lap or just physically being near him. Draco feared he would go into detox if he was separated from Harry for longer than a couple hours. Was that normal? Probably not. Did he care? No.

            They both decided with the bad press on the Malfoy name that Draco should disguise himself as well. Harry’s hair was a muddy brown, his scar was gone and his eyes were a pale blue. Draco’s blonde hair was now black, his eyes were a warm brown and he had a tan. No one looking would be able to tell who they were.

            The two of them flooed into The Leaky Cauldron and nodded respectively to Tom. They walked hand in hand down Diagon Alley, both relishing being able to do something so normal without the stares in Harry’s case and glares in Dracos. They received some curious looks from customers but no suspicious glances or hints that they would be found out.

            Harry was enjoying the walk immensely. He had never been able to go anywhere without people gossiping and whispering behind their hands. Shopping was always a chore, trying to force his way through the crowds of people who all wanted to gawk and stare at him. It was always a nightmare. Didn't they have better things to do than worry about what kind of underwear he was buying? He preferred mail order, that way he could stay home and not even bother. But why should he have to stay home to enjoy himself? He saved the wizarding world, he deserved to be able to shop without a hassle. Right? Even though he couldn’t see Draco’s real face he loved the fact that he was able to do this with him. Everyone they came across knew they were a couple. His stake on Draco was obvious. He only wished he could do it as Harry Potter and not this unknown face.

             Draco could feel the pleasure that Harry was getting from being able to be together in public. He was also enjoying it. For once he wasn’t on the receiving end of glares and hate filled words. He knew that once the public found out that their savior was in a committed relationship that the glares would increase. He knew he would be the talk of the town, and not in a good way. Draco wasn’t looking forward to that. Glamour’s would most likely be his best friend if he planned to show his face around the community. As much as he dreaded the inevitable he couldn’t bring himself to care too much. He had Harry and that was all that mattered. He would endure whatever life through at him as long as Harry was right there beside him.

            Harry tightened his hold on Draco’s hand the closer they got to Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. Draco sent a wave of calming through their bond, which Harry soaked up heavily. Harry took a deep breath, let go of Draco’s hand and pushed open the door.

            The store looked the same as it did the last time he came in. It was a whirlwind of activity. Orderly chaos that in most stores would be a disaster but here, it just worked. Many boxes were charmed to read the advertisements on them, each one competing for the customers attention, some screaming to be heard. Some prototypes of the inventions were bouncing around the shop inviting the customers to try them out. The store was decked out in colors that ranged all over the spectrum. Harry smiled at the familiar feel of the twins that surrounded the store. Unlike last time the store was dead of customers. It was still early. Better for them though.

            Fred and George leapt into action when they heard the door chime, letting them know that the first customers of the day had entered. They stopped short upon seeing one of two strange gentlemen. One of them felt familiar but Fred just couldn’t place it. He glanced at George but saw the same confusion in his brother's eyes.

            Harry turned around and spelled the door shut and turned on the closed sign.

            “Hey! What do you-" Fred began.

            “Think you are doing?” George finished outraged.

            Harry turned back around and dropped the glamour on the both of them. Fred and George let out cries of delight and wrapped Harry in a hug.

            “Harry! It’s-’’ George began

            “So good to see you!”

            “Why haven’t you-”

            “Been around the shop?" Fred asked.

            "We have missed you!”

            Harry laughed delighted at their reactions to him. He had been so worried they would be upset with him. Draco watched with fascination. He hadn’t ever been around the twins of terror much at school. They had been two years ahead of him. Watching them talk was giving him mental whiplash. They were all over the place. It was exhausting and the conversation had just begun. How did Harry put up with them?

            “After the row with Ron about Draco, I wasn’t sure how you guys would feel. And then your mum didn’t send her usual letter so I feared the worst. I thought you guys would be mad too.” Harry said quietly stepping back, looking from one twin to the other biting his lip.

            Fred finally noticed the other patron and his eye’s widened upon seeing the Malfoy heir. George gave a strained smile. Draco sighed upon seeing the indecision in the twins faces. He knew their rejection would crush his boyfriend so he squared his shoulders and took a step forward. Draco dimly noticed them stiffen but refrained from rolling his eyes. Barely.

            “I would like to apologize to you both if I myself has done anything to the pair of you.” Fred and George’s eyebrows raised in unison at the apology. Well this was unexpected.

            “I know we haven’t had much contact with one another but I would still like to apologize. I cannot apologize for my father’s actions no matter how much I would like to. I am not my father nor will I take credit for the things he has said or done to your family. I know you have a bad opinion of me from the stories of your younger brother. They are accurate stories and I make no excuses for my behavior. His issues with me are just that, with me. So, I would again like to apologize for anything I have done to _you_ personally and hope that we could get along moving forward.” Draco said confidently. 

            Fred and George like to pride themselves on being unshakeable. You don’t become master tricksters by being easily surprised. That would be bad for business. But looking at the boy they thought they knew to be pompous and snooty was a real eye opener. This Malfoy was respectable and genuinely sorry for his past behavior. When Ron had stormed home in a fit of rage screaming about Malfoy confunding Harry into a friendship, they feared for their honorary brother. They wondered what would possess Harry to be friends with him, to their knowledge there hadn’t been a single redeeming thing about Malfoy. But this Malfoy was something else. This Malfoy was someone that they could see Harry befriending. This Malfoy was worth a second chance. The war was over after all. No need to hold grudges and prejudices, what was the point?

            On the outside, Draco appeared to be the calm collected Slytherin that the twins knew him to be but Harry could feel the apprehension and worry from the blonde. Harry had not been expecting Draco to apologize to them. He choked up on all the emotions he felt for him. It was hard for him to contain the glee that Draco brought him. Harry tried really hard to shield the love that was blossoming inside him. To see Draco step up to them and face their misconceptions of him with grace and genuine remorse filled him with so much emotion it was almost tangible. Draco had done that for him. Draco had known how much this encounter meant to him and he threw his pride away and apologized. Harry could nearly taste the love that he was beginning to feel for Draco. He wasn’t ready to actually say it but his heart was feeling it regardless.

            Draco gasped loudly startling the twins who were still processing this new revelation. He turned around and stared wide eyed at Harry when he felt the love pouring out of him. Draco swallowed thickly. Love. Harry loved him. It didn’t matter that Harry hadn’t said it out loud. He could feel it. Harry’s love for him was nearly indescribable. It was so warm and intoxicating. It was almost too warm, too hot. Draco felt the heat of Harry’s love so up close it was if the sun had touched down to the earth. He had a fleeting worry that the heat would burn him or scorch his skin. If he concentrated hard enough he could almost smell the aroma of the sweet heat, it smelt like a heavy drug or a hard alcohol. Draco felt like he could get drunk in Harry’s love. If this is what love felt like, then he never wanted to be sober, never wanted the warmth to go away. It was amazing and more real than anything in his life. Harry’s love brought tears to his eyes that he desperately tried to blink away. Draco stared into Harry’s eyes and let Harry feel his emotions right back.

            Staring into Draco’s eyes, Harry felt like he was in a trance. The world stopped moving and the only thing that mattered was Draco. He forgot about the twins, he forgot about the problems of the world. He forgot about the rest of the Weasleys. He forgot about everything except for Draco. He knew when his boyfriend gasped that his shields hadn’t worked properly, he had briefly feared rejection. He worried it was too soon. He worried that Draco wouldn’t feel close to what Harry felt for him. But he needn’t have worried. When Draco lowered his shields, it was Harry’s turn to gasp. Draco’s love for him was… chaotic. It was a tornado of strong emotions with Harry right in the eye of the storm. If Harry paused to explore the natural energy of Draco’s love, he could almost feel the biting sting of the tornado’s cyclone. Could almost hear the howling of the wind. It was beautiful and scary at the same time. How could something so raw and powerful be meant for him? Something so pure and strong was directed at _him_. It was a humbling and thrilling experience. Harry knew Draco wasn’t ready to say the words either. Saying them was an act of intimacy that they weren’t prepared for. But who needed words when you could _feel_ the love they had for one another? Who needed words when the truth of emotions were so much more powerful?  

            Fred and George shared startled looks. What the bloody hell was going on? The intensity in Harry’s eyes as he stared at Malfoy threw them for a loop. There was something more to the two of them then Ron had let on. The energy surrounding the duo was filled with magic and it was thrumming. The twins could feel it, almost as if it was sentient and alive. It was beautiful in a haunting manor. The magic was pulling at the two of them, searching and caressing. The magic thrummed in approval when it made contact, the humming of electricity that ignited in the room sent goosebumps on the brother’s arms.  

            They weren’t sure who moved first but it didn’t matter in the end. They reached for each other at the same time. Harry’s hands immediately wrapped around Draco’s neck. Draco’s came circling Harry’s waist. They kissed like it was going out of fashion. They kissed like their lives depended on it. Like the world was suddenly going to end if their mouths weren’t locked in a lip battle of tongue on tongue.

            The temperature in the room heated up quickly. Fred fanned himself lightly looking at the two in the passionate embrace. George rolled his eyes at his brother but was grinning regardless. Blimey, who knew Harry could kiss like that?

            The kiss wasn’t gentle or even sweet. It was intense and all emotion. Teeth clashed, tongues battled and mouths moved in fast repetition. Harry moaned into the kiss. Gods, this must be what heaven felt like. The soft feel of Draco’s lips felt like nothing else. If this truly was what heaven felt like, then Harry could die a happy man. Draco groaned at Harry’s moan. It ignited a fuel of fire in the pit of Draco’s gut. Nothing in the world could compare to this. They could feel each other’s desire which just rebounded back and forth intensifying the kiss. They could no longer separate whose emotions were whose. The love and desire blended together so perfectly it felt as if they were one being instead of two.

            George couldn’t help but fan himself as well. He wasn’t into men like his twin but good lord he might just convert if they were to keep this up.

            They broke a part panting harshly. Draco stared into Harry’s eyes trying to regain his breath. “I’d ask you if you meant it but it’s redundant. I can _feel_ it Harry.” Draco choked out with so much emotion it sent shivers down Fred and George’s spines. They shared awed looks.

            “I mean it. Just as I know you mean it. I can feel how much you mean it Draco.” Harry said placing his hand above Draco’s heart. Draco rested his forehead against Harry’s. “It’s so beautiful Harry. It feels...” Draco trailed off trying to find adequate ways to describe Harry’s love.

            Harry laughed warmly. “Amazing? Wonderful? Gorgeous? Awe inspiring?” Harry asked grinning. Draco smiled widely. “Yes, you prat. All of the above. It feels like everything you said and more. Gods Harry, I never thought this could be possible.” Draco said ruefully. “You. Are. Amazing.” Draco said punctuating each word with a kiss.

            Harry laughed with such free abandonment it brought smiles to their audience’s faces. Neither twin had ever seen Harry so happy. It was surprising that Malfoy was the one behind his happiness.

            The fear of the words had long vanished. Harry couldn’t help himself. “I love you Draco Malfoy. I love you so fucking much.” Harry rasped out blinking away the emotional response.

            Draco’s heart skipped a beat. He replayed the words over and over till they were seared into his memory. He wanted to remember this day for all time. “I love you too Harry Potter. So much. So. Much.” Again, kissing Harry through the words. Draco lifted Harry up, Harry’s legs automatically twining around Draco’s waist. Draco twirled them around smiling at the way Harry laughed in enjoyment. Harry’s eyes sparkled with so many emotions it awed Draco to think that this perfect specimen was his. All his.

            Fred sent an almost helpless look to his twin. They were both so confused. What happened here? What started out as a tense apology turned into a beautiful sight. There was something so beautifully haunting about the love that was obviously shining in the new in front of them.

            George didn’t know what to say, so he sent the same helpless look back at his brother. He was just as clueless. He knew he would remember this moment for the rest of his life. There was just something so magical about the two of them in that moment that it had taken his breath away. He wasn’t sure what was going on with Harry and the fallout with Ron but he knew that Draco was meant to be with Harry. Ron not wanting the two of them to be friends was laughable. The two men in front of them had docked and boarded the friend zone a long time ago. That ship had been sailed and sunk. They moved onto something far greater. Ron would be in for a shock the next time he saw these two.

            Harry slowly slid down Draco’s body as he came down from the emotional high of Draco’s love. He suddenly remembered where they were. Harry grabbed hold of Draco’s hand and flushed all over as he turned to face the scrutiny of the twins.

            Draco was slightly embarrassed that he had forgotten where they were but was far from ashamed. He loved Harry and wasn’t afraid to show it. Everyone else’s opinions could be damned.

            “Care to explain?” Fred asked breathlessly. Harry and Draco shared a telling look. George raised an eyebrow. They seemed to be having a silent conversation. Interesting. The only times he had seen one of those was with Fred and himself.

            “We are in a relationship.” Harry said slowly, like he was afraid of a bad reaction. George busted out laughing.

            “Harry, that much is obvious.” Fred said grinning at his laughing brother. Harry and Draco both blushed.

            “What I meant to say, was what was all that about? We could feel the magic in the air. It was like both of your magic was reaching out and reacting to each other’s.” George stated noticing another telling glance shared between the two lovers.

            “I have never felt anything like it before. It was amazing.” Fred said a little awed.

            Draco sent Harry a wave of indecision through the bond. The twins hadn’t been hostile or negative but he wasn’t sure of how much they should tell them. They hadn’t even told Blaise and Pansy about the bond.

            Harry was just as concerned as Draco but he knew that he could trust the twins. They might like to joke and are rarely serious but they were beyond trust worthy. Harry sent a surge of confidence to Draco trying to reassure him. He sent a small barely noticeable nod to Draco.

            Draco sighed at Harry’s need to trust them but had long ago realized that Harry’s hunches were usually correct.

            “Harry and I share a connection.” Draco stated with a small smile. Harry squeezed Draco’s hand affectionately.

            Fred and George shared startled looks.

            “What kind-” Fred started. 

            “Of connection?”

            Harry swallowed nervously. “We aren’t sure. All we know is that we can feel each other’s emotions. All of them.” The twin’s eyebrows reached their hairline.

            Fred and George shared a long look between them. Draco wondered if they could read each other’s mind or if they were just reading the other’s facial expressions. Either way it was fascinating. They were holding some silent communication with those stares. They finally broke eye contact to shrug at Harry.

            “Was this a ritual?” Fred asked curiously. At Harry’s headshake Fred frowned lost in thought.

            “So there’s no hiding the emotions?” George asked with narrowed eyes.

            Harry furrowed his brows in confusion. Wondering why George would want to know that. A flash of indignation came through the bond and it suddenly clicked. Harry glared at George.

            “No. There isn’t. What Draco feels I feel. He isn’t hiding some dirty plot by trying to be with me.” Harry said feeling stung by the thought that he wouldn’t be able to tell.

            Fred raised his hands in surrender. “We aren’t trying to insult.” He said placidly.

            George shook his head. “We just want to make sure you are happy Harry. I didn’t mean to offend. If Malfoy makes you happy then we will respect that.”

            Harry’s heart soared at their words. He hadn’t lost all of his family then. He still had the twins. All the worry and panic he had been feeling ebbed away. Draco smiled at the emotions Harry was feeling. He sent the twins a grateful look and saw the surprise flicker in their eyes. Did they honestly think he was some kind of emotionless monster? He scoffed mentally.

            Harry rushed forward and hugged them both. “Thank you. You don’t know how much this means to me.” Harry mumbled. Fred and George shot Draco a considering look. “I am beginning to think we do.” Fred said quietly.

            George stepped away and held his hand out to Draco. “I would like to get to know you. Harry is important to us and if you are what makes him happy then I would like to see just what it is that has him so captivated.” Draco smiled gently at George and shook his hand.

            “Thank you. I have heard a lot about the both of you from Harry. I would like to see the twins of terror for myself. And maybe help you out in some of your pranks.” Fred let out a surprised chuckle as he held out his hand for Draco to shake as well.

            “Well having a sneaky Slytherin in on some pranks might just benefit us.” Fred conceded with a grin. Harry breathed a sigh of relief.

            “God help us all if the three you start terrorizing the population.” Harry said ruefully. Draco let out a surprised gasp. “Why I never! The low opinion you have of me great consort hurts me deeply.” He said with exaggerated sorrow.

            Harry tried not to grin but the twins could see the amusement in his eyes. “I am so sorry my Lord. Tis just that you are so sneaky and they are so mischievous that I fear for the masses. Who will come to their aid Lord Malfoy?” Harry asked with such seriousness that Fred and George snickered watching them.

            “Ah my love but who cares about the masses?” Draco said his mouth twitching. Harry snorted. “My Lord you are their leader. You are supposed to care about your people.” Draco widened his eyes in an innocent way that fooled no one.

            “I am? But great consort that wasn’t in the handbook.” Draco said with faux despair. Harry couldn’t help it. He erupted in a peal of laughter. Draco grinned in triumph before joining Harry in the laughter.

            Fred and George chuckled as they watched the pair in front of them. They might not trust Malfoy fully just yet, but watching him with Harry it was obvious how much he cared for their brother. That was enough for them.

            When Harry collected himself he grinned at Draco and then turned to the twins. “So what has been going on with you two lately?”

            “Not a whole lot. Mainly just working. We were worried after Ron came home screaming that you had been confunded.” George said with an apologetic tone.

            Harry narrowed his eyes in anger. “Of course the prat would say that. Merlin, he can be so blinded sometimes.” Draco was annoyed at the insult but could care less what Weasel had to say about him. Draco reached over and wrapped his arms around Harry.

            “I’m sorry love.” Draco said quietly feeling a little guilty. He knew he shouldn’t but he couldn’t help but feel like this was partly his fault.

            Harry cupped Draco’s cheek. “Hey stop that. It’s not your fault he won’t look past his own issues. I will not have you feeling guilty over this.” Harry dropped Draco’s hand to cup the other cheek as well. “You are my whole world Draco. I don’t care that he is acting like a child. I don’t care if I lose every Weasley. I don’t care if the whole world is against us. Because no matter what happens I have you, Draco.” Harry said sweetly kissing Draco’s nose.

            Draco swallowed thickly. “I hear what you are saying Harry. But I just want you to be happy. I know how much his behavior is hurting you. I can’t help but feel like it’s my fault. If it wasn’t for me you would still have him as your best friend.” Draco said sadly.

            “If it wasn’t for you then I would still be back in that dark place. I would still be lost Draco. I would still be wallowing in god knows what else my mind could come up with. Draco you saved me. You save me every single day. I would be nothing without you. So please _please_ don’t feel like any of this is your fault.” Harry begged with wide eyes.

            “I love you.” Draco choked out with so much emotion the twins wondered if they should back away and give them privacy. It felt like a private moment that they were intruding on. Harry threw his arms around Draco and hugged him tight. “I love you too Draco.”

            Harry wasn’t sure how long he stood there trying to reassure Draco. What he couldn’t say with words he said with his emotions. He let Draco feel everything. How much he cared for him. How much he adored him. How much he loved him. He let feel the sadness he felt for losing Ron and the other Weasleys. He let him feel how he didn’t blame him. He let Draco feel that there were no negative feelings for him, no resentment and no bitterness. He opened himself up completely and let Draco access every part of him.

            Draco was amazed at the gift Harry was giving him. The gift of Harry. It was beautiful. To feel every single aspect of Harry was indescribable. Draco could feel the sadness inside his boyfriend but he finally accepted that it wasn’t his fault. It was just so hard to see your significant other utterly crushed and not being able to do a damn thing about it. He may not have been the cause of the row but he played a huge roll in it.

            Draco leaned away from Harry and gave him a gentle smile. “Thank you.” He said a little awed by the gift. “Anytime.” Harry promised with a beautiful smile that melted Draco’s insides.

            “Well now that the crisis is over.” George said with slight amusement. Draco flushed.

            “Ickle Ronnikens has always had a short fuse.” Fred said. Harry nodded once but didn’t feel like commenting.

            Sensing the need for a change of topic George piped up. “Business is booming silent partner of ours.” Draco turned to Harry in surprise. “Silent partner?”

            Harry grinned. “Yes. I gave them my winnings from the Triwizard tournament.” Draco was impressed with what they did with the money. Starting a business took dedication and street smarts.  

            “We were thinking about buying out Zonko’s joke shop.” Fred said with excitement in his eyes. Draco’s eyebrow rose. Business must be better than just booming.

            “But Zonko’s is being difficult and a tad too pricey.” George stated with a scowl.

            Draco tilted his head to the side lost in thought. “How high is his asking price?”

            Fred and George shared a look. “High.” They said in unison. Draco nodded expecting the answer. “If you take in account of the location of the business you would expect a higher asking price. It is Hogsmede after all.” Draco reasoned placing a hand on his chin. “Was the business on the market or did you approach him?”

            Fred shot Harry a confused look but he was looking at Draco with a fond expression. He shrugged towards George’s questioning glance. “It was on the market already.” George finally said.

            Draco smirked as he raised an eyebrow. “Interesting. He placed the shop on the market over value. That raises questions. Are his leasing permits still active? He may have loans and debts that aren’t paid off and that is why he is selling it higher than it is worth.” Draco said more to himself than the rest of them. This was like a puzzle that needed answering. His father’s teachings that were always active in the back of his mind, were kicking into gear.

            “Would the startup price of opening a second shop without buying out Zonko’s be cheaper?” Fred nodded as George spoke, “At his asking price, yes.”

            “The first question you must ask yourself is why is he selling in the first place? Did he happen to say?”

            “He said he was getting too old-”

            “And wanted to retire.” Fred finished.

            “That could be a plausible answer but it wouldn’t explain the high asking price. He has two sons that could take over the business. I know for sure that they would do it.” Harry raised an eyebrow. “The oldest is a couple years younger than my father. He is an acquaintance of his.” Draco elaborated.

            “I don’t buy his story. Besides most people wanting to retire will usually be willing to negotiate because they aren’t needing the money, just wanting to retire.” Draco tilted his head again. The twins and Harry shared an amused glance.

            “To make a more definitive answer I would need to see all of his contracts and leases he has made. I would need to examine his financial returns he has filed with the Ministry within that last five years. Not to mention property agreements, customer lists, sales records, advertising materials, employee and management files.” At their shocked faces, Draco raised a hand and waved it away their concern. “This is all normal procedure when wanting to take over a business. I would highly recommend getting a lawyer experienced in property details to go over all of that and then decide if it is wise to buy the place.” Draco finished with a sigh.

            Draco looked up to see their still shocked faces and grew self-conscious. He shifted from one foot to the other. “Did I say something?” He asked biting his lip. Fred and George blinked a couple times before laughing. Draco looked to Harry confused. Harry grinned and kissed Draco on the cheek.

            “Where did you learn all that?” Harry asked curiously. “My father instilled all kinds of business knowledge when I was younger. He said politicians needed to be knowledgeable on more than just politics. Especially if you intend on intimidating people, you have to know what you are talking about.” He replied with a shrug.

            “Could we just hire you?” George asked. Draco looked at the twins incredulously. “What? I am not a lawyer.” Draco protested.

            Fred laughed warmly. “You might as well be. To be honest it sounded like you were speaking a second language. We were thinking about buying the place anyways but not now that you said all that. We would like it if you could come to tomorrow’s meeting and take a look at his documents.”

            Draco looked to Harry with a flabbergasted expression. Harry squeezed Draco’s hand and gave a small smile and an encouraging nod.

            Draco was surprised that they wanted his help. But he wanted to prove to them that they didn’t need to be wary of him. He was going to be in Harry’s life for a long time and as Harry friends he wanted the twins to approve of him.

            “Okay. I’ll do it.” The twins whooped in glee. “But.” The twins stopped the high five they were about to give each other in midair. “I don’t want your money. I’ll do it for free.” Harry grinned warmly at his boyfriend and sent a wave of affection to Draco. Draco shivered slightly at the emotions and thought that that was payment enough for him. Harry’s happiness was all that mattered in the end.

            The twins had another silent conversation that intrigued Draco. Harry shook his head at the questions he could see in Draco’s eyes. He didn’t understand the twins any more than Draco did. They were a mystery he had yet to crack.

            “Okay but at least let us take you out for lunch.”

            “It is the least we can do.” George stated enthusiastically. Draco grinned. “Set it for today and you got a deal. I am starving.” The twins laughed and agreed with a smile. Harry reset the glamour’s on himself and Draco and set out to The Leaky Cauldron.

            “Should we have invited Angelina?” Harry asked George as they sat down. Fred shot Harry a panicked look that startled him.

             George shook his head sadly. “No. We broke up last month.” Harry winced. “Sorry George. I didn’t know.” George smiled slightly. “It’s okay. She couldn’t handle the twin thing.” Fred gave a pat to his brother’s shoulder in a comforting way, while the waitress took their orders and set down a round of butterbeers. 

            “But you’ve been together a while now and she’s known about Fred since your first year.” Harry said confused and not understanding at all. George grimaced. “Yeah I know. She said she understood that Fred played a huge roll in my life but she just kept pushing me to branch out on my own. To move out of the flat and to leave the shop. She said it wasn’t healthy that we do so much together.” George said bitterly looking down at his butterbeer.

            “That’s rubbish.” Draco said affronted. George looked up surprised. Draco shared a look with Harry. “You know what this reminds me of…” He trailed off expectantly.

             Harry furrowed his brows in confusion before it suddenly clicked. His face lit up in surprised delight. “Oh Draco that’s perfect.” Harry said clapping his hands. The twins were completely lost, not even bothering to hide their confusion.

            “But does he like…” Draco and Harry said in unison. They shared an amused grin and nodded at the same time. Fred and George raised a lone brow, both wondering if their understanding each other like this was a part of the bond.

            “What are you-” Fred began.

            “Talking about?” George said folding his hands across his chest.

            “Nothing.” Harry and Draco said at the same time with innocent eyes. Which were ruined by the amused glances they kept shooting each other.

             The twins snorted. “Harry, we are the masters-”

             “At acting innocent. That won’t work on us.” Fred said with a laugh.

             Harry sighed dramatically. “Oh all right you wankers. Draco and I have some friends that might interest you.” Draco grinned at Harry claiming his friends as theirs.

             Draco nodded along. “They aren’t twins but they have a connection that is similar to yours that affects dating too.” Draco explained.

            The twins shared interested looks. “Would they happen to be Slytherin friends?” Fred asked curiously. Draco nodded nervously.

            “Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zabini.” Harry supplied grinning when Fred’s eyes widened in recognition. “Zabini is rather gorgeous.” Fred said slowly. Draco rolled his eyes. Gross.

            “I can’t remember much of Parkinson from school.” George said with a shrug. They shared another silent look. Draco was growing impatient. He wanted to know now. Harry entwined their fingers and flashed a calming emotion to Draco with a hint of amusement. Draco huffed but calmed down. It’s funny, there were times they didn’t have to speak. Just send emotions to each other and that was enough. Sometimes words just weren’t necessary.

            “Alright. Sounds like fun.” Fred said with a grin. George shook his head but had a small smile on his face anyways. Draco clapped his hands in excitement. “Oh I can’t wait till I tell them. I’ll let you know what they say and then give you there contact information.” Draco gushed. The twins shared dubious glances, surprised at Draco’s good natured personality.

            Harry leaned his head on Draco’s shoulder and smiled as Draco began talking about his friends. He was giving the twins a little inside knowledge on them that might help spark some interest. His hands were waving around the more he talked and Harry found this endearing. Gods he loved this boy.

            Fred smiled at the love Harry’s eyes were showing as he stared at Malfoy. It was sweet and also sad. Sad because the love they had was something he had never seen before. It was something Fred craved but didn’t think would ever have. Sure, he’s loved past boyfriends but nothing like this. It made him envious but Harry deserved all the happiness he could get and Fred was thrilled to be a witness to it.

            George was fascinated by this Malfoy. They hadn’t ever come in contact with each other in school except for quidditch. He remembered how much of a prat Malfoy had been but listening to him describe his friends in great detail with so much affection showed him how much he had never known the boy. Appearances aren’t everything and it was time he realized that. He decided he would make time to have a conversation with the rest of the family. Harry didn’t deserve their silent treatment. He hadn’t done anything wrong to be shut out like that.

            “Fred! George! What are you doing here?” The familiar voice caused the whole table to stiffen. The twins turned around with forced smiles. Draco and Harry didn’t even bother to smile.

            “Ron. Hermione.” They said in unison sending apologetic looks at Harry.

            Ron didn’t bother even looking at the rest of the table. Hermione however was interested in them. Fred and George hadn’t mentioned them before and they definitely hadn’t gone to Hogwarts.

            “We stopped by the shop but the closed sign was up. What’s up with that?” Ron said inviting himself into the table. Draco raised his brows in disgust. He had been raised to always wait till you were invited, don’t presume your presence is wanted. Even if it was family. _Slytherin Rule #18: Never assume what you don’t know._

            “We ran into some old friends of ours.” Fred said a little testily. Hermione noticed the tone and frowned. Ron was oblivious as usual and plowed on talking about how he needed to get some items from their shop and if they could hurry up and leave.

            George sighed. “Ron we are in the middle of lunch.” Harry and Draco shared a look before standing up surprising the twins. “It’s okay. We shall see you tomorrow.” Harry said kindly to the twins while sending cold looks to Ron and Hermione.

            “You don’t have to go-” Fred tried to say. Draco sent him a smile. “Thank you for the lovely lunch. Owl us the details for the meeting?” The twins nodded solemnly albeit a little reluctantly.

            Harry entwined his fingers with Draco and they walked away without a backwards glance.

            “Ronald! That was so rude!” They could hear Hermione scold Ron before the door swung shut. Draco rubbed Harry’s back reassuringly. Harry sent him a grateful look.

            “It stung a little to see them but not as bad as I thought it would be. Hermione used to play mediator between Ron and I when we would get into fights but it looks like she chose to be on Ron’s side. During fourth year, at least she divided her time between the two of us. She hasn’t offered to visit me and only sent the one letter. I just don’t understand.” He said bitterly.

            Draco stopped walking and pulled Harry into a hug. “I know love, I don’t understand it either.” Harry sighed into Draco’s chest. He refused to allow them to get to him. If they didn’t want to talk to him then screw them. He didn’t need them.

            “Do you want to get some ice-cream?” Draco asked after a while. Food was always the cure to despair. Harry chuckled warmly, getting the reaction Draco was hoping for.

            “Merlin, yes. But let’s get a tub of it and take it home.” Harry countered. Draco tugged Harry towards Fortescue’s shop. “Of course. Think there's a chance we can get Kreacher to eat any?” Draco asked missing the bewildered and bemused glance Harry was sending him. Harry smiled gently as he listened to Draco ramble about all the things the 'silly creature' needed to try.  Draco sure knew how to turn any sad situation around.

             "Hey wait! Kreacher doesn't need to ride any roller-coasters Draco!" Harry said laughing at Draco's put out expression as he interrupted Draco's cute but unnecessary conversation. Draco wasn't one to be deterred though. Harry wrapped his arms around Draco and listened to him try to persuasively change Harry's mind. Harry sighed heavily, today was a good day after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Harry hasn't lost all of his family. Any thoughts on the twins possibly getting closer to Pansy and Blaise? The twins were always a favorite of mine. 
> 
> Now when it came to describing the love they felt for each other, that was a little difficult. Some people might wonder how their love could be so drastically different. I toyed with the idea of making the love they felt for each other similar but I didn't like that idea. Everyone feels things differently so why should love be any different? I think the depths of how different the love is makes it beautiful. Romantic notion on my part. lol. But that's just what I think. 
> 
> Any thoughts or recommendations? I love hearing from you all.


	14. Lawyer Malfoy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this chapter is definitely shorter than yesterdays. I apologize for that. Tomorrows chapter starts off right into some drama and I couldn't stop mid way just to make this chapter longer. At the end of this chapter is slight smut. It is way mild and only a small taste for what is to come later in the book. If you don't want to read that part then just skip it.

            The following day Harry, Draco and the twins entered Zonko’s Joke Shop for the meeting. Draco brought a brief case and was dressed in his finest suit. Harry wanted to go in glamour’s but Draco said it would benefit them if they were to arrive as who they are. They made sure to arrive in Mister Zonko’s office, to ensure that no one but him saw them.

            Draco dusted the soot off of his pants and tried to hide his amusement as Harry came stumbling out nearly knocking Fred into George. “Don’t even say it.” Harry warned darkly. Draco chuckled. “I didn’t even say anything love.” Draco pointed out.

            “I can feel your amusement.” Harry retorted with a pout. Draco leaned in and kissed the side of Harry’s head in silent apology.

            Fred and George chuckled. “That must suck.” Fred said giving Draco a sympathetic look while George nodded in agreement. Harry opened his mouth to retort angrily but the office door opened interrupting him.

            Robert Zonko walked in reading a very long roll of parchment. “Ah Misters Weasleys right on time.” Harry frowned at the man’s tone. It was a cheap attempt at appearing to be intimidating. After years of hearing Snape hiss insults during potions and Voldemort attempting to kill numerous times, this man’s voice was pathetic. His robes were old and tattered, not anything resembling a man with a successful shop. His hair was grey and balding in spots, as if he liked to pull on it when stressed. Worry lines etched his face and it seemed a permanent frown was his only expression. Harry disliked him immediately.

            Zonko stopped short upon seeing Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter in his office. He swallowed audibly. Whether in horror or excitement, they couldn’t tell. “I didn’t realize you were bringing anyone.” He said faintly.

            Draco looked at the man with an unimpressed arched eyebrow. He took a step forward and smirked when the man took a step backwards. So horror it is. He held out his hand. “Draco Malfoy. I have been hired by my clients Mister Weasley and Mister Weasley.” The man reached a shaky hand and grasped Draco’s hand missing the shocked looks the twins were sending Draco.

            “Robert Zonko. I wasn’t under the impression that they needed a lawyer.” The man said sitting down behind his desk. Draco raised his eyebrows indicating that was a stupid remark.

            “Well when you are asking for 15% past the market price for your shop it does raise questions. I am curious Mr. Zonko why is that?” Draco asked as he waved his wand summoning a chair for the four of them when it appeared that Zonko wasn’t going to be courteous.

            Zonko cleared his throat. “I feel that the business is worth it.” Draco tilted his head to the side. “Do you? How… charming.” His tone suggested it was the furthest thing. Fred and George shared delighted looks. Harry shifted in his seat uncomfortably.

            Sweet Merlin seeing Draco so in charge was having an effect on his body. Was it getting hot or was it just him? Harry lifted his collar away from his throat in an attempt to cool his skin. Draco sucked in a sharp breath when he felt Harry’s lust hit him. A quick glance behind him showed Harry giving him an apologetic look. Draco smirked internally.

            When it looked like Zonko’s wasn’t going to respond Draco dove in. “I would like to take a look at your property lease and business to sell licenses. To ensure that they are in order. Along with your past five years of returns from the Ministry.” Draco couldn’t hold back the smirk when Zonko’s jaw dropped open. “And while you are at it, I would like to take a look at your current customer lists, past sales records, recent advertising materials, employee and management files from the past two years.”

            Zonko’s face went from pale to red quite rapidly. Draco feared for the man’s health. “Now just wait a damn minute-” Draco cut off what surely would have been a long boring rant.

            “I assure you everything I have asked for is in accordance to the law. If that is a problem with you then you needn’t bother.” Draco waited till the man relaxed his shoulders before going in for the kill. “I will advise my clients that they cannot in good conscious buy this place without first viewing the necessary documents. If you refuse to show us the records, then I am sure we can get them from the Ministry. Isn’t that right Harry?” Draco asked in an innocent tone.

            The twins didn’t even bother to hide their amusement at Zonko’s panicked expression. He was like a caged bird trying to escape a narrow death from a persistent cat.

            “That’s right Draco. I remember Kingsley saying if I needed anything not to hesitate to ask. I’m sorry I mean the Minister. Keep forgetting to be professional, hard to when I know him _so_ personally. Great friend he is.” Harry said grinning when Zonko appeared to have forgotten how to breathe.

            “Isn’t it great to have friends in high places Mr. Zonko?” Draco asked with narrowed eyes daring the man to say otherwise. Zonko cleared his throat nervously. “Yes indeed… I’ll just go get those documents…” Draco gave the man an overly indulgent smile. “You do that.” He said with a sneer worthy of his father. The man scurried out of the room like his arse was on fire.

            Fred and George waited till the door was closed before busting out laughing. “Oh Merlin did you see his face?” Fred chortled holding his sides. “I thought he was going to need resuscitation for a minute.” George said wiping his eyes.

            Draco scrambled up and grabbed a hold of Harry causing the twins to look up startled. “I’m sorry Draco. I just couldn’t help it.” Harry said biting his lip. Draco ignored the apology and pressed his body up against Harry’s. Harry gasped quietly at the feel of Draco. “Do you know how hard it was to concentrate when I felt all of your want?” Draco asked breathlessly. The twins shared incredulous looks.

            “Seeing you like that was so hot Draco . Oh Merlin, when can we get out of here?” Harry asked glaring when the twins started laughing again. Draco ignored the twins and pressed his lips to Harry’s neck smirking when he heard the intake of breath. Neither one had yet to acknowledge the needs of their bodies till now. They hadn’t been ready for that but feeling Harry’s lust for him made Draco _so_ ready.

            “Can you two do that later?” Fred asked shifting slightly in his seat. George nodded but for a different reason. “Yeah, when I’m not around to witness it.” George said disgruntled.

            Draco gave a put-out sigh and kissed Harry’s neck one last time before walking back to his seat. With good timing too, not even seconds later the door opened with Zonko’s rushing in with a stack of papers.

            The man was panting as he handed the papers over to Draco. While Draco started flipping through them, Zonko’s took his time to stare at the remaining guests. Spending a considerate amount of time staring at Harry. Draco could feel the unease coming from Harry and didn’t like it.

            “Didn’t your parents teach you it is rude to stare?” Draco snarled without looking up. Zonko startled and flushed in embarrassment and mumbled an insincere apology. Harry sent Draco a wave of gratitude.

            “It is obvious you don’t have an ounce of cleanliness in your body. These papers are so disorganized it’s giving me a migraine. You only gave me half of what I requested. What you have given me is utterly useless.” Draco snarked with a glare that Harry wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of.

            Zonko’s looked nervous under Draco’s withering glare. “It is all I have.” He said crossing his arms in front of his chest in defiance. Draco lifted an eyebrow. “Well then it’s good for you that I did my own research before we came by.” Harry raised an eyebrow. This was news to him.

            Draco reached into his brief case and pulled out a folder. “Would you like to know what I found?” Zonko’s shook his head rapidly. “Are you sure? Well maybe the Ministry would like to take a look. Harry, didn’t we have tea with Minister Shacklebolt tomorrow?”

            Harry’s eyebrows rose into his hairline. Luckily Zonko’s was staring at the folder like it was evil incarnate and didn’t notice. Harry cleared his throat. “Today actually.” He said playing along.

            Draco gasped. “Silly me, I must have forgotten. No matter. I am sure he would love to take a look.” Zonko’s choked a little. Whether on saliva or his own tongue, Draco wasn’t sure.

            “What do you want?” The man asked with desperation. Draco gave a feral smirk that caused the twins to lean back in their seats and Harry to shift in his seat again.

            “Ah now you’re talking. Whatever loans you are now in default on will have nothing to do with this store.” Zonko paled. “You will take your debts and separate it from your personal and professional life. Taking a look at the information you did provide, your store isn’t worth half of your asking price. Regardless of the primal location spot. You have run this store into the ground with absolutely no way to bring it back out. I don’t care if you have to auction off your house, this store will not become collateral in a means to pay off your debt. Make the necessary arrangements and my clients will offer you 60 percent. Not of the asking price but the retail value of the store. That is a generous amount if I do say so myself. If this folder gets back to the Ministry I promise you no one will offer you close to that.” Draco finished darkly.

            Harry could see the sweat pouring off Zonko. Harry was impressed with the information Draco was able to come up with in a day. He tried to remember when he would have had the time for that. They hadn’t done anything of significance last night except eat an ungodly amount of ice-cream and make out heavily until Kreacher caught them in an ‘indecent’ pose for such imposing young Masters.  

            “Alright. You have a deal.” Zonko said shaking Draco’s hand. Harry could feel Draco’s magic solidifying the deal. “Great. I will send you over a contract within the next couple of days and I warn you before my clients sign it, I will be triple checking that you have done what I requested.” Draco warned with a growl that sent a spark of electricity down into Harry’s gut.

            Draco had to grip the arms of the chair tightly to stay focused on the unpleasant man in front of him, instead of turning around and jumping Harry like he wanted to.

            Zonko nodded solemnly and shook Fred and George’s hands sealing the verbal deal. Harry looked down at the offered hand in distaste before the man pulled back embarrassed.

            “Can’t say it’s been a pleasure but it has been business. Until next time.” Draco said before turning around and grabbing a hold of Harry and flooing back to the twin’s flat.

            Draco shoved Harry against the wall as soon as Harry picked himself up off the floor from his landing. Draco looked into Harry’s eyes and could see the same want in them that he could feel from Harry.

            Draco kissed Harry hard and rough. Immediately thrusting his tongue in Harry’s mouth. Harry moaned into the brutal kiss as his hands started wandering over Draco’s body. Draco broke the kiss and started nipping at Harry’s jaw. Harry arched into Draco and hissed as he made contact with another hard member against his own.

            A cough jarred them apart. Draco turned to look at the flustered Weasley twins. “Cockblock.” Draco grumbled as the twins laughed. He took a step back and willed his body to calm down. He had to picture Hagrid in a tutu but it did eventually die down. What a disturbing image. He looked over at Harry and had to grin at the flushed panting picture his boyfriend made. Harry looked edible. Draco licked his lips and had to fight the urge to kiss him again.

            “Worst timing ever.” Harry said straightening his clothes. Fred and George grinned unrepentantly. They ignored Harry’s statement.

            “That was brilliant!” George exclaimed.

            “Merlin, Draco we had no idea how good you were!”

            Harry could feel the pleasure Draco felt when the twins used his first name. He smiled warmly at the Fred and George. Harry reached over and grabbed the folder. He opened it and busted out laughing causing the twins to stare in confusion and Draco to look rather smug.

            “Draco this folder is empty!” Harry said through tears of laughter. Fred and George looked astonished. They looked from the folder to Draco back to the folder before joining in the laughter.

            “Oh man! You tricked him!” Fred said clutching his sides.

            “I don’t believe it. You got him down to 60% of the retail price and the folder was empty?!” George said in wonderment.

            When they managed to pull themselves together, the twins walked over to Draco and slung an arm around him. “You know you are just the kind of trickster we like.” George said with a smile. Draco raised an eyebrow. “Not nearly as good as us.” Draco rolled his eyes. “But with Harry as our silent partner, you as our lawyer and us as the brains that hold the whole thing together, our business will become an empire.” Fred said with a grin.  

            Harry tiled his head to the side. “You know they may be on to something.” He said smiling when Draco lifted a brow. “Why stop at two stores? We could take over Brittan with _many_ stores. And then…” Harry paused for dramatic suspense. Draco rolled his eyes but the twins were captivated. “We can take it international.” Harry finished. The twins shared a considering look. Harry grabbed a hold of Draco and pulled him away from the twins so that he could wrap his arms around him. Draco smirked at Harry’s jealousy.

            “It would take time. We would have to see how well the second shop does-”

            “Before committing to more. But I like it. If all goes well, we may just take you up on that.” Fred said with his eyes shining at the possibility.

Draco was intrigued at the idea. He and Harry would have to become lawyers legally. Not all business owners looking to sell are corrupt like Zonko. Draco wasn’t sure if this is what he really wanted to do but it was definitely a possibility. He liked possibilities. Draco shared a smile with Harry and nodded in agreement to the twins.

            “So you learned all that from your father?” Fred asked curiously. Draco snorted. “Yes, I picked up a lot from the man whether I wanted to or not.” He said bitterly. Harry squeezed Draco’s side in comfort.

            “I thought your father was more of the bribe your way through life type of guy.” George said kindly. Not with any rancor.

            Draco shook his head. _“Slytherin Rule #10: Bribes are only to be used when intimidation fails.”_ Draco recited. “Only the weak can be intimidated. My father can be intimidating when he wants don’t get me wrong, but the big fish out there can only be bought. Which he is good at. Zonko was weak and didn’t require any bribery.” Draco explained with a shrug.

            “You know these rules of yours are interesting.” Harry said with a smile. Draco shrugged again. “It’s all in the handbook.” Harry spluttered. “There’s a Slytherin Handbook?” He asked shocked.

            Draco looked at Harry and the twins with a confused expression. “Of course there is. Isn’t there a Gryffindor Handbook as well?” At the shaking of their heads Draco smirked.

            “Like _Gryffindor Rule #1: Must wear ghastly shades of red and gold regardless if we look like twats doing so_. Or _Gryffindor Rule #2: Always rush into danger without a plan. The deadlier the better._ ” Draco said laughing at the disgruntled glares he was receiving.

            Despite being the only one laughing Draco thought it had been rather hilarious. “You know I think I am the funniest person I know.” He said wiping his eyes. Harry grinned ruefully. “Yeah you being the only one to laugh at your own jokes proves that.” Draco mock glared. “Gryffindors just don’t have a sense of humor.” He sighed sniffling. The twins shook their heads, their mouths twitching.

            “I can’t believe there really is a handbook.” Harry said scratching his head. He was intrigued. Did Flourish and Blotts sell it?

            “Why didn’t we come up with one for Gryffindor?” George asked grumpily. “You’re right. It would have been the ultimate prank. We could have passed them out to the first years.” Fred said grinning.

            “Rule #1: Always talk back to Professor Snape.” George stated as Harry choked a little.

            “Rule #2: The forbidden forest really isn’t out of bounds.”

            “Rule #3: House points are meant to be taken away.”

            “Rule #4: Detentions are a rite of passage.” Fred said grinning in nostalgia, most likely remembering the many detentions they had.

            Harry and Draco chuckled picturing first year Gryffindors following the handbook and being confused when they got in trouble.

            “Oh, before I forget.” Draco reached into his pocket and handed the twins a piece of parchment paper. “It’s Pansy and Blaise’s contact information. They were intrigued and would like to meet.”

            “Well this day has-”

            “Turned out to be very productive.” George smirked.

            Harry and Draco spent a little time with the twins before they needed to reopen the shop. They bid the twins goodbye. Once back in Grimwald place Draco grabbed a hold of Harry and dragged him to their room. As soon as the door shut Draco’s lips were attacking Harry’s neck as he pushed them down on the bed.

            Harry arched his back panting slightly as he clutched the back of Draco’s neck holding him in place. Draco’s nostrils flared wildly as breathed in Harry’s scent and the feeling of his boyfriend’s desire for him. Draco’s mind blanked and went fuzzy simulating a dizzy feeling in the back of his mind.

            “You have no idea how badly I wanted to jump you back there. I was tempted to say screw the meeting and take you back here.” Draco panted harshly. Harry moaned when Draco pressed himself up against his body.

            “I wanted you to. I wanted you to jump me.” Harry admitted into Draco’s ear as he nibbled the lobe lightly. Draco groaned and thrusted his hips forward, gasping when their groins meshed and made contact.  

            Harry knew they weren’t ready for more but the feel of Draco against him through their clothes was enough. Draco clutched Harry’s hips to help direct his thrusts. Harry met each thrust with a breathy moan and a whisper of Draco’s name. Draco’s head was swimming with arousal. The pants and moans being the only sound in the room, causing Draco to grind down against Harry harder.

            “Don’t stop.” Harry begged as he met each of Draco’s thrusts with one of his own. If Draco had been thinking clearly he would have registered Harry’s words and would have scoffed. Why on earth would he stop?  

            Too soon for Harry’s liking his world shattered and the earth stood still as his body shuddered and released. Harry was vaguely aware of Draco stilling in his arms as Draco released a deep guttural groan.

            They lay panting against one another, trying to regain the ability to breathe. “That was brilliant.” Harry wheezed. Draco nodded against Harry’s neck, not able to communicate properly just yet. Harry smiled as he ran his fingers through Draco’s damp hair. Draco closed his eyes in contentment as he listened to Harry’s heartbeat against his ear. Being in Harry’s arms was _all_ he would ever need.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully you all enjoyed this chapter. I had to add a bit of myself into Draco. Because I also feel that I am the funniest person I know. Lol. And yes, I am the only one who laughs at my jokes too. That's okay. :P I enjoyed letting some of Draco's teachings shine through, not to mention his Slytherin sneakiness.


	15. The Letter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I normally don't post more than one chapter a day, but since the one I posted earlier was so short I decided to release the next one. It is also a short one so that's why I don't feel like its too much to post them both. It's more of a teaser chapter anyways.

            The rest of the week flew by much to Draco’s resignation. He made sure the contract for the Weasley twins was all set up. Zonko had done as he asked and separated the store from his debts. Draco set up a backup folder that would be sent to the twins in case he was sentenced to Azkaban. It was a name of good lawyers that would help them out and some business advice that would come in handy.

            The trial was tomorrow and he didn’t know how to tell Harry. Procrastination, what a horrid word. It tricks you into a false sense of security until it’s too late and time has run out. Sure, putting everything off till later seems like the solution at the time but it’s just a trap. A deadly trap with horrific consequences. Draco always thought procrastination was for the lazy. _Slytherin Rule #26: Nothing profitable happens to those who wait._ Where did the time go? It felt like just yesterday they were sitting under the stars in the quidditch field pouring out their souls to each other. But at the same time that also felt like a life time ago instead of just a little over a month.

            He didn’t know how to say it. How do you tell the man you love that there was a chance that everything they have could be ripped away because of cowardly mistakes you made? Is there even a gentle way to tell your boyfriend that you might go to prison? Draco wasn’t sure what to do or what to say. All of the cast away fear and anxiousness in the last month came back full force. Draco couldn’t shield it if he tried. He could feel Harry’s weighted stares on him but he couldn’t find the words to reassure him. Was that cowardly? 

            Draco was swimming in his emotions. He felt like he was drowning and there was no life preserver to save him. Guilt, fear, desperation, and terror are surrounding him on all sides. There is no way out. No light at the end of the tunnel. The emotions mock him, they scream their pleasure at how far Draco has fallen. They laugh at his helplessness that they bring in their wake. Draco can’t think, can’t rationalize, can’t see beyond his own fear. He has lost all mental awareness of where he is. Was he still in Grimwald place or was this his own personal hell? He could no longer see Harry or hear Kreacher’s insane mumbling. The smells of the old house that used to comfort him are gone. Now all he can smell is the rotting breath and chill of death that he knows awaits him in Azkaban. The warmth that he used to get from being close to Harry is ebbing away. All he can feel is the cold stone of the cell he knows houses his future. The house has suddenly gone too still, too quiet. No sound. The air has grown thin, it’s getting harder to breathe. Has he really drowned? Is that why he can’t get oxygen in his lungs? The blood has rushed to his face and his mind is slowly fading. What’s happening? Has it already started? Is he already losing his mind? What-

            *Smack* The shock of the pain jars Draco out of the endless horrors of his mind. He comes to and realizes he is on the ground gasping for air. His lungs are on overdrive making up for a lack that he hadn’t known was happening. Harry and Kreacher hovering over him. Harry has tears streaming down his face and the sight clenches his rapid beating heart. He lifts a shaking hand to wipe the tears away. Harry closes his eyes at Draco’s touch causing more tears to fall.   

             “You weren’t breathing. You were having a panic attack. I-I’m sorry I hit you but I didn’t know how else to stop the attack.” Harry chokes out, eyes still closed and tears still streaming.

            “I’m sorry!” Draco breathes and suddenly he is crying too. Harry clutches Draco to him pulling him into his lap. Draco isn’t sure if he is apologizing for scaring Harry or for not telling him about the trial. Or for being such a cowardly git in the first place.

            It doesn’t matter because Harry is kissing his tears away. “It’s okay. I know, I’m scared too.” Harry whispers. Draco squints through watery eyes. “You knew?” He rasps out in shock. Harry nods his head vehemently. “Yes I knew. You didn’t want to tell me for a reason so I respected that. I-I love you Draco!” Harry cries out desperately as the tears start flowing again. Neither boy noticing Kreacher leaving to give them privacy.  

            Draco sits up and wraps his arms around Harry cursing the world and his own faults for putting him in this position. All he wants is Harry. That’s it. Just Harry. He prays to any higher power out there to just grant him that one wish. He would give anything to be able to keep Harry. His money, his status, his magic, he would give it all away to just- please God let him keep Harry.

            “I love you too Harry.” Draco says with reverence as he holds Harry to him. The two cling to each other crying until no tears flow out and they can’t cry anymore. They hold each other whispering shallow words of comfort till well into the night. They refuse to let go, fearing that if they do it will be the last time they’ll ever be together. They clutch at one another until they fall asleep out of utter exhaustion, neither one capable of keeping their eyes open for even a single second.  

            Harry wakes up and knows instantly that Draco is gone. He clenches his eyes in pain. He knows Draco left to go prepare for the trial. Part of him is crushed and utterly devastated that Draco didn’t wake him. But the rest of him can’t help but be grateful. Harry wouldn’t have been able to keep his composure if he had to watch Draco walk out without knowing if he would be coming back. Harry checks the time and curses when he realizes he overslept. He would have to hurry if he was going to make it in time for the announcement of the witnesses. As he stood up he sees a flash of something out of the corner of his eye. Where Draco had slept lay parchment in his place. Harry wastes no time in snatching it up. The parchment is covered in drops of tears which chokes Harry in emotions he can’t afford to have right now. He forces himself to read the letter.

 

_Harry my beloved,_

_I am so sorry I never told you about the trial. I didn’t want you to be involved. I didn’t want you risking anything for me. I didn’t want you tarnishing your good name defending me. I know my silence must have hurt you and I apologize. I never wanted to hurt you. Never. You mean the world to me. You are the only thing that keeps me going. The only reason I wake up in the morning. Every minute I spend with you brings me a lifetime of joy. Gods I am a Hufflepuff and I don’t even care. _

_I wouldn’t know how to function without you. Which scares me. I have always been independent. Well as independent as my parents allowed. I have never needed nor wanted another person. Until you. My life changed drastically the night in the quidditch field. I almost didn’t show up that night. I had tried two days in a row to muck of the courage to talk to you. I was about to give up when something told me to check the quidditch pitch. When I saw you I almost turned around and went home. Part of me was upset that I had found you, because that meant I couldn’t plead ignorance. I couldn’t walk away and say I tried when you were standing right there. So I forced my legs to walk to you and it was the best decision I have ever made. It’s crazy how one decision can change your life. One simple choice and my whole world was spun out in a new direction that led me to you._

_I can’t bring myself to wish that I had never done the things that I am on trial for because they brought me to you. Without all of the shite I have gone through, I never would have had the courage to talk to you, to explain myself. As much as I detest myself I can’t regret my choices because that would mean regretting you. Which I refuse to do. If I had to do it all over again, I would do it in a heartbeat, just to have you. I would live through my shite childhood all over, live through the fear of the Dark Lord all over, I would live through wondering if death was surely better than fighting in the war all over again, if it led me to you. Every single thing I have been through in my life has been worth it because you were the end result._

_I won’t lie. I am beyond scared. I have never been scared like this before. Sixth year plotting against Dumbledore can’t even compare. Voldemort breathing down my neck in my own home can’t compare. It’s not the thought of Azkaban itself that scares me. If they find me guilty then it is my own repentance that will keep me there. If they find me guilty I won’t protest any injustice or wrong doing of the court. If they find me guilty it is because I deserve it. No, the reason I am scared is because I don’t want to lose you. Being sentenced will devastate me because that means I won’t be with you. I will be absolutely gutted. The loss of you is what scares me the most. Being with you is like breathing. Prolonged exposure without air will slowly suffocate me. Which is exactly what I fear my life would be like without you. I don’t want that, I don’t want to figure out how to live without you. I need you just as much as I need to breathe. I need you just as much as my body needs sustenance and water. I need you just as much as the ocean needs the moon for the tides. I need you just as much as nature needs the sun. I just need you.  _

_I love you Harry. I love you with every fiber of my being. I think I loved you since I caught a glimpse of you that night under the stars. I know without a doubt that I would love you without this bond that brings us together. I have been drawn to you since the day I met a little boy with bright green eyes and messy hair in a robe shop. I have longed and dreamed of the day where you could consider me a friend. I got my wish and so much more. I never imagined this. I never imagined loving you could be like this. I never imagined that you would ever love me back. But knowing that you do thrills me like nothing ever has. Your love is all I crave. As long as I can come home to you and your love that is all I will ever need in life._

_I am sorry that you have to wake up alone. I am sorry you are reading this instead of listening to me say it. I am just so sorry Harry. I am a coward. You know this. I couldn’t face seeing your tears again. Gods I hate myself for that. I couldn’t face seeing your haunted eyes as I walked out the door. It kills me writing this. It feels like I am saying goodbye and I hate it. I never want to say goodbye. I wish the last thing I saw today was your smiling face. I can face Azkaban with that. I can face the world with just the memory of you._

_If I don’t come back today, please know that I love you. Never doubt that. Know that my love for you is endless. I will never stop loving you. Even if the entire world was against us. Even if the world was burning and the ground was breaking apart. I would still love you. Even if you hated my existence, I would still love you. Nothing but my last dying breath will ever change that. And even then, I will love you in the afterlife. I will love you forever. Always._

_You are my everything. My heart. My life. My own._

_With so much love,_

_Draco._

            Harry’s knees gave out as he came crashing to the floor. “Oh gods.” He cried into his hands. He had never read something so wonderful and so awful in his whole life. He felt as if his chest was cracked open and his heart was ripped out. He could feel his heart breaking, could feel the pain of Draco’s words seeping into his veins. Draco’s words were playing in his head over and over again on repeat. Draco took a piece of Harry with him when he left and Harry was worried he would never get it back.

            It would be so easy to fall into despair and depression. So easy to clutch the letter to his heart, crawl into bed and give way to his grief. He could cry until no more tears would come out and then dry sob until his lungs needed a break. Harry could lose himself in the wake of losing Draco. It would be so easy to give up and rage against the world. So easy.

            But… Harry wasn’t one to give up. Never could before and now wasn’t a time to start. He didn’t give up when the Dursley’s told him he was a freak and wouldn’t amount to anything. He didn’t give up when none of the teachers believed that someone was after the Sorcerer’s Stone. He didn’t give up when the whole school thought he was Slytherin’s heir. He didn’t give up when he had to face off against a giant deadly basilisk determined to kill him. He didn’t give up when he found out the whole world saw his godfather as a murderer. He didn’t give up when learning the patronus charm was difficult. He didn’t give up when everyone turned their backs on him during the Triwizard tournament. He didn’t give up when the whole world called him an attention seeking liar after Voldemort had returned. He didn’t give up when Umbridge was determined to ruin him. He didn’t give up when Sirius died no matter how much he wanted to. He didn’t give up when Dumbledore died. He didn’t give up the mission when Ron left. He didn’t give up fighting the Horcruxes. He didn’t give up fighting even after finding out he had been raised like a sheep to the slaughter. He didn’t give up knowing he was just a tool to be used to fight off Voldemort. He didn’t give up when he walked to his death. He didn’t even give up when he died, he came back fighting. And finally, when the world saw him as some second coming or messiah but Harry himself was lost and confused and horribly broken… he still didn’t give up. Harry stood up slowly, set the letter down and wiped his eyes. He spelled a suit on and fixed his hair the best he could. Now was not the time to give up. Now was not the time to sob his heart out. Now was not the time rage against the world. There would be time for that later. Now was the time to go save his boyfriend and give the world a piece of his mind. Now was the time he was going to tarnish his good name despite Draco’s worries. When had he ever cared what anyone else thought? Harry smirked. He couldn’t give a damn. It’s about time the world saw a new side to the boy-who-lived. He was going to get Draco off or the world was going to burn in the wake of his anger.

            Kreacher saw the determination in his Master’s eyes and beamed with pride. “Bring Master Draco home.” He croaked. Harry spun around with a small smile. “No worries Kreacher. He will be coming home. Of that, have no doubt.” Harry said roughly before flooing to the Ministry. Kreacher waited until his Master was gone. “Kreacher never doubts Master Harry. Master can do anything.” He croaked with a fondness that would have shocked Sirius to his core.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it wasn't much of a chapter but like I said earlier, I only posted it to offset the short chapter from earlier in the day. I know it's a cliff hanger, sorry for that. :P I wanted to leave it like this so that you could really grasp the emotions of the letter instead of just hurrying through the next chapter. I was going for emotional impact.


	16. Lawyer Potter

            Harry for once landed without making a fool of himself. Perhaps it was because he wasn’t dreading the landing? Perhaps it was because his mind was too preoccupied at the moment?

            Harry ignored the gaping stares. He ignored the admired shouts of his name. He ignored the reporters clamming around for a story. He ignored the mindless sheep milling around. He ignored everyone. Even the security guard meant to take his wand. None of them mattered. Harry was too far gone in his bid to get to Draco to give a damn about what was happening around him.

            Harry felt the pull of the bond guiding him to the courtroom that Draco was at. Harry stopped for a moment upon seeing the same one that he was tried at in the summer before his fifth year. How fitting that the trial would be held here. Fate sure loved irony. There was two Auror guards standing beside the closed doors. They were there to stop any late bloomers from entering. Well they better stand aside.

            The Aurors stood up straighter when they saw someone approaching. “Sorry but the courtroom is closed now. You will have to wait in the lobby with everyone else who came late.” One of them said.

            “I am a witness that needs to be in there.” Harry said with a hard glint to his voice that sent shivers down the spines of the Aurors. When it looked like they were going to argue, Harry pulled out his wand at shot off two stunners and a bombarda to open the blockade they set on the door. The Aurors if you could call them that, were too stunned to block the spells. Constant vigilance must not be something they teach Aurors anymore. Pity. They landed on their sides slumped over. One of them hit his head on the way down, Harry couldn’t have been bothered to care.

            The chatter of noise that Harry had heard on the other side of the door died down instantly when the bombarda made contact. Harry grinned ferally. Good, dramatic entrances always helped make a scene. That was definitely one thing Voldemort taught him.

            Draco who had been sitting stock still between his parents froze when a loud crashing noise hit against the courtroom door. What on earth was that? Who could want to get in so badly that they had to cast against the door. It’s not like they were that important to warrant an immediate entrance. The outcome of the trial would be reported in the papers after all.

            The doors were thrown open with such force that they clanged against the wall brutally. The whining of the hinges screamed its protests at the harsh treatment. A man was standing there with his head bowed and his arms thrown wide from pushing the doors open. He was panting harshly and Draco caught a glimpse of feet in the corner of the door outside. Must be the guard. The Ministry sure has fallen if the Aurors couldn’t even protect a simple door.

            The man lifted his head and Draco leaned back in shock. It was Harry! Harry was here. He didn’t know what to think. He was thrilled to see him but was saddened that Harry would be seeing his trial. If he was found to be guilty, that wasn’t an image he wanted to have Harry see. But just having Harry here was enough to lessen the panic that had been gripping his insides.   

            Harry lifted his head and locked eyes with Draco. He could see the tremors that rocked Draco’s form when they made eye contact. Harry sent Draco all the love and reassurance that he could possibly muster before slamming his shields shut with such force Draco flinched. Why was Harry blocking him? He would have worried what that would mean for them if Harry hadn’t sent him a wave of love. Was Harry angry? The sheer force of the shield dimmed the bond. Draco didn’t like it. He wanted to feel Harry. Draco may not know much about their bond, but he knew enough to know that it should never be dimmed. It was unnatural.

            Harry ignored the shocked audience of the crowd. He could care less who decided to show up to the trial. They were unimportant. They didn’t matter. Most of them were probably there to see the Malfoy’s get their just desserts. Well they would surely be disappointed. As Harry stepped all the way into room, the doors sprang shut instantly. Harry turned his back on the audience, therefore missing the surprised looks of Snape, Pansy, Blaise, even Mr. Weasley and Kingsley Shacklebolt.

            Harry turned and glared at the members of the Wizengamot. Harry nearly growled when he saw Umbridge on the bench. Was the Ministry really that incompetent to allow her access to the Wizengamot? Did they honestly believe that she should be working for the Ministry? Harry really did let out a growl when he saw Fudge in the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot spot. He couldn’t believe Fudge would be trying the case. He had known coming into it that the man would be here but it was another thing to actually see it in person. What in the sans hell was Kingsley thinking allowing this man near any position of power? The man was utterly useless. A spineless waste of space. Goyle could probably do a better job than him! And that is a disturbing thought!

            “Mister Potter what are doing here?” Fudge asked in what Harry guessed was supposed to be a pleased voice. Right, like their bad history was a thing of the past. Harry snorted to himself. Dream on delusional man. Dream on.  

            “Sorry that I am late but I am here as a witness.” Harry said stunning Fudge. Harry shot a quick glance to the Malfoy’s lawyer, Mister Dirkley, who nodded discreetly. The look didn’t go unnoticed by Lucius or Draco. Lucius narrowed his eyes at his lawyer and Draco furrowed his brows in confusion.

            “A witness for the prosecution. Oh well that’s all right my boy. Right on time. The prosecution has already laid out their case but that’s alright.” Fudge said excitedly. Harry raised an unimpressed eyebrow.

            “No…” He said slowly and deliberately like he was talking to a child. “I am here as a witness for the defense.” Gasps could be heard all around the courtroom and Harry had to bite his cheek to stop the smirk from forming. Could they be any more predictable?

            “Now see here! You can’t just show up unannounced and demanding to be a witness. That’s not how this works.” Fudge said outraged. Other members of the Wizengamot shared concerned looks. Why would Harry Potter be championing for the Malfoy family?

            “You were ready to take me unannounced for the prosecution but not for the defense? That sounds a little unethical if you ask me.” Fudge spluttered but didn’t bother rebutting a reply. “No matter I am not here to discuss your ethics or rather lack of them.” Harry wrinkled his nose in disgust. Fudge’s face grew red in embarrassment. “As it so happens, I am not here unannounced.” Harry waved his wand and he conjured a brief case. “I filed the necessary paperwork a month ago. I was under no obligation to announce my name in the legal work. Under the Wizengamot rules, paragraph three of the right to appear in court section, it clearly states that if the witness fears a negative reaction to his name or it could affect the outcome of the trial they may be entered into the record anonymously until the time of the trial. As you all know, my name would have affected the proceedings in a negative way. It would have infringed upon the Malfoy family’s rights. I have followed the law and filed the correct paperwork in a timely manner. You cannot bar me from testimony no matter how much you may want to.” Harry said firmly narrowing his eyes daring Fudge to argue.

            Draco didn’t know what to make of this. Harry was stunningly beautiful in his anger and determination. His heart filled with his love for Harry but at the same time he was worried what this would mean for Harry’s name. Him testifying for his family would surely get his name thrown into the mud. Everyone would be wondering if he was now a dark wizard. They would think that they had cast a spell on him compelling Harry to testify. Harry would be under public scrutiny, more so than he was before. To Draco this spelled bad news. The last thing he wanted was for Harry to take the hit for testifying.  

            Fudge opened and closed his mouth a couple times repeatedly before conferring with the rest of the members of the Wizengamot. While they wasted time, Harry sent a wink to Draco who had to fight down the urge to smile. Draco could feel the weighted eyes of his father on him but he pointedly ignored that. He couldn’t give his father any answers, he didn’t know them himself. It wasn’t like he knew Harry was going to do this.    

            “Very well, since you were late you are the last witness we will hear for the case.” Fudge said rudely as he conjured the chair that was designated for the witnesses in the center of the room. Harry stepped up to it and graciously sat down staring unnervingly at Fudge.

            Mr. Dirkley stood up and waited for the go ahead before he could start his line of questioning.

            “Mister Potter why are you here as a witness for the defense?” Dirkley asked the question everyone wanted to know. Harry looked up at the man so innocently that Draco had to hide his amusement. That look wouldn’t work on anyone who actually knew Harry. “Why because they are innocent sir.” Harry said biting his lip to keep from laughing at the outraged yelling that took place at his statement. Harry wouldn’t or couldn’t look towards where Draco and his parents sat. If he saw surprise on Lucius’s face he wouldn’t be able to keep the charade up. He would lose it. Cracking up would most likely negatively affect the trial. Harry forced himself to keep looking at their lawyer instead.

            “What makes you so certain?” Harry sighed. “The Malfoy family saved my life. If it weren’t for them I wouldn’t be here.” Harry said beaming with false cheeriness that he hoped came off as genuine. Draco was impressed, Harry certainly knew how to act. If he hadn’t known Harry as well as he does he would have bought into it.  

            The noise level in the room rose to a dramatic deafening. Fudge slammed his gavel down. “Silence! What is this rubbish Mister Potter?” Fudge said angrily as his face turned an ugly magenta. “I think Mister Potter should be forced to use Veritaserum.” Umbridge spoke up grinning in triumph. Harry growled in outrage, causing some members to flinch back.

            “It is not rubbish.” Harry said his voice going low and dangerous. “Are you insinuating that I am lying? Under the Protection for the Witness Act of 1920, you are not allowed to request that I use Veritaserum unless you have proof that I am lying. Do you have proof that I am lying? No. I thought not. The Act came about so that witnesses would be more comfortable testifying, if they knew that the Ministry wouldn’t force them into saying things that could be deemed as irrelevant. I can volunteer to take Veritaserum if I was feeling inclined to do so. But considering the way you lot have already treated me today that option is long gone. Perhaps if you hadn’t insinuated that I am a liar Umbridge, I may have taken Veritaserum. You only have yourself to blame for that.” Harry grinned at the thunderous looks the rest of the Wizengamot was giving Umbridge. Harry cleared his throat drawing attention back to himself.

            “While fighting off deatheaters and snatchers, I was captured and brought to where Voldemort lived.” Harry smirked internally at the way they all flinched at his name. “Draco Malfoy was forced into the room and asked if I was indeed Harry Potter. I was under the influence of a spell that was intended to distort my facial features. He lied to them and told them I was someone else. If he had been honest I would have died right then and there and Voldemort would have won the war and who knows if the Ministry would even be standing.” Harry answered narrowing his eyes. Completely leaving out the fact that Voldemort’s living area was Malfoy Manor. It’s not like they needed to know that, right?

            While everyone was stunned speechless, Harry decided it would best to hurry this along. “Later on in the war while Voldemort cast the killing curse and it hit me, Lucius and Narcissa were asked if I was still alive. They lied and said no. Which paved the path to me being able to defeat Voldemort later on in the battle.” Harry smiled sweetly at the faces of the Wizengamot. Harry had heard the surprised intake of one of the Malfoy’s behind him when he lied about Lucius helping. Draco couldn’t believe it. Harry was lying for his father. This had to be an alternate universe. Helping him and his mother for their part in it made sense but lying for his father? That was something else. Draco wanted to know why.  

Harry could have worded that without mentioning that he had survived the killing curse… again. But he wanted them to fear him, wanted them to remember that he was not like everyone else. He wanted them to keep that in mind while they listened to his story.

            “So you see, the Malfoy family has done me a great service. Why you could almost say that without them _I_ wouldn’t have won the war.” The gobsmacked faces of the Wizengamot was a treat for Harry. “And I do mean I, seeing since the Ministry didn’t do a damn thing to help. You all sat at home on your arses while _I_ risked my life time and time again. _I_ was out fighting Voldemort while you lot set me out as the undesirable number one! Cowardly hypocritical wankers the lot of you! The Malfoy family who you have put on trial did more to help the cause then the Ministry _ever_ has.” The silence in the courtroom was deafening. He wondered if anyone was even breathing. Surely it was unnatural how silent it was.

            The gobsmacked face on Umbridge’s face was so worth saving Lucius’s pitiful existence from Azkaban. That face will be a proud memory of Harry’s for the rest of his life. If he had had a camera the photo would be framed up above the mantle. Revenge really is served best cold.   

            “Be that as it may, that doesn’t excuse them from being deatheaters!” Someone in the Wizengamot yelled. Harry tilted his head to the side. “Who said they were deatheaters?” If Harry had thought the last silence was the height of how quiet it could get he would be wrong. This silence was almost debilitating.

            “Lucius Malfoy and his son have the marks to prove it!” Umbridge said in triumph. Harry nodded along with her. “Yes, you are right. But do remember that Lucius Malfoy received his dark mark during the first war when he was imperiused into following Voldemort.” Fudge spluttered in panic.

            “Do remember that the Wizengamot acquitted him of all charges during his first trial. So him having the mark now wouldn’t be proof of being a deatheater during this war. Mentioning any prior bad acts from acquitted trials is grounds for dismissal. I would be careful where you take your line of questioning.” Harry warned pleasantly folding his hands in his lap. Gods this was fun.  

            “As for the witnesses that have no doubt testified to saying they saw Lucius Malfoy fighting on the opposite side during the war, I believe he was once again imperiused. Once a victim always one.” Harry had to pause a moment to ensure that he didn’t smirk at the outraged growl that no doubt came from Lucius.

“Voldemort knew how sensitive he was to the curse and used it once again to make sure that he kept Lucius under his spell. He needed the influence that Lucius could gain as a politician and his close ties to you Fudge when you were Minister. And we all know how well that turned out.” Harry said smirking at the gasps that could be heard.

            Some members of the Wizengamot were looking at Fudge with distrust and open distaste. Others were looking at Harry with thoughtful looks, like they were considering his words.

            “What about when he was caught in the roundup during the break in at the Department of Ministries?” Fudge asked grasping at straws.

            “I do believe him being imperiused would cover any of that but I’ll indulge you. Did you know that the Malfoy family has a prophecy in the hall of records?” By the looks on the Wizengamot faces they did not know that. Good.

            “As you all know that only the people who are prophesized in a prophecy can touch them. But once all parties of the prophecy are deceased anyone in the family can have access to the prophecy. Lucinda Malfoy had a prophecy in her name during the late 1890’s. So Lucius Malfoy being caught in the Department of Ministries is not a crime. I would say it was just a horrible coincidence. The time of night that he was there was against Ministry rules but for a first offense, punishment is just a warning. I checked the records, it was his first time. So actually, the imprisonment of one Lucius Malfoy that night was illegal. Did you know he wasn’t given a trial? You must since none of you were present for one. You assumed he was a deatheater because of happenstance but didn’t even bother asking if he had a legitimate excuse for being there. My my that is a shame. I imagine if I was him I wouldn’t be feeling too generous with the Ministry. I know if it was me I would sue.” Harry smiled at the gulps on the Wizengamot members. Draco choked on his tongue. What the hell was Harry playing at?

            “I would sue for wrongful imprisonment. I would sue for all profit that he missed out on by being wrongfully imprisoned. I would sue for any mental distress caused by the dementors. I would sue for the tarnished name that the Ministry’s papers issued. But then again that’s just me. Who knows what Mr. Malfoy would do.” Harry managed to hide his smirk behind a cough but could not contain the glee of seeing their white, pale faces. They were screwed. So utterly screwed and he was enjoying every minute of it.  

            Draco dropped his mouth open in shock. Harry wasn’t just lying for his father he was saving his father. He was saving more than just his imprisonment. He was saving his name, his money and his life. But the question he couldn’t figure out was why?

            “Narcissa Malfoy doesn’t even have a dark mark, so for her to have been brought in on charges that are completely found less is once again illegal. You only brought her in here due to who her husband is. You didn’t even care that she didn’t fit the perfect picture of a deatheater. Her husband was one so therefore she must be as well. How far the Wizengamot has fallen. And here I thought you were the defenders of the innocent. Not charging whoever you want as long as it fits your political agenda.” Harry spat out angrily.

            “You have not one shred of reliable evidence on her but yet you insisted on trying her with her family. That’s another odd thing now that I mention it.” Harry saw Fudge begin to sweat. “Since when does the Wizengamot try an entire family? I checked the law and unless they committed a known crime as a _family_ with eye witnesses it is against the law to try them together.” Harry said scratching his head.

            “They had the mark! What were we supposed to think?” Fudge said indignantly.

            “Mrs. Malfoy doesn’t have the dark mark as I have already stated. Did you know that possessing the dark mark is not against the law? I checked. Being a part of a dark organization is not against the law unless the _individuals_ are personally witnessed doing wrong. Just because Voldemort was doing horrible horrible things it is not the fault of his followers unless they as the _individuals_ are seen doing those same acts. So you trying them as a family on the basis of having the dark mark is once again illegal. I didn’t know the Wizengamot was in a habit of illegally trying people.” Harry said sighing in disappointment. The members of the court shifted uncomfortably.

            “You should have tried them all separately. Mrs. Malfoy shouldn’t have been brought up on charges at all considering you don’t have an ounce of evidence against her. Mister Malfoy has been proven to be easily duped into the imperio curse as the Wizengamot acquitted him the first time around. And given the likelihood that he was being used again it is common sense that he was being used during the final battle. Discarding the break in at the Ministry since I have given you a plausible reason why he would have been there. Besides the final battle, you don’t have a single instance where Mister Malfoy was caught doing any wrongdoing. Same goes for Draco Malfoy. Other than the dark mark he has zero witnesses claiming they saw him do any wrong doing. The only thing it seems he has done is get an ugly tattoo. I would like to point out once again that possessing the dark mark is not a crime. So with the mountain of zero evidence on the defendants, the legitimate alternative theories, and my personal accountings on how they saved my life on two occasions, I do not see how you can possibly convict them.” Harry finished a little out of breath but thoroughly pleased with himself.

            Draco had to admit that Harry was doing a better job at defending them then their lawyer had. Hopefully his father wasn’t paying the man much, he surely didn’t deserve it. The way Harry spoke so passionately was enchanting. Draco could see the audience and the members of the Wizengamot listening raptly. Even if they didn’t like the words he was saying they still listened. Harry could have been feeding them the utterly mad things Lovegood spouts and they would have been eating out of the palm of his hands.  

            The whisperings of the audience were growing louder with each passing moment the Wizengamot said nothing. Mister Dirkley stepped forward. “Thank you Mister Potter.” Dirkley turned towards the Wizengamot. “As Mister Potter has finished giving his accountings of what happened, I would like to announce the closing of the defense. We await your decision.” He bowed slightly and made his way back to the Malfoy’s table. Harry didn’t bother moving, he stayed in the witness chair.  

            Fudge stepped away and started conversing with the rest of the Wizengamot. Harry looked to the side at Mister Dirkley and was surprised at the impressed look on his face. Harry wondered if the man would have been able to get them off without Harry’s help. He highly doubted it. Harry put on a bored expression and spent the time the Wizengamot debated what to do, looking at his nails. He could feel Draco’s eyes on the back of his head. It took everything in him not to turn around and run to him. He had to force even breathing to appear at ease. Could they hurry up and decide?

            Once they were all seated, Fudge banged the gavel. Which Harry thought was unnecessary considering the moment they sat down all conversations halted. But he supposed Fudge felt superior in doing so. Stupid git.

            “The Wizengamot has come to a unanimous vote.” Whispers broke out. There hadn’t been a unanimous vote in 50 years. “Lucius Malfoy, Narcissa Malfoy and Draconis Malfoy have been found innocent of all charges and will be released immediately.” Harry breathed a sigh of relief. All the worry and all the fear he had been feeling ebbed away. He felt like he was going to burst into happy tears and do a little dance. Best not do a dance, he didn’t want to horrify anyone with his awful skills.

            Fudge banged the gavel once again as the noise level was near bursting. Harry looked at the hammer in disgust. He was beginning to hate the sound of that thing. “There is another matter that we must discuss.” Fudge said with a smirk. Harry narrowed his eyes in suspicion. What could Fudge possibly say now?

            “There is still a matter of restitution. Whether Lucius Malfoy was being used against his will or not he still has to pay for his part of the damages that both wars caused.” Fudge said with glee.

            Harry raised his eyebrows and cleared his throat. “I thought this might be an issue.” Harry said as he pulled out another parchment from his brief case. “Did you know that when someone is forced to pay restitution that any amount of money paid to the community or to charity can be counted? Seeing as that is where the money would have gone to anyways.” When Fudge was floundering for a response Harry charged right along.

            “I am sure you are aware of this considering you _are_ the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. I am sure you know that there is a statute of limitation against an individual required to pay restitution. You can only go back ten years. You are seven years too late to be demanding Mister Malfoy to pay restitution for the first war. Now for the second war that is still up for grabs.” Fudge sat up straighter.

            “Did you know that in the past twenty years Mister Malfoy has donated a _considerate_ amount of money to countless charities? Even if you were to apply the same ten year statute that the law for restitution requires and were to only look at the past ten years of money Mister Malfoy has donated, you would find that Mister Malfoy has donated well over triple the amount of money that you could reasonably even ask of him. I don’t know about you but that is highly commendable. What an outstanding member of the community.” Harry had to try really hard to not let his sarcasm show through. Someone in the audience must have picked up on it because he heard a faint snort.

            “And not to lay any blame here but I am sure you must know that you cannot ask for restitution in the same trial as the crimes. You would have to retry the defendants regarding the separate issue and since you have found them innocent of all charges, retrying them would show that they were innocent and the amount of restitution would be called into question.” Harry had to pinch his side at the thunderous look on Umbridge’s face.

            “Would you like to see the paperwork on the many commendable charities Mister Malfoy has donated to?” Harry asked holding out the paper. Fudge shrank away.

            “No that is quite alright Mister Potter. You were right in stating that we would have to have a separate trial for the restitution and at this time we are not going to be troubling the Malfoy family further.” The head of the Law Enforcement department spoke up. Fudge spluttered but had no choice to follow along unless he wanted to make a spectacle of himself. More than he already was that is.  

            “The trial is over. The defendants are free to go.” Fudge said slamming the gavel down hard enough to crack the handle. He didn’t even bother to fix it. Harry thought that was rather rude.

            Harry slumped back in the chair boneless. He did it. He actually did it. He wanted to jump for joy or weep in relief. Oh gods that was intense. He had been so certain that something would go wrong. He watched as the courtroom slowly disappeared. Harry wanted nothing more than to run over to Draco and hold him close and never let him go. But he knew that would be unwise with all these witnesses. They may question why exactly he spoke so passionately for them.

            Harry looked around and saw that the only people left were the Malfoys, Pansy, Blaise, Snape and surprisingly the twins. He hadn’t even known they were going to show up. Harry was about to run over to Draco who was being smothered in a hug by his mother when a *hem hem* that boiled his blood was heard. Harry stood so rapidly it drew the attention of everyone else.

            Sure enough Umbridge was standing a couple feet away from Harry. Umbridge hadn’t changed at all since the last time he had seen her. Still as ugly, nasty and toad like as ever. Anger was radiating off her in waves of fury. Harry raised an eyebrow in question.

            “I am not sure why you did it Mister Potter, other than the fact that you have always been a difficult child.” She began. Harry’s magic sparkled in anger as he took a step towards her. He smirked vindictively when she stepped away from him.

            “I do not think it is any of your business what I do Umbridge. I have followed all letters of the law to a tee. Which is more than I can say for your precious Ministry and your oh so wonderful Fudge.” Harry spat out. Umbridge’s eyes lit up in fury.

            “Listen here-” Harry held up his hand silencing her as he took another step forward loving the fact that she retreated another step.

            “Oh no. I am through listening to you. I will have you know that there is not a damn thing that you can say to me right now that will hold any weight. I did some checking into you though.” Harry smirked as her eyes widened.

            “Would you like to know what I found out?” She stiffened but didn’t say a word. “No, well I’ll tell you. I found some _very_ interesting donations you have received from _proven_ deatheaters. If this information were to come to light it would be very detrimental to your career, wouldn’t it?” Umbridge paled drastically. Harry smirked taking another step forward.

            “Not to mention the illegal blood quill you used against me during my fifth year. I have the scars to prove it and the memories to back up my claim. You were in a positon of power as a teacher and the undersecretary to the Minister at the time. You cannot plead ignorance nor can you claim that Fudge asked you to do so since you admitted to me that he was unaware. You have no leg to stand on. Did you know just one instance of making a victim use a blood quill is one year in Azkaban? Now I personally was forced to use it so many times I lost count. But if I was pushed I think I could find out exactly how many times it was. Not to mention finding many other victims as well. So whatever it is you think you can say to me, I would reconsider.” Umbridge swallowed heavily and took a step back. Which Harry took that as another win considering he hadn’t moved.

            “I will end you.” She promised with conviction. Harry threw his head back and laughed. The sound was not warm nor with any actual humor in it. She took another step back causing Harry to smirk.

            “You think I am afraid of you? Do remember who exactly it was that killed Voldemort.” Umbridge flinched taking another step back. “I was the only one in all of England capable of killing him. Do you think that was because I am the type of person who would cave easily to your obviously empty threats? If you thought so then you are sorely mistaken. If you would like to cross me then I will show you exactly why I was the only one capable of killing him. I will gladly prove to you what I can do. And by the way, you don’t become an enemy of the Darkest Wizard of all time without picking up some of his tactics.” The last bit was staged whispered. The room echoed his threat for all to hear.

            Umbridge winced and backed out of the room so fast Harry wondered if he had imagined her being there in the first place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay any thoughts on the trial? Too short of a trial? Remember Harry was late and only showed up after the prosecution had already laid out their case. The prosecution is the Wizengamot if anyone missed that. So that is why the portion of the trial was short. Other than that any thoughts? Harry's research paid off, I think he made a more impressive lawyer than their actual lawyer. Thoughts on how far Harry went to get Lucius off? I agree that he should have had some type of punishment but Harry has his reasons. You'll have to find that out tomorrow.


	17. The Freedom Of Draco Malfoy

            Harry turned around and opened his mouth to say something until he caught sight of the flabbergasted looks he was getting from everyone. Even Snape looked shocked. Well his eyes were wide. That was something.

            Harry took one look at Draco and couldn’t hold himself back. He took off running and threw himself at his boyfriend. Harry had jumped enough to wrap his legs around Draco’s waist.

            Draco let out an oomph when Harry leapt at him. He quickly squeezed Harry tightly to him, Harry was his lifeline. His anchor that kept him grounded. Draco was so mentally exhausted from the trial. All the emotions he had been bottling up had exploded and he just wanted to spend all day holding his boyfriend. Everyone else could just bugger off.  

            Harry began kissing every part of Draco’s face that he could see. “Blimey I was so scared. I tried to be confident but I was so worried about you Draco.” Harry said through many kisses. Harry let his shields back down so that Draco could feel all of his emotions again.

            Draco sighed in relief at feeling Harry’s emotions again. He didn’t like it that the bond had been shut down like that. Not feeling connected to Harry scared him. He had grown so accustomed and addicted to the bond that he never wanted to experience that again.

            “Don’t ever do that to me again!” Harry scolded. Draco winced. “When I woke up to that letter, I thought a piece of me died. You took everything good and whole inside me with you. I-I don’t think I could stomach a world without you. Please don’t do that again.” Harry begged with tears in his eyes.

             Draco’s chest constricted painfully. He could the hurt that he had caused his love, that was never intended. “I’m sorry!” Draco breathed through watery eyes. “I didn’t know what to say. I never wanted to hurt you. I’m so sorry.” Draco begged for Harry to believe him.

             Harry resumed kissing Draco’s face. “It’s okay.” He mumbled over and over again.   

            “I love you.” Draco replied. Harry stopped his attack on Draco’s face and pulled away slightly to look into his eyes. Harry nearly swooned at seeing those gorgeous grey eyes shining with love. It was surreal to think that it was over. All the worry and heartache was over. The trial was behind them, they could move on with their lives. At least until the papers made him out to be some sort of monster. Then they would deal with that.  

            “I love you too. So much.” Harry said thickly, blinking back tears. It seemed like days ago that he was reading that letter instead of this morning. Draco leaned forward and kissed Harry with passion. He poured out all his feelings for Harry into the kiss. Harry slowly slid down Draco’s body as he wrapped his arms around Draco’s neck. Harry melted into the kiss as Draco’s tongue made contact with his own.

            Quite a few pointed coughs interrupted the haze of their kiss. Harry shook his head to clear the dazed look he knew was in his eyes. Harry leaned back but didn’t let go of Draco to see who had coughed. He wanted to tell them to fuck off. He didn’t go through all the pain and fear of losing Draco to stop now. But he sighed instead, there would be time for more kisses later.

            The twins, Pansy and Blaise all had smirks on their faces. Snape and Lucius looked like they swallowed a lemon. Narcissa had a bemused look on her face.

            “That was brilliant! -”

            “You killed it Harry. We had-” Fred said enthusiastically.

             “No idea that you could be-” George waved his hands all over the place as he talked.

            “So intimidating.”  

            Everyone was watching the twins talk with frustration as their heads moved back and forth from one to the other. All except Pansy and Blaise. They watched the twins talk with fond smiles. Interesting. A lot must have happened in the past week, Harry mused. There was a story there. He just knew it, he would have to weasel it out of one of them. Harry caught Pansy’s eye and raised a brow when she flushed all over. Oh definitely a story there.   

            Harry shrugged uncomfortably under the Fred and George’s praise. Lucius cleared his throat and Harry stepped away from Draco narrowing his eyes. Oh boy, here we go. This ought to be good.   

            “It would appear that I owe you my sincerest gratitude.” Lucius said smoothly. Harry raised an eyebrow.

            “Oh no, that just won’t do.” Lucius furrowed his brows in confusion. “You owe me _far_ more than just your gratitude.” Lucius stood up straighter and narrowed his eyes.

            “The only and I do mean _only_ reason I lied for you up there was for Draco. For some godforsaken reason he loves you. Why would he love you? Your guess is as good as mine.” Narcissa gasped. Harry paid her no mind. He was having way too much fun baiting the man. Lucius looked like he wanted to hit Harry.

            “Not only did I keep your pitiful existence out of Azkaban, I kept your entire family out. I saved your family wealth and helped your tarnished reputation. You _owe_ me Lucius Malfoy.” Harry said with a growl.

            “If it’s money you-” Harry cut him off before he could even start. “I don’t need nor want your money. As it so happens I know exactly how you can repay me.” Lucius arched a brow.

            Harry pulled out another parchment from his brief case. The magic radiating off of it let the others know it was a contract of some kind. “What makes you think I will sign that?” Lucius scoffed before even reading it.

            Harry smirked in response. “As easily as I saved you, I can easily destroy you.” Harry warned. Harry adopted a picture of innocence. “All I have to do is go to Fudge and tell him how the big bad deatheater Lucius Malfoy threatened me into testifying for him. And how scared I was to defy Voldemort’s right hand man. Oh the horror! ‘Mister Fudge, I am so sorry! He was just so scary!’” Harry said blinking his eyes rapidly and producing a very believable sniffle.

            “I am the savior of the world Mister Malfoy, they would believe me over you in a heartbeat.” Harry promised with a smirk that made his previous act of innocence fade fast.

            Lucius narrowed his eyes in anger. The nerve of the impertinent brat. Harry could tell by the stiff positioning of his legs that Lucius was just itching to curse him. Harry smiled sweetly and a tad condescending as he handed over the contract.

            Draco was impressed with the way Harry stood up to his father. It was thrilling to see Harry so in charge and dangerous. He quite liked it. He wondered how Harry had the time to put all of this together, then it hit him. Draco wanted to smack himself for not figuring it out sooner. Harry’s top secret project was this! All those late nights and grueling hours had been spent on this. Harry did all of this for him. Draco sent Harry a powerful push of love. Draco wondered if he should care that Harry was threatening his father. He paused to think about it. Did it bother him? Mmm… no. He couldn’t bring himself to give a damn. His father deserved whatever it was that was on that contract. As far as Draco was concerned, his father got off _way_ too light. If ever there was someone who deserved Azkaban it was his father. So Harry was doing his father a great service indeed.  

            Harry reached behind him and squeezed Draco’s hand but kept his eyes trained on Lucius. Something that everyone noticed.

            By the time Lucius was done reading the contract his eyebrows were nearly nonexistent, they were so high into his hair line Harry wondered if they could get stuck up there. That would certainly make the man appear less intimidating. “This is all you want?” He asked thickly.

            Draco’s eyes widened. His father wasn’t one for emotions, he prided himself in the Malfoy mask of indifference but Draco could hear them in his voice. What on earth was in the contract to have shaken his father like that?

            “Yes, that is all I want. There are no ways out. I checked meticulously. Despite your _Slytherin Rule #6:_ _For every rule, there is always a loophole._ ” At the startled noises from the Slytherins there Harry grinned wickedly.

            “I owl ordered it after you admitted there was a handbook.” Harry explained to Draco with a shrug. Harry shook his head, he still couldn’t believe it was real. A Slytherin Handbook? So weird. Slytherins were odd creatures though. He reluctantly admitted to himself that the handbook did have some interesting pointers.

            Harry pulled out a quill and handed it to Lucius. “This is a blood quill. Not the illegal medieval hogwash Umbridge made me use. But this will not only seal the contract it will bind your magic to its will. If you try and Slytherin your way out of this then your magic will turn on you. I can’t say what exactly will happen if that happens. St. Mungos can have fun figuring that out. Is it legal? No but I don’t give a fuck. The contract will only interfere with your magic if you break it. You will sign this or I will go to Fudge today.” Harry threatened darkly.

            Lucius shook his head. “There’s no need for threats Mister Potter. I won’t fight this.” He said softly as he grabbed the quill and signed on the dotted line. The thrum of magic filled the air as the deal was made. Automatically a second copy emerged from the original. Harry handed that one to Lucius. “I will keep the original.” Harry informed him. Lucius just nodded his head not saying anything, staring at Harry in a new light.

            Harry handed the contract over to Draco knowing how curious he was. Draco picked up the contract impatiently but carefully as he read it over.

            Those watching could see the shock on Draco’s face. The widening of his eyes, the jaw dropping, the little gasp, it made everyone there itch to know what was so special in the contract.

            “Harry.” Draco whispered with such reverence and awe in his voice that it made some watching uncomfortable. Draco had tears in his eyes as he stared at Harry.

            Harry could feel the emotions reeling off of Draco and had to fight to keep his composure. Draco flung himself at Harry burying his face into Harry’s neck. Harry felt the enormous amount of love that Draco held for him and drank it in like he was dying. This right here was worth Lucius going free. He wrapped his arms around Draco and let Draco’s scent lull him into the safety he could only find in Draco’s arms.

            Everyone watching was growing impatient. Narcissa made a restless noise at her husband, silently demanding answers. “The contract is for Draco. It states that I will not force or influence Draco’s decisions regarding his future, his money or his life. I am to have no say in whatever Draco wants to do. I can give advice like any father but am not allowed to impede his decision process. I cannot dictate who he marries. I cannot force him to have any children. I cannot force him into any career I feel he should have. I cannot do anything regarding his wishes. Draco will not have the responsibilities of the heir to the Malfoy family. Draco’s life will be his own choosing.” Lucius said quietly.

             Draco was still stunned. He couldn’t believe it. Harry did this for him. All of it for him. He had known about the trial and saved his father anyways. Not only that but he managed to get his father off his back for good. He would never have to listen to his father again. Never have to be pressured to be the perfect pureblood heir. He could do whatever he wanted and his father couldn’t do a damn thing about it. It had been one thing to go against his father before, but he had always feared that his father would a find a way around that. But now, there wasn’t anything his father could do about this. Harry saved him all over again.

            “You saved my husband… for Draco?” Narcissa asked quietly staring into Harry’s eyes. Harry gave a kiss to the top of Draco’s head as he nodded.

            “I would do anything for your son Mrs. Malfoy. Including saving your husband. This was a small price to pay for Draco’s happiness.” Harry promised her.

            Narcissa stared at Harry like he was a strange new creature that needed to be studied. She stared at him like he was an alien that told her she needed to leave the planet. She stared at him like he was a book that needed to be dissected to figure out any hidden meanings. It unnerved him. It made him feel like he was on display. What could she possibly be seeing as she stared at him? Were there hidden secrets on his face that he wasn’t aware of?

             “Thank you.” She said finally. Whatever she saw in him she must have liked because she smiled softly and hugged both him and Draco. Draco gave a startled noise from his position in Harry’s arms, his face still in Harry’s neck.

             Lucius watched his wife embrace Draco and his son’s… lover… (he wrinkled his nose slightly at that thought) with something akin to pride. Potter gave him his family back. They weren’t a normal family. They weren’t warm and caring, they didn’t do affections and rarely spoke of anything significant but they were a family regardless. And Potter gave him that back. Perhaps with the trial behind them he could be there for Draco like he had never been before.

            Lucius has always known he wasn’t a good father. You have to do more than just love your children. You need to be there for them. Which is something he failed miserably at. He had always sworn to be the father he never had. He always swore he would give his son the love that he didn’t have growing up but he didn’t. He failed his son in ways that crushed him. Lucius had become the one thing he swore he wouldn’t be, he became his father. Abraxas Malfoy was a cold-hearted man that cared for no one. Not even his wife. Lucius had known that his father never loved him, he had known early on that he would never gain a damn thing from his father. Whether that be love, acknowledgement or even pride. Abraxas Malfoy cared only for himself. He was the epitome of the word bastard. All Lucius was to the man was an heir. Someone to take on the Malfoy name. With his father’s last dying breath his words were ‘don’t disappoint me’. Shows how much he cared. Lucius had grown to be bitter, he locked away his heart to everyone except his wife. Sadly, his son had gotten shut out in the process. It was his biggest mistake in life.

            Lucius watched them hug with regret. If only he had had this revelation sooner. Potter took away his rights as Lord Malfoy to dictate his heir. He should be upset, he should be angry that Potter would intervene in his private affair. But all he could muster up was a sense of freedom. He was free of the responsibility to make his son the best pureblood he could be. He was free of the job at grooming his son to take over. Lucius was free to be the father that he never got a chance to be. Potter gave him freedom in every sense of the word. And wasn’t that surprising. His enemy for the longest time was the only person to ever give him freedom. Watching Potter hold his son was a humbling experience. Potter obviously cared about Draco a whole lot. The love that the two of them had reminded him of his own marriage. Lucius knew at this moment that Harry Potter would become part of the family in the near future. He couldn’t bring himself to be upset either. Anyone that could do all this for Draco, deserved his approval. Like he told his son a month ago, there were worse people out there than Potter.

            Severus Snape didn’t like people. It wasn’t a rule as much as it was a way of life. People couldn’t be trusted to be there for you. _Slytherin Rule #25: Trust is for the weak. – You can only ever truly trust yourself_. His father had been an abusive waste of space. His mother had loved him the best she could until she died. Friends weren’t something Severus could say he had. For the short time that he had Lily as his friend were his fondest moments in life. She was something else, an enigma that he could never quite understand all the way. She loved everyone and always saw the good in people. Lily was someone that Severus had strived to be like but never managed it. After he lost her friendship he drew in on himself. He became more bitter and angry then he ever wanted to be. He shot down opportunities that may have awarded him other friends and snapped at everyone and everything. He threw away every bit of himself that longed for something other than the solitude he forced upon his life.

            Lucius had wormed his sneaky Slytherin way into his life whether Severus wanted him there or not. Severus had always known that Lucius would rejoin The Dark Lord when he came back to power but that didn’t stop him from being close to the family. The Malfoy’s had been the only people to bother to care about him since Lily. Severus had known that Lucius knew he wasn’t as loyal to the cause as everyone assumed. But Lucius never turned him in and never questioned his loyalty. The day Narcissa and Lucius told him he was to be the godfather of Draco, his world changed. This family wanted him, a bitter cold man to be the godfather of their child. They cared and trusted him enough to be there for Draco. Which he had been. Severus may not have been there as often as he would have liked but he made sure Draco knew how much he cared about him. Draco was the one thing in his life that pushed him to be better. When he worried he would fall back into the dark arts, all it would take is one look at his godson’s face and he knew what he would have to do.

            Severus had known that Draco would have a difficult upbringing. Everyone would assume that he had the best childhood due to his father’s wealth and status. But Severus knew that Lucius Malfoy was not fatherhood material. He knew that Draco would grow up craving something that his father just couldn’t give him. Severus didn’t know how to offset that. How do you make up for an absentee father? Severus worried for Draco his whole life. But now… watching Potter hold his godson like he was the most precious thing in the world, Severus knew he didn’t need to worry anymore. He had doubts when Draco admitted to liking Potter. He had doubts that Potter would always have Draco’s best interest in mind. Severus had worried for Draco’s heart. After the childhood his godson had, he worried that Potter would harm him in ways that his father couldn’t. But watching the way Potter’s eyes shone with love for Draco washed away any concern he had held. It was obvious to any simpleton with a brain how much Potter cared for Draco. Severus knew that Draco would be okay.

            Harry didn’t know what to think when Narcissa hugged him. Would she have hugged him if he wasn’t holding her son? Harry could feel Draco’s wariness when she hugged him. He imagined she wasn’t the maternal sort. Perhaps she didn’t hand out many hugs? But he could also feel the small burst of happiness that her touch brought. Harry sighed contently and kissed Draco’s head. Harry smiled when his kiss brought a fond happiness from Draco. He loved that he could affect his boyfriend like this.

            “Potter.” Hearing Snape’s voice always made his spine go rigid. Because usually that meant he was in trouble. He looked over curiously. “Thank you.” Harry tilted his head to the side. The admission felt like more than just gratitude for saving Draco. He wasn’t sure what the man was completely trying to say so he just nodded in acknowledgement.

            Lucius cleared his throat gathering everyone’s attention. “I would like to invite everyone here back to the Manor for a celebratory dinner.” He looked a little uneasy at inviting Weasley children in but extended the invitation regardless. Harry wanted to snort but valiantly kept it in.

            The twins shared a surprised look with each other. “Thank you for the invite-” Fred began.

            “But we shut down the store to come-”

            “See Draco. We can’t afford to keep it closed-”

            “The rest of the night. Perhaps a raincheck?” George asked with genuine interest.

            Lucius was about to respond when Draco suddenly threw himself at the twins who caught him in surprise. Lucius wanted to cringe at the lack of decorum his son was showing but had to squash the urge. It wasn’t up to him what Draco did anymore. This would take some time getting used to.

            “Thank you guys for being here.” Draco whispered hugging them tightly. Fred and George shared a look before smiling down at Draco with a fond smile.

             “Of course we would be here-”

             “You are pretty much our brother in law.” George said smirking when Lucius whimpered in horror. Severus snorted in surprise.

             “Not to mention friend and lawyer.” Fred said grinning proudly. Lucius and tilted his head to the side while Severus furrowed his brows in confusion. Lawyer?

             Draco squeezed them one more time before stepping back into Harry’s waiting arms. Draco grinned at them before the twins took off exchanging hesitant goodbyes with Blaise and Pansy. Lucius and Severus shared a surprised look at that.

            “Are all my Slytherins throwing away tradition and partnering off with _Gryffindors_?” Severus asked affronted after the twins were gone. Harry raised an eyebrow while Draco, Blaise and Pansy broke out into laughter.

            “Yes.” Pansy and Blaise said at the same time. Severus shook his head but there was a slight twitch to his mouth.

            “Shall we?” Lucius asked holding his arm out for Narcissa to hold onto. Harry and Draco shared a look.

             Draco could feel the worry that Harry had at going to dinner with his parents. He was about to tell his father no when he felt Harry send him a reassuring push through the bond.

            “You are sure?” Draco asked doubtfully. Harry sent him a confidence that didn’t quite match his eyes. “Harry.” Draco said in resignation. The rest of the group was watching the one-sided conversation with interest. What was going on with the two of them?

            Draco tried to send Harry a calming push but that was shoved aside by Harry sending more reassuring pushes. “If you’re sure.” Draco didn’t bother waiting for the emotions, he turned to his father.

            “We would be happy to attend.” Draco said cordially. Narcissa looked at her son with polite confusion. Lucius and Severus shared narrowed looks.

            “What was that about?” Blaise demanded to know, not bothering to be polite or patient. Pansy snorted and shook her head.

            “Nothing.” Harry and Draco said at the same time, adopting a picture of innocence on their faces. Severus and Lucius snorted. Right, like that was believable. Perhaps that innocent act would work on simple minded Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors, but not them.  

            “Should we go? I am positively famished.” Draco said hurriedly changing the subject. Which just raised alarm bells to the rest of the group. Draco didn’t bother waiting for a reply. He turned around and started walking towards the door.

            Harry shook his head but followed his boyfriend out of the room with a small smile.

            “Please tell me we aren’t going to leave it at that?” Blaise asked bewildered.

            “Of course not. Did I teach you nothing? We are going to wait for the opportune moment before we ask again.” Severus said sighing at the total lack of cunning Blaise possessed. How the boy managed to be placed in Slytherin was beyond him.  

             Blaise shrugged sheepishly before dragging Pansy out of the room with him. The three remaining adults shared concerned looks before following the rest of the group out.

             Harry was walking side by side with Draco heading towards the public floos that would take them back to the Manor. He wanted to reach out and take hold of Draco’s hand but decided against it. He wasn’t ashamed of their relationship. Far from it. But now was not the time to come out to the press. It would negatively influence what he just did for the Malfoy family.

            They had just turned the last corner before Harry was blind sighted by flashes of many cameras going off. Harry blinked rapidly trying to clear the black spots from his vision. When he could finally see again he realized Draco and he were surrounded by reporters on all sides.

            “Mister Potter is it true you have been confunded into testifying?”

            “Mister Potter have you in fact been a dark wizard this whole time? Is that why you testified for the Malfoy’s?”

            “Is it true you are having an affair with Lucius Malfoy and that is why you passionately defended him?” Harry choked on his tongue at that horrid mental image. Draco let out a squawk of disbelief.

            “Why was it only the Malfoy’s you defended? Why not other deatheaters?

            “Have you been threatened to testify? Do you fear for your safety Mister Potter?”

            The questions were flying so fast Harry couldn’t tell who was saying what. The flashes of the cameras kept coming. Harry wasn’t sure what to do.

            “I am sure that you all have been informed of what was said in the courtroom. The reasons I testified are in the transcript of the trial. I am not going to repeat myself. There was no hidden agenda or secret reason why I testified. No I am not confunded or under the influence of any potions or spells. I testified of my own free will. I can honestly tell you that I am not having an affair with Lucius Malfoy.” Harry shuddered at the thought. Oh gross. Wrong on so many levels.  

            “That is all I will say on the matter. Excuse me.” Harry said coldly before shoving two reporters aside and dragging Draco with him. They flooed together not bothering to see if the rest of the group had been bombarded with questions too.

             Draco landed with grace while Harry landed on the floor. “How is it that we went together but I am the only one who managed to fall?” Harry grumbled wiping off the soot that managed to get on his arse. It just wasn’t fair.  

             Draco bit his lip to keep from laughing at his disgruntled boyfriend. “Because I have class?” Draco teased. Harry tried to glare, he really did but Draco’s amusement was so infectious his glare was very weak.

            “Class you say? And here I thought it was that ginormous head that kept you upright.” Harry retorted as he wiped soot off of Draco’s shirt that he missed.

            “Well there’s that too.” Draco conceded grinning. Harry snorted good naturedly. “At least you can admit it.”

            “You say that like it’s a bad thing. I think it is one of my many good qualities” Draco pouted.

            Harry looked up incredulously. “You consider that ginormous head of yours a good quality?”

            Draco shrugged. “Why not? It’s gotten me this far in life. Besides I am not the one who lands on his arse every time we floo.” Draco pointed out. “You could do with increasing your ego.”

            Harry laughed. “Draco love there is only room for one egotistical person in our relationship. And that spot goes to you.”

           “Well what do you expect from a gracious ruler? I can’t exactly be a modest leader. Who wants to follow a well-rounded pleasant king? No no my great consort, you must be firm and harsh by crushing the opposition like any great dictator would. That is the way to win the hearts of the people.” Draco said smirking at Harry’s squawk of shock.

            “Ahh, you are oh so wise my Lord. No wonder you are in a position of power. How could I ever doubt your intelligence?” Harry said with so much sarcasm the two of them started cracking up laughing.

            “Are you two going to dawdle in here the whole time? If so let me know, I’ll have the house elves serve you dinner in here.” Lucius said dryly.

            Harry and Draco looked up and saw the group in the doorway. Harry looked back to the fireplace in confusion. He hadn’t heard anyone come through.

            “We went out the back and apparated.” Severus explained with a sneer at their questioning faces. Honestly did they not know how to use their brain?

            “Geez Harry, why didn’t we do that? We could have avoided all those reporters.” Draco snarked taking hold of Harry’s hand as he pulled him towards the group.

            “You say it like it’s my fault.” Harry retorted with a shake of his head. He had been following Draco in the first place! “Well it is.” Draco said with a smirk.

            “Everything that goes wrong is your fault. Didn’t you know?” Draco asked with faux astonishment.

            “How silly of me to have forgotten.” Harry said dryly causing everyone to laugh. Harry followed the group into the dining hall and wondered not for the first time, if he knew what he was doing. Dinner at the Malfoy's would surely be an experience to remember.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts on the contract? I know earlier in the story Draco already told his father that he couldn't tell him what to do, but now there really is no way around conning Draco into following the family way. 
> 
> I like this chapter because it gives a little depth to Lucius and Severus. Not a whole lot but maybe enough for people to connect to them. Lucius is a bastard. No doubt about that. But he was raised to be one. He isn't like Draco, Draco is a better man than him because he had the guts to not believe in the family ways and choose to be different. While Lucius chose to continue on with the Malfoy teachings, hoping that even in death his father would somehow be proud of him. 
> 
> I added some insights to Severus that some might not really buy into. In the books the only person Severus ever cared about was Lily. He was cold hearted and a bastard. I don't want to change that. But I feel that after closing yourself off for so long and then being chosen as a godfather to a innocent baby would have touched him in many ways. So I made Draco be the one thing that kept Severus grounded. 
> 
> You may have noticed that I didn't have any details on Narcissa. A lot of that was because I just thought that mothers love was obvious. It's easy to empathize with her. I may in later chapters go more in detail with her but I felt that Lucius and Severus were the ones that people would need more depth to understand. 
> 
> Any thoughts on the lengths Harry went to ensure that Draco really was free from his father? Was it selfish? Should Lucius have had to have a legit punishment?  
> See you tomorrow!


	18. Malfoy Manor and Explanations

            Once they were all settled in the dining room, the house elves brought in drinks for everyone. Lucius cleared his throat. “If you don’t mind me asking Mister Potter, is there really a prophecy with the Malfoy name on it?” That had been one thing during the trial that really intrigued him. Lucinda was his mother and she never mentioned a prophecy. Not that that was really surprising. She never had much contact with him anyways. Always preferred to have the house elves tell him what she wanted done of him. Neither of his parents had been the maternal kind. Bastards, the lot of them.   

            Harry snorted. “Call me Harry. I am dating your son and considering what I went through back there, it would make sense.” Lucius nodded his agreement, he did not however request the same of him.

            “To answer your question, fuck if I know.” At everyone’s astonished expressions Harry elaborated with a small chuckle. “You were there that night, rows upon rows of prophecies came tumbling down. Including the section with last names starting with the letter ‘M’. Who’s to say if Lucinda Malfoy really had a prophecy there. No one will ever know. They don’t keep backup records. I checked.”

            Silence was the answer that greeted him. Harry could feel Draco’s pride for him and it pleased Harry to no end. Lucius was the first to recover. “How positively Slytherin of you.” He remarked in astonishment. Harry blatantly lied to the Wizengamot and got away with it? His story had seemed so plausible the he had also assumed there had been one. Impressive indeed.

            Harry smirked. “Mm, isn’t it?” By their expressions, Draco was the only one not surprised by the admission. Draco knew how Slytherin Harry could be. It was one of the many things he loved the most about him.  

            “Did the goblins tell you about my donations?” Lucius asked a little disgruntled at the thought of the goblins just disclosing his personal life. That went against several treaties the Ministry had with the goblins. If the trial had gone another way, he might have raised a stink over that. Still could, if he wanted to.   

             “Merlin no. They are still ticked off that I managed to break into Gringotts. They have taken it as a personal slight on their whole race. It’s a nightmare trying to take my money out in peace. They insist on sending out a legion of goblins if I want to go to my vaults. They wouldn’t help me even if their lives depended on it.” Harry paused to take a drink of pumpkin juice. He had always known that goblins weren’t particularly friendly but since the break in, they have been downright nasty. They made Dudley and his gang look like goody two shoes. The vile evil green little gits. It was just a simple job really. Go in, steal a cup, take a dragon and smash out. Okay, so he could understand some of their anger but they managed it with _inside_ help. Were the goblins upset with Griphook? Doubtful.  It wasn't like he did it alone either. He doubted Hermione and Ron were facing the same scrutiny. So they broke in, it wasn't the end of the world. He paid for the damages. Alone, he might add. Honestly their extra security was an insult. Did they expect him to steal again?

            At Lucius’s impatient look, Harry continued. “I had to imperio one of the workers.” Lucius’s mouth dropped open which Harry took as a great victory to fluster the blonde so much. Harry figured that they never thought he would do something like that. He did it during the war the first time. Harry could almost picture the type of scolding he would receive if he had told Hermione. But she would have tried to tell him that the first time around was justified because they needed to get the Horcrux. But that is where Harry’s opinion differed with hers. You can’t justify it during the war but think it wrong to do so after. Either it was wrong both times or the ends justified the means. Harry was more inclined to believe that it was wrong both times but he just didn’t care. He would do it again if he had to. Sometimes morals just didn’t matter. Hey, that sounded like a perfect Slytherin Rule. He wondered if he mailed the author, if he could get them to add that to the next edition.

            “You used an unforgivable curse on a goblin?” Blaise asked weakly, like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Pansy just stared dumbly at him. Harry feared she was spending too much time around Goyle. That was his everyday expression. Hopefully she wasn’t about to grunt out responses like him too. He never bothered to learn how to speak moron.

            “It wasn’t the first time I have used it nor will it be the last, I imagine.” Harry said with a shrug. He couldn’t care in the least what they thought of him. I mean two deatheaters, a dark supporter and children of dark supporters. They _all_ have probably done much more worse things than using the imperious curse. All that mattered was Draco’s opinion in the end.

            Draco was shocked for sure but at the same time, he didn’t care how Harry managed to do it. Hearing the lengths he went to didn’t disturb him, actually it excited him. Harry using an unforgivable curse should worry him considering all he has seen but it was the exact opposite. Goodness they were a messed up pair, weren't they?

            Harry sucked in a sharp breath and stared at Draco with wide eyes. Now? Now was the worst time for Draco to be feeling lust. Harry shuddered at the depth of longing Draco was feeling for him. Draco winced when his own needs were sent back to him. He knew this was an awkward time and not the place for it but he couldn’t help it. He sent Harry an apologetic smile. Harry shivered at the promise lingering in the smile directed at him. Later, that’s what the smile signaled. He couldn't wait.

            Lucius and Severus shared another look. Twice now the two lovers seemed to have a silent conversation. It bothered them when they didn’t have the answers to everything. Slytherins weren’t known for their patience when it didn’t suit them.  

            “I knew there was a side to you that we didn’t know, but I had no idea you were capable of that.” Pansy said wide eyed. Draco snorted but refused to elaborate when he was sent questioning glances. Harry sent his own amusement to Draco and was rewarded with a twitch of Draco’s mouth.

            “There is a lot that I am capable of that would surprise you Pansy.” Harry said cryptically. She gave him a long considering glance before conceding. “Yes, I imagine there is.”

            Harry just smiled in reply. As dinner was served the conversations died down a little. Harry was more relaxed then he thought he would be. Draco’s parents weren’t as stiff as he expected. They were immaculately polite but that was to be expected of someone of their stature and wealth. It wasn’t exactly fun but it was not horrible. It was definitely the opposite of the Burrow. At the burrow it was constant energy and filled to the brim with people and food. The burrow's atmosphere was warm and friendly but it was always a little too much. Harry grew up in a cupboard, small spaces were constricting but also comforting. The madhouse of the burrow was more constricting than the cupboard at times. There was no time to just think. But here at the Manor it was different. It was nowhere near as warm. Actually nothing about the Manor could ever be classified as warm. But it was friendly in it's own way. Besides, Draco was here. Which made the appeal of the place drastically improve. He found himself liking the Manor just as much as he liked the burrow.  

            “Did Umbridge really receive money from known deatheaters?” Draco asked after wiping his mouth with his napkin. This was news to Severus and Lucius. They hadn’t been privy to that knowledge if The Dark Lord had ordered it. Not that The Dark Lord was forthcoming with his plans. He had always been paranoid and kept things to himself. Price of being evil, you just can't trust anyone.    

            “Fuck if I know.” Harry said for the second time that night. Once again Harry was met with stunned looks. “I just know what kind of person she is and what kind of company she keeps. It was a logical assumption. So I winged it.”

            Pansy and Blaise looked like they wanted to say something but couldn’t find the words to say them. Lucius just raised his eyebrows while Narcissa’s mouth opened slightly. Draco snickered but had a pleased expression on his face.  

            “Are you sure you weren’t supposed to be in Slytherin?” Severus asked weakly. Harry took that as a great compliment.

            Harry leaned back in his chair and crossed his hands behind his head. “Now that you mention it. Yes, I was.” Harry smirked at the jaws that dropped.

            Draco’s mouth dropped open. “Say what?” He asked quietly. Harry had been saving this revelation for the perfect moment. He hadn’t even told Ron and Hermione about it. He doubted they would appreciate it as much as these Slytherins might. Ron would probably have a heart attack or pass out from lack of oxygen. Hermione would probably go into a lecture on the cons of going against a magical beings wishes. She would probably cite ten different authors and then make a plan to write a theory on it once they got back to Hogwarts.

            “The sorting hat wanted me in Slytherin. Said I had a thirst to prove myself and that Slytherin would help me on the way to greatness.” Draco swallowed thickly.

            “Then how come you ended up in Gryffindor?” Draco asked shielding his emotions. Harry frowned when Draco did that. Was something the matter?

            “I argued with it. Told it I didn’t want to go in Slytherin. So it put me in Gryffindor instead.” Harry explained with a shrug.

            “You argued with a sentient hat whose only job is to place students on its first judgement. It wanted you in Slytherin and you managed to talk your way into Gryffindor. Now that is definitely a Slytherin move.” Lucius said with an impressed tone. Even Severus seemed impressed. Severus paused to think about what would have happened if Potter had been placed in his own house. Would he still have been so negative to the boy? Possibly. Perhaps not as harsh. James Potter never would have been placed in Slytherin. So that would be a glaring difference in trying to compare the son to the father. If Potter had been placed in his house he would have had zero tolerance with Potters blatant lack of respect for school rules. Perhaps it was better that he had been placed in Gryffindor. Severus probably would have been ready to pull out his own hair by the time the boy would have been in his second year.

            But Harry again didn’t care what they thought, only Draco’s opinion mattered. The silence from the bond was unnerving, Harry hated it. Was Draco mad at him? Why else would he shield his emotions?

            “Please don’t do that.” Harry begged quietly ignoring the curious audience. Draco closed his eyes but lowered his shields like Harry wanted. He wouldn't deny Harry anything.

            Harry gasped when he felt the onslaught of Draco’s emotions. Harry could feel waves of utter despair and stirrings of guilt. Draco blamed himself for Harry’s placement and mourned the loss of what could have been. Harry pulled Draco into his lap not caring if that was unbecoming in polite company, or whatever else silly pureblood mentality thought. Table manners be damned.

            “Stop that love. It’s not your fault. I don’t like what you are feeling.” Harry said running his fingers through Draco’s hair. For the first time in Harry’s life he closed his eyes and pictured what his life might have been like if he had been placed in Slytherin. Would he and Draco have gotten over the handshake issue right away? Would they have been best friends? Would it have been Draco who went on all of his adventures with him? Would Draco have gone with him Horcrux hunting? Perhaps if they had been close friends that would have carried out to the rest of the Malfoy family. Would his home away from Hogwarts been the Malfoy Manor? Maybe if he had been close with them they wouldn’t have rejoined Voldemort. Harry felt a pang of loss at the life that he could have had. The what ifs taunted him. For a moment he shared his sorrow with Draco. Mourning what could have been.  

            But then Harry shook his head, getting a hold of himself. “We can’t do that, we can’t dwell on what might have happened. Who knows what would have happened if I had been placed in Slytherin. We might have been friends but never gotten together. I don’t know about you but that isn’t something I like the sound of. Remember what you said to me in your letter?” Draco looked up into Harry’s eyes sadly.

            “You said that you would go through everything that happened bad in your life all over again if that meant that you got to be with me. The same thing applies to me, Draco. If I had a chance to go back in time and change things, I wouldn’t. There is not one thing in the world that could be offered to me that could make up for not having you. I would live through _everything_ all over again to keep you.” Harry kissed Draco’s nose willing Draco to understand.

            Draco sighed heavily. He understood what Harry was trying to say to him, it was just so hard to not imagine what their lives could have been like if Harry had been placed in Slytherin. They might have been in a relationship sooner. Their Hogwarts years might have been wonderful together. Instead of fighting and bickering in the corridors they could have been enjoying themselves. They could have been on the quidditch team together. They could have spent holidays together. He would have invited Harry to the Manor. The life they could’ve had might have been truly spectacular. But… what if they hadn’t gotten together at all? No. That thought was enough to cripple Draco. No. Draco would rather have Harry in his life now no matter how it happened then to dwell on the what ifs.

            Harry could feel the sadness slowly ebb away from Draco and determination filled its spot. Harry wanted to smile at the fact that his words were getting through to Draco but he could still feel his guilt.

            Harry lifted Draco’s chin so he could see into those beautiful grey eyes. “Stop feeling guilty. It wasn’t your fault. Yes, the meeting with you was in the back of my mind while I was being sorted. I won’t lie to you.” Draco closed his eyes and whimpered in regret.

            If Harry had been standing, he would have staggered under the weight of Draco’s guilt. “Draco stop.” Harry begged with so much sorrow Draco snapped open his eyes. “Hagrid had told me that Voldemort had been placed in Slytherin. And then Ron said that all bad wizards came out of Slytherin. I was eleven and brand new to the wizarding world. I was told by the first two people who had ever been nice to me how bad Slytherin was. I was impressionable and let their opinions guide me. I know better now. So please don’t blame yourself. Please.” Harry begged.

            Draco stared into Harry’s eyes mesmerized by the way they darkened with Harry’s desperation. He leaned forward and pressed his forehead against Harry’s. “Okay.” He whispered.

            Harry hugged Draco tighter to him when he felt Draco give up on the argument. He kissed Draco’s nose again when he felt the guilt fade away to be replaced by the gentle pleasure Draco felt wrapped in Harry’s arms.

            “Much better.” Harry commended closing his eyes. Draco let out a little giggle that warmed Harry’s heart.

           “Would either of you care to explain?” Lucius said in a no nonsense tone of voice that had Draco wincing. This was the third time now that the two of them were behaving oddly and going on about feelings. There would not be a fourth time unless they explained just what the bloody hell was going on. 

            Draco turned around in Harry’s lap but refused to get off. He knew it was uncouth for public displays of affection to be had at the dinner table. His pureblood manners were wincing at his actions but the thrill of doing whatever the fuck he wanted made him stay. The fact this father couldn’t say a word against it thrilled him. It might be a tad childish but Draco didn’t care. He had the sudden urge to stick his tongue out at his father’s raised eyebrow. He didn’t but it was a nice thought regardless, to know that he could.

            Lucius took a moment to take a calming sigh. Patience. That was a virtue, wasn’t it? Lucius wanted to snap at Draco’s unbecoming behavior but stamped it all down. He was proud that only a wince made it through his composure.

            Harry had to bite the inside of his cheek to stop from laughing at Draco’s amusement. Draco had guts alright. He wouldn’t have dreamed of messing with Lucius like this.

            “Explain what?” Draco asked cocking his head to the side and resting his hands against Harry’s that were holding him.

            “Don’t patronize me.” Lucius warned. Draco tilted his head back onto Harry’s shoulder so he could look into his eyes. Harry hummed in thought. They had already told the Weasley twins. What harm could telling Draco’s family cause?  

            Harry gave a discreet nod. “Harry and I share a connection.” At the raised eyebrows, Draco elaborated. “We don’t know how or why we have one, but we do. I can feel Harry’s emotions and vice versa. I can feel the bond connecting us even if we are using Occlumency. Distance doesn’t affect the bond. It is always there and thrumming. We didn’t perform a ritual if that is what you are wondering. It happened all on its own.”

            Narcissa gasped loudly covering her mouth, tears sprang to her eyes startling her son. Severus’s mouth dropped open in shock. Lucius made a choked noise as he stared wide eyed at the two of them as he breathed heavily.

            Pansy and Blaise couldn’t decide which was more shocking, that their friends had a weird emotional bond or the reactions of the usually stoic adults. They looked from their friends to the adults then back again silently willing them to explain.

            Harry and Draco were slightly alarmed at the expressions on their faces. If it was a different subject Harry might have laughed but with the conversation regarding their bond, it didn’t seem like the appropriate response.

            Draco had never seen such open emotions from any of them before. It worried him that the bond was something bad. What would possess them to behave so oddly? He gripped Harry’s hard tightly, needing the support.

            “Y-You are sure?” Narcissa whispered. Draco raised arched a brow. Of course he was sure. It’s not like he is in the habit of lying. He leveled an unimpressed stare towards his mother.

            Narcissa got up at once and hurried out of the room towards the direction of the library. “Where is she going?” Draco demanded impatiently. Screw politeness.

            Lucius couldn’t form a reply if he wanted to. His mind was whirling in a thousand different directions. He was shocked, utterly and totally stunned.

            Severus recovered and sent Lucius an amused glance when he saw his still slack jawed face. He may have been surprised but at least he hadn’t lost composure like Lucius.       

            “Narcissa is grabbing something that will help you understand our reactions.” Lucius said in a reverent tone once he recovered. Harry and Draco shared another startled look. Harry was disturbed. By the tone of Lucius’s voice, Harry almost  expected the man to be talking to Voldemort. The silky awed tone sent unpleasant shudders throughout him.   

            Narcissa came rushing in. Draco lifted an eyebrow as his mother’s panting. Purebloods don’t run anywhere, it is considered below them, undignified even. _Slytherin Rule #28: If you can’t do something with dignity, then don’t do it at all_. His parents were acting rather odd and he didn’t like it at all.

            Narcissa handed Draco a book that she had obviously taken from the library. Except it wasn’t one he recognized which was rather odd, Draco had combed through the library long ago and that book was not there. The way she handled the book with so much awe unsettles Draco. The book was old. _Very_ old. It looked like it was falling apart and pages missing. It was dusty and dirty from old age. He lifted it carefully showing Harry the title so he could read along with him.

            " _Bonds: Eternal Soulmates Volume One”_ Draco chokes out in surprise. He looks up at his parents demanding an answer. He doesn’t look back at the book, too afraid to actually read it. There was no such thing as soulmates. That was just muggle fairytale and myth. Why would his parents give him a book on such silly nonsense?

            “Merlin’s right ball sack!” Harry let out startled. Despite the serious situation, Draco laughed out right.

            “What happened to the left one?” He asked as his mouth twitching as he remembered his own saying to Harry at the quidditch field. Harry shook his head. “Tragic accident. They couldn’t save it.” Harry and Draco broke out in giggles.

            “Not another one.” Blaise and Pansy both moaned in despair. Narcissa chuckled ignoring the affronted look on Lucius’s face. Genitals being discussed in polite conversation? What were they thinking?

            “Draco, you converted him to your awful humor.” Pansy accused. Draco grinned wickedly. “That is not the only way I have converted him.” Pansy’s face flushed a dark red as Blaise snickered.  

            Lucius cleared his throat. Sexual innuendos at the dinner table is where he draws the line. Merlin, what would his father have said?

            Draco appeared chastised. “Right. Sorry. So soulmates?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I apologize for the shortness of the chapter. It was not as long as I would have hoped for. But the next one goes into so much depth that there was no way to extend this one without cutting into the next one. 
> 
> Okay, I know what you are thinking. Not another soulmate story?! Well sorry if that is not what you were hoping for. There was a bit of foreshadowing involved so it actually shouldn't come as that big of a surprise. I promise you that this story is not a typical soulmate story as you have already figured that out. Tomorrow's chapter explains a lot so stick around and find out. It may just surprise you. 
> 
> Any thoughts? Any one else notice how crazy Gryffindor Harry's plan of getting the Malfoy's off was? So much could have gone wrong. Yes it was terribly Slytherin of him but definitely insane Gryffindor as well. Any predictions on what their bond might entail? Any thoughts on them being soulmates?


	19. Missing Pieces of History

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this chapter is a little controversial. There will be things mentioned that have happened through out history. I have changed and tweaked these things. In doing so there was no intent to insult any culture or belief. If anyone feels insulted I apologize. Not my intent. The way I have tweaked the story was not meant to gloss over the suffering of those who had been in these historical events. My story put a twist on things that have happened as to not run into anything cliché. Hopefully you understand where I was going with this and realize no insult was ever intended by changing history a little.

            It was not his parents who answered, they are too busy staring at Harry and Draco. Lucius was staring at his son as if he had never met him before, he was still hung up on his lack of decorum. Narcissa was staring at Harry and Draco both in awe. “Soulmates,” Severus begins in his teacher voice that makes the teenagers sit up straighter. For a brief moment, Harry flashed back to potions class. He was tempted to pull out parchment lest there be a test.  

            “Soulmates are incredibly rare in the wizarding world. There has only been a handful of known cases in the past millennia. Every wizard has a soulmate. There isn’t a single one that doesn’t. Including muggleborns and squibs. Any being with magic has a soulmate.”

            “If everyone has one then how come it is rare?” Harry can’t help but ask. Severus turns and glares at Harry for interrupting him. Harry raised his hands in surrender. Geez, you’d think he had insulted his mother by the way he reacted.

            “As I was saying.” Severus says pointedly, ignoring Harry completely. “The reason it is so rare is because soulmates connect on a deeper level. The souls are the ones connecting. Not the people themselves. Just because your soul resonates with that person does not mean your heart and your emotions will. Not to mention that soulmates aren’t geographically located. The chances of you meeting your other half is slim to none. All wizards have a mate but that doesn’t mean that their soulmate has to be another wizard. It could be a muggle, wizard or a magical creature. Which makes the chances of finding your soulmate rather difficult. With the world population of nearly 6 billion people and no way of narrowing down the list, it makes soulmates _very_ rare.” Harry and Draco stare at Severus in wonder.

            “So take the two of you for an example. You are both incredibly lucky to have been so close to your soulmate geographically. But like I said earlier, just because your soul resonates with each other doesn’t mean you as a person will. The two of you were enemies. You were drawn to each other yes, but you weren’t in a position where the bond would kick in. People can meet their soulmate and never know it because they as a person just don’t have an emotional connection to their other half. Your soulmate could be your best friend, your neighbor, your boss, a teacher, or a complete stranger. They might not even be born yet or have already died. Without an emotional connection, you would never know it. Wizards in general don’t interact with muggles so if your soulmate happens to be one, most purebloods would never be matched. You also have to take in account of sexual preference. Neither of you have a problem with being male but say one of you just didn’t fancy gentlemen, then the bond wouldn’t have formed. When the two of you set aside your differences, it allowed the bond to form. If you had stayed enemies then the bond never would have had the chance to begin. Even if you had decided to be friends that wouldn’t have necessarily started the bond. You both have to have an emotional connection for the bond to kick start.” Severus paused to privately mourn the loss of never finding his own soulmate.

            “Why don’t they teach this in school? How come we never knew this?” Blaise asked quietly. He was at a loss. How could something so beautiful exist and no one know about it? He couldn’t wrap his mind around the fact that he had a soulmate out there.  

            “Because even though you may fall in love with someone that isn’t your soulmate, there will always be a small part of you that is longing for your soulmate. People were becoming desperate to find their other half. No one wanted to settle down without their soulmate. So the Ministry came to the decision in 1770 that Hogwarts would take out the section of soulmates in the History curriculum. When you know that you are missing something, it makes you want to find it. It is harder to want something if you never learned about it in the first place. After the law was passed it did help, people still longed for their other half. They just didn’t know that that was what they were longing for. Only the families that go back several generations would know about the soulmate bond. It was up to the parents to teach their children if they desired to. Now a day’s people will think they are longing for a change in career, a change in their daily routine or even longing for a new partner. They recognize that they are longing for something but they just don’t know what it is that they are longing for. So their minds come up with something to compensate for the lack of not knowing what they are longing for.” Severus explained.

            Pansy and Blaise turned to stare at Harry and Draco with a new light. “We mentioned the bond to Fred and George but they seemed just as clueless as we were.” Draco piped up confused.

            Narcissa tilted her head to the side. “That is interesting. The Weasley family goes back just as far as the Malfoy and the Blacks. They would know about soulmates. It is up the parents to decide what they teach the next generation. They could have decided not to tell their children. Just as we decided to wait until you were older to tell you.” Narcissa said with a slight apology in her voice. She looked to Pansy and Blaise. “I know from personal talks with both of your parents that they were not intending to tell you. So if you decide to discuss this with them, I would appreciate it if you told them you found out from another source and not mention us.” Pansy and Blaise nodded quickly, neither one actually wanting to talk to their parents about this. It would raise too many questions.

            “Even to purebloods soulmates are revered. Arranged marriages in pureblood families first came about because heirs wanted to wait till they found their soulmate to settle down. Lines were dying out. So arranged marriages were born. But in every single contract there is a clause that will absolve the marriage if either party was to find their soulmate.” Lucius continued on.

            “If you found your soulmate would you…” Pansy led off not sure how to ask if they would get divorced. Not the most pleasant question.

            “In a heartbeat.” Lucius and Narcissa said at the same time. They shared a fond look. Draco jerked in shock. “You would?”

            Narcissa sighed. “Draco, you don’t know what it is like. You are too young. I love your father with all that I am. Don’t doubt that.” Lucius reached over and took her hand gently. “But to live knowing that your other half is out there is very hard. There is a part of me that yearns for my soulmate. The longing is hard to ignore. Over time it becomes easier. The love I get from you and your father fills the gap but there is still a tiny piece of me that mourns the loss of my missing soulmate. Your father feels the same way. If either one of us ever managed to find and resonate with our other half, we would divorce. And we would do so with no bitterness or regret.”

            “I envy the families that don’t teach their children about soulmates. Ignorance can be a blessing in disguise. Knowing only brings the sorrow of longing.” Lucius added while Severus and Narcissa nodded.   

            “You said there were a handful of soulmates recorded. Who were the last?” Harry asked curiously. He was wondering if there had been any recent soulmates discovered.

            “In England, the last recorded soulmates were Nicolas Flamel and his wife Perenelle.” Severus replied. Harry’s eyes widened. “But they are what 700? You are telling me the last recorded soulmates was 700 years ago?” Harry asked in disbelief. Lucius seemed impressed that Harry knew who the Flamels were, considering his son and his friends seemed confused.

            Severus sneered. “I said last recorded in _England_ Potter. There are soulmates from other countries that have been recorded as well.” Harry sighed. Would it kill the man to be nice? Draco narrowed his eyes at his godfather.

            “Before the Flamels there was Lancelot du Lac and Guinevere Pendragon.” Harry’s mouth dropped open. He had known Merlin really was a wizard but he hadn’t thought to think about any others.

            “But wasn’t Guinevere married to King Arthur?” Harry questioned. Severus snorted. “He was no king. That is the muggle shining through in you.” Harry and Draco glared at him.

            “Arthur Pendragon was a pureblood who wanted to rule. His Knights of the Round Table were essentially the current deatheaters. Just not as violent.” Narcissa explained ignoring the indignant looks Severus and her husband were giving her.

            “She was married to Arthur, it was an arranged marriage. Custom dictates that the marriage should have been absolved once it came to light but Arthur was obsessed with her. He refused to let her go. This caused a rift in the Knights of the Round Table, some who believed the contract should be upheld siding with their ruler. The rest siding with Lancelot who held soulmates as something to be treasured. Duels broke out. Lancelot refused to back down. Guinevere feared for her lover’s life and conceded to go back to Arthur to protect Lancelot.” Severus smirked at the enthralled expression Harry had on his face. Severus was used to indifference and boredom from Harry during potions class.

           Harry was captivated. He had never enjoyed history before, how could he? It was taught by a ghost that put everyone to sleep. But he found all of this fascinating. He hadn’t stopped to think that a lot muggle literature came from somewhere. He leaned his chin on Draco’s shoulder and listened to Snape’s teachings with enthusiasm. Draco shared a fond look with his mother at Harry’s interest. He had heard the stories of Arthur and his Knights but no one told him about the soulmate part. 

            “The last recorded soulmates in Italy were Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet. That was around the 15th century.” Lucius added when Severus paused.

            Harry gasped. “You mean they were real?? I thought that was just muggle literature.” He said in wonder.

            Lucius snorted. “Goodness no. They were real. However, the muggles didn’t know that Romeo and Juliet were wizards. So the story got twisted through their telling. Romeo and Juliet weren’t quite from rival families. Romeo was a mud-muggleborn and Juliet was a pureblood. Juliet’s family did not approve of a union between them. They faked their deaths. It wasn’t until many years later when they had children did they come back into Italian society. Juliet had been disowned and her children not allowed to be claimed by the Capulet line. Her family would’ve rather her been dead than to marry a muggleborn.” Harry was stunned. Partly at the fact that Lucius corrected his slipup but also at the story. He wondered if Hermione knew about this? He doubted it if the soulmate knowledge passed down from generation to generation of old wizarding families. It was a crime to hide history from the population.  

            “I had no idea.” Harry said a little awed. “Are there any others?” Draco asked curiously.

            “In France around the late 1700’s early 1800’s, there was Josephine de Beauharnais and Napoleon Bonaparte.” Lucius smiled at the gasp Harry let out. It was endearing how expressive Harry could be, not that he would admit that.

            “Napoleon was actually a squib. When he was disowned from his family he decided he would make something of himself in the muggle world.” Harry let out an impressed whistle. “When he came across Josephine she had been recently made a widower. Due to their soulmate bond Napoleon was allowed back into his family’s wizarding status. It is not recorded if he told his wife about wizards or not. There was one exception to being invited back, he must produce an heir. Just as all purebloods do. Josephine already had children and couldn’t bear any more. They had tried for years, when it was obvious that she couldn’t produce him an heir they divorced and he was able to conceive with his next wife. He chose being invited back into the wizarding world over the life he could have had with his soulmate.” The last bit was said bitterly. Lucius never could understand that. Didn’t Napoleon crave his soulmate like he did? Lucius would never have given up his other half like that. He would have told Abraxas to go to hell if their roles had been reversed. Nothing would have kept him from his soulmate. Not even them being a muggle. He cringed at the thought but the sheer longing he felt for his other half was enough to make him not care what kind of status his soulmate would have.  

            “What an idiot.” Draco said in disgust. He wouldn’t trade Harry for anything in the world. He would give up his magic in a heartbeat if he had to. Harry would always come first. Harry kissed the side of Draco’s head and squeezed him a little in a hug. Draco hummed happily.

            Severus couldn’t look at them for long without mourning a little. He cleared his throat and continued on with where Lucius left off.

            “In America during the early 1600’s, there was John Rolfe and Pocahontas.” Harry held his hand up interrupting as he ignored Snape’s glare.

            “I thought Pocahontas was involved with John Smith?” Harry asked confused. Draco startled. “Pocahontas involved with a _Smith_?” He said scandalized.

            This confused Harry. Why would Draco care if she had been with a Smith. His eyes widened. “Are you saying Zacharias Smith is a decedent of John Smith?”

            All heads were nodding around the table. Harry had never imagined that. “Did the muggles say Smith was with Pocahontas?” Draco asked wrinkling his nose. He may not have known that Rolfe and Pocahontas had been soulmates but he knew of their story and Smith being involved with her did not sit well with him.

            “I can’t remember much of muggle history. I remember learning about them when I was younger. I know Smith was mentioned. I don’t remember Rolfe at all. Then a couple years ago, Dudley was watching a movie on the telly and it was about Pocahontas being involved with John Smith.” Harry said squinting his eyes as if trying to remember the cartoon. There had been a bunch of singing and that had thrown him for a loop so he didn’t bother watching it.

            “I don’t know what a telly is but Pocahontas was never involved with John Smith that way. They say she saved his life when his people crossed their land in a negative way but the only evidence of that tale was Smiths say so.” By Lucius’s tone, Harry could tell that he held serious doubt to the trustworthiness of Smiths word.

            “The Ministry had sent out a bunch of wizards to America. They had gotten word of a magical community that did things differently. The Native Americans didn’t use wands to conduct their magic. They used the land and nature. It is a different type of magic then ours. They had magical cores but they were smaller than a normal witch or wizard. But that didn’t matter because they were able to tap into the land and use natures magic. Which is beautiful. Not everyone can do that type of magic. It is unique and special. When the England settlers couldn’t perform the same type of magic that the Native Americans could it started an international war that extended to muggles that had come over separately as well.” Harry gasped in outrage.

             “They thought that the Native Americans were refusing to teach them their ways. They weren’t. It is just that type of magic could not be taught. You either can do it or you can’t. Even if it could have been taught, the Native Americans would have been within their rights to deny them the teachings. You don’t invade someone else’s homeland and then demand things from them. The battles were awful and so destructive.” Harry’s heart went out to the lives of all that were lost.

            “When Rolfe found out that Pocahontas was his soulmate things changed for Pocahontas’s tribe. Which was her family. There was peace between Rolfe’s people and the tribe. Other battles were still happening elsewhere though. Rolfe eventually brought Pocahontas back to England but she was unprepared for the different cultures. She contracted Dragonpox and it eventually killed her.” Lucius finished sadly.

            Harry’s mind was a whirlwind of thoughts. He never knew. None of this had been mentioned in History of Magic. They could have kept out the soulmate part and still taught the rest of it. Harry felt cheated by the lack of knowledge. He hadn’t even known that there were different types of magic out there. To be able to tap into nature and use magic that way? That was impressive and intriguing.

            Draco could feel Harry’s interest in the teachings and it excited him. He hadn’t ever thought about how much the Ministry was restricting the knowledge of the families that hadn’t been raised in the wizarding world. Or the families that did know and decided not to teach it to their children. History of Magic was a joke, you can’t pick and choose what history you want to follow and teach. That was not the proper way to do things.

            “The earliest known documented case was Cleopatra and Mark Antony.” Harry’s mouth dropped open, much to the delight of those around the table. “She was a pharaoh in Egypt. She ruled alongside her father. They had come from a long line of purebloods but the family was dying out. Her father couldn’t find an acceptable match for her so he had her marry her brothers.”

            Harry stared at Severus in disgust. Pansy’s nose crinkled in horror. Blaise and Draco made startled noises.

            “Blimey! Why would he do that? That is so wrong. Ew. Ew. Ew.” Pansy said cringing and waving her hands in the air.

            “I know that marrying second cousins is usually the pureblood norm. But brothers??” Blaise said with his voice nearly shrieking at the thought. Harry nodded along. He was just as horrified. Draco shuddered. He had always wanted siblings. It would have been nice to have someone to share things with and to grow up with. But the thought of marrying a sibling was so wrong. Goodness, nightmare right there.

            “I agree with you.” Narcissa’s mouth twitching. “But do you know how long ago this was? They did things very differently back then. It was a custom.” The teens all shook their head. They could care less what the custom was, it was still wrong.

            “There was a point where questions about who should rule led her to needing to make a political statement. She had a liaison with Julius Caesar which solidified her claim on the throne. They had a child together. After Julius’s assassination, he had a legal heir that could have challenged the throne. His name was Gaius Octavianus. So, Cleopatra once again needed to keep grips on her throne. She married Mark Antony who turned out to be her soulmate. Their marriage made it possible for her son to co rule alongside her.”

            “Many years later, after Julius’s legal heir grew enough military and political power he sent forces into battle. Mark Antony’s forces lost. With the win, Octavianus was able to gain a title and consolidate power over Rome. Mark Antony grew despondent after such heavy loses and ended up taking his life. Cleopatra couldn’t take the heartache of finding her soulmate just to lose him. She ended up asking an aspis to send her into the afterlife, so she could be with her other half.” Severus finished with a sigh. It was terribly romantic in a morbid sort of way.

            Harry was floored. Wow. That was not the story he had been told about Cleopatra. All of this information was a little mind boggling.

            “Wait. Isn’t an aspis a snake?” Harry asked bewildered.

            Lucius nodded. “Egypt is where Parselmouths originated from. It was an ancient gift passed down from many generations. Historians theorize that Salazar Slytherin’s ancestors may have been Egyptian. Or it is entirely possible that he just had the gift and it had nothing to do with Egypt.”

            Harry blinked and then blinked some more. Well that was unexpected. He had thought it was such a rare gift and he supposed that it was in England. He wondered if there were many Parselmouths left in Egypt. That would be a nice place to visit. He could always ask Bill about it, well if the man was still talking to him that is. Something was bugging him though about all of these soulmates.        

            “All of the soulmates you mentioned are heterosexual couples. Are there no known gay couples?” Harry wondered. Draco raised an eyebrow when he saw his father and Severus wince. Was it something against homosexuals? Or something else? He narrowed his eyes. They better choose their words carefully.  

             “There was one.” Lucius said hesitantly not wanting to go into this one. Harry waved a hand as if to say ‘get on with it’. Lucius sighed.

            “Salazar Slytherin and Randall Ravenclaw.” The teens all dropped their mouths open in shock. “What??” Draco spluttered. Lucius sighed heavily.

            “Salazar was married and so was Randall. He was married to Rowena Ravenclaw. Salazar hadn’t met him until after Hogwarts was built and they all brought their families to the castle. Salazar and Randall grew close and eventually realized that they were soulmates. What you must understand is that Rowena’s maiden name was Rowena Gryffindor.”

            “No way.” Pansy whispered. Blaise covered his mouth in shock.  

            Lucius nodded gravely. “Yes. When the affair between the two men was found out it created a lot of problems. They both had already produced heirs so that wasn’t a concern. Their marriages should have been able to have been dissolved. Only, Godric was furious that Salazar had betrayed his trust by sleeping with his younger sister’s husband. He didn’t care that they were soulmates. The slight to the family honor meant more to him then their happiness. Now Rowena understood the reason behind it. She was hurt but she was okay with getting a divorce. Godric wouldn’t hear of it. He demanded that the affair end. When they refused, a fight broke out. Salazar and Randall ended up leaving the school leaving behind two broken hearted wives. Rowena threw herself into the knowledge of books and never found another lover. Salazar’s wife, Selena Slytherin grew bitter and raised her children to hate muggleborns and half-bloods.”

            “I can understand being bitter and heartbroken, but what does him leaving half do with non-purebloods?” Draco asked tilting his head to the side. Lucius winced and shook his head. Severus shot him an unimpressed look.

            “Because Randall Ravenclaw was a muggleborn.” Pansy dropped her fork and it clanged loudly against her plate. Blaise choked on his pumpkin juice, spraying it all over the poor house elf that had refilled his drink. Draco jumped in shock and was very thankful that Harry’s arms had been holding him. Harry’s eyes widened comically. What??

            Lucius gave a jerk of his head that Harry supposed was intended to be a nod of agreement.

            “If Salazar Slytherin ended up being with a muggleborn why does the history books say he left the school due to a fall out over wanting to only teach purebloods?” Harry asked.

            “Because when the Ministry changed the curriculum they changed the books as well. They didn’t get rid of existing copies they just banned them from Hogwarts. The next generations read the edited versions and that became the new history. While the original books withered away on shelves and only being passed down from family member to family member.” Narcissa explained gently.

            “Due to Selena’s teachings, her children were raised to despise anyone that was not a pureblood. Her eldest son Salmond Slytherin took the teachings to heart. He was the one who had a falling out with Godric over who should be allowed to enter the school. It was never known who exactly created the chamber of secrets but my guess it was Salmond. He wanted to enact his own revenge for being driven out of the castle.” Narcissa explained while her husband and Severus remained quiet.

            “Why did they do that? Why change history like that? They could have just said Salazar and Godric had a falling out. They didn’t have to mention the soulmate part. Why lie and say it was over muggleborn rights?” Draco asked softly.

            “Your guess is as good as mine.” Narcissa said with a shrug. Harry shook his head angrily. “All these generations of pureblood hate and bigotry and Salazar Slytherin didn’t even buy into all of that! He had a muggleborn lover for bloody sakes! If this knowledge had been taught all along there would have been no breeding ground for a lot of the hatred that ignited the wars. If the pureblood families knew all along about the truth of Salazar Slytherin why did no one ever mention it? Why did they go along with the hatred that Salmond spewed?” Harry demanded.

            Lucius sighed. “To speak out against the Ministry at that time was not wise. The Ministry had made its decision and that was it. Even though Slytherin himself never believed in all of the things his son did, other purebloods did. Other people had the mentality that he did. So whether or not the books got the name right, the mentality was still the same.”

            Harry and Draco shook their heads. “I disagree father. If they had grown up with the knowledge of soulmates and the knowledge that the founder of their house had a muggleborn lover and had no ill will against muggleborns, then that would have seriously impacted their minds. I think there would still have been people who believed in Salmond’s teachings but I don’t think there would have been that many nor do I think it would have caused such a divide between the different statuses.” Draco said quietly. Harry nodded his agreement.

            “Perhaps.” Lucius conceded. He didn’t want to get into an argument so he let the conversation go.

            Harry didn’t have to ask if the Malfoy’s would have agreed with Salmond or not. It was obvious that Lucius still bought into the hype. Harry couldn’t believe the lengths the Ministry had gone to conceal the existence of soulmates. Maybe because he had never felt the longing before, he couldn’t appreciate what those who knew about soulmates went through. But to him he just couldn’t wrap his mind around changing history like that. The ends didn’t justify the means. At least that was his perspective.       

            “And how do you know we are soulmates?” Draco asked the real question that had been bothering him for a while now. His thoughts and emotions were all over the place. Could it really be possible? He had known deep down since they became a couple that they were meant to be together but he hadn’t thought it was something like this.

            Harry was still stunned at the possibilities. Soulmates. It wasn’t an unknown word. He had read in many muggle stories about soulmates but it was just fiction. Make believe. It was never something he imagined could be real. The magical world was always surprising him. Every time he thought he had a handle on it, it would suddenly throw him a giant wrench in his plans. But for once, this was a very welcomed wrench. He only feared what this would mean if the knowledge of their bond got out. Would people accept their relationship more? Or would it spark another error of depression because other people would suddenly be aware that they had a soulmate that they may never meet?

            “Because there is no other bond that forms on its own. Any other magical bond must require one or both parties to partake in a ritual or spell for the bond to take place. Emotional bonds are not something that is done. You can tie a person to you, you can bind someone else’s mind to yours, you can enslave someone, you can bind their magic to you, the list goes on and on. But there is no emotional bond other than a soulmate bond.” Lucius explained.

            Draco turned a little so that he could properly look into Harry’s eyes to gauge his reaction and that is when his mind blanked and the world ceased to exist for the pair.

            When they made eye contact, magic crackled throughout the whole room. Harry and Draco couldn’t hear the other gasps and cries of surprise. For them everyone disappeared. They were in their own world. The normally quiet bond was screaming in joy. Acknowledging that they were soulmates had sparked a new wave of connection between them. The magic was rapidly flowing in and out one another. Harry couldn’t tell whose magic was whose. It was as if they had the same magical core. The feel of it reminded Harry briefly of when he used Draco’s wand for the first time. The wand had responded to him just as well as his own. Olivander had said that the wands allegiance had changed but that wasn’t it, not entirely. The feel of their cores combining and singing with joy was enough to make him realize why he had been able to use Draco’s wand. The core and the soul were one in the same. Magic comes from within and the soul brings that out. His soul had recognized Draco’s wand and allowed him to use it despite the bond not being active. Harry could hear the absolute joy of their cores joining. The noise was unlike anything he had ever heard. It was the most beautiful music, the softest melody and a hauntingly wonderful tempo that was a work of art.  

            Everyone else sat in their chairs gobsmacked. Not only was the feel of the magic in the room, they could see it and hear it. They could see Harry and Draco’s magical cores reaching out to grab hold of each others. Both the cores were a swirling storm of magenta and sapphire. At first glance the cores looked the same, identical. But if you looked closer Draco’s had a thin sheet of green lined into it, while Harry’s had a thin sheet of grey mixed in. With a jolt, they all realized that the colors were their eyes. Draco’s magical core was paying homage to its other half. And vice versa with Harry’s. Nowhere in the book did it mention the cores being visible once the bond was recognized. Magical cores have never been witnessed before. Or if it has it was never recorded. The sound of pure joy that their cores made when connected brought tears to many of their eyes.

            Draco and Harry were vaguely aware of the swirling colors, it wasn’t important. Draco couldn’t tell where he began and Harry ended. He could feel Harry’s heartbeat run parallel with his own. He could feel Harry breathing as if it was coming out of his own lungs. The twitching of Harry’s muscles felt as if they were his own. Every part of Harry felt like himself. Like an extension of his own being. For a brief moment, they weren’t two people. As their magical cores combined, so did they. They weren’t two separate beings. They were one. United.

            Draco knew what it felt like to be short like Harry. Knew what it felt like to see through Harry’s eyes, knew what poor vision was like. How did Harry put up with that? Draco knew what it was like to have unmanageable hair. He cringed slightly at that. Draco knew what it felt like to _be_ Harry.

            As they connected, Harry was blown away. He no longer felt like Harry Potter. He felt like an odd combination of the both of them. He could feel two heartbeats. He could feel two intakes of breath. He could feel extra hands and feet. Harry could feel every single part of Draco as they combined.

            Harry knew what it felt like to see through Draco’s eyes, to actually be able to see! Draco was so lucky. He knew what it felt like to be taller. He knew what manicured nails felt like. Why did Draco need that? He knew what Draco _felt_ like.

            The onlookers had to fight the urge to look away as the cores grew brighter. The magic thrummed louder. The atmosphere surrounding the pair was surreal. It was beautiful to watch the bond take root. It was a once in a lifetime experience. They knew they would never be given another opportunity to see the joining of two souls again.

            As the colors started to slowly dissipate, Harry and Draco’s awareness began to appear. They remembered that they were in the manor but they couldn’t bring themselves to care. All that mattered was each other. When Harry raised his hand it also raised Draco’s. They were still connected, still one being.

            It wasn’t until their cores stopped reaching out for the other that more mental awareness came snapping back. Draco shook his head a couple of times and stared at Harry in wonder. Harry watched Draco’s movements with fascination. He knew what it felt like to shake that same head. Knew what the soft blonde hair felt like atop of his head. He knew what it felt like to _be_ Draco. It was unnerving and yet… so breathtaking. Harry could honestly say that he knew Draco inside and out. No one else would ever be able to say the same.

            “Wow.” They breathed in unison, still staring into each other’s eyes. The bond was louder and stronger than it was before. It was nearly distracting. It was so hard to concentrate on anything beyond each other. They heard someone clear their throat and had to physically force themselves to tear their eyes away. But not for long. Soon hands were roaming and eyes were connecting again. What did matter what these people had to say? Who were they again?

            Narcissa and Pansy had tears in their eyes. Blaise was sniffing quietly. “That was beautiful.” Narcissa whispered. Watching them had nearly broke her heart with the knowledge that she could have that, if she just found the other piece that completed her. But at the same time, watching her son find something so amazing and so beautiful, filled her with so much happiness. She envied her son just as much as she was thrilled for him. She would make sure Draco realized how rare and sacred this was, she would ensure that he treasured the bond he held with Harry.  

            Lucius was silently awed. He may have appeared indifferent on the outside but that was so far from the truth on the inside. On the inside, he was a wreck. Never in his entire life had he witnessed something as wondrous as that. When Draco was born, he thought that had been the most beautiful thing he would ever witness. And it was… until now. That… had been mind blowing. For a lack of a better term. As he sat and watched his son’s magical core find its partner he was filled with such pride. His son found happiness that many would give their right hand for. His son was incredibly blessed and lucky. He wanted to be envious, he really did. He wanted to rage at the injustice of never finding his other half. He wanted to weep at the longing his own soul was emitting. But he couldn’t. Knowing that his son would never feel the utter despair that the longing of your other half could bring was enough for him. Knowing that his son would never have to wake up in the middle of the night and weep for the part of him he couldn’t have was enough for him.  He wouldn’t wish that on his child. He had debated with Narcissa for years about telling Draco about soulmates. He never wanted his son to go through what they did. Narcissa had won the war but Lucius won the battle of when it came time to tell their son.

             Severus was visibly shaken. Which is not something that happens often. He couldn’t wrap his mind around what he just witnessed. He watched his godson find something that he has _dreamed_ about for years. During the day you can fight off silly notions of romance and physical contact but during the dead of night as you lay there, your mind can’t help but think of all that you don’t have. No matter how much you wish to ignore it, you can’t. During the dead of night was the only time Severus would give in to his thoughts and yearn for the other half of him. He longed for the person that could possibly understand him. Severus feared that he already had met them and pushed them away like he did with everyone else. Severus liked to appear as if nothing bothered him and that he was perfectly happy being alone. But you can only kid yourself for so long. You can be alone only so long before you dream of the day where you can just be yourself, happy and in love. He sighed as he watched Draco get the one thing he would do anything for. He wanted to be happy for them. He really really did. But it was just so hard to be happy when a piece of himself felt like crying. Perhaps in time he would be okay with this. 

            “What was that?” Blaise asked thickly, he still hadn’t quite recovered. Pansy reached out and rubbed his hand.

            “That was their magical cores combining. Now that they acknowledged the truth of their bond it was able to fully combine.” Lucius explained with a choked voice. He also had not recovered from witnessing them.

            Harry wanted to say something important but he couldn’t form the words. All he could think about was Draco and the bond. He couldn’t focus on anything else. His mind was filled with the essence of Draco and only him. He nuzzled the side of Draco’s neck thrilled with the mewling noise his actions caused the man in his lap. Draco felt like he should say something. What were they talking about? What were they doing? The only thing he could think about was the feel and smell of Harry. Suddenly he didn’t care what anyone else was saying. They weren’t Harry so they didn’t matter. Draco pushed back against Harry’s face in his neck, loving the feel of his hot breath near his ear.  

            “What’s wrong with them?” Pansy asked hysterically as she noticed the duo losing themselves in one another. It was like they forgot where they were. They were so enamored with the each other that no one else mattered.  

            “They need to consummate the bond.” Severus said wincing at the mental image that brought. Gross. He didn’t want to think about his godson doing anything of that nature. Pansy blushed all over while Blaise snickered. Lucius shuddered as his mouth curled. He had forgotten about that part.

            Narcissa chuckled at their reactions. “It’s a natural reaction to the bond forming. They have all this excess mental and physical energy. It needs to be released and intimate relations would be the best productive way to do that.” Lucius whimpered in disgust at the casual way his wife could talk about their son’s sex life. At the dinner table no less! He could have gone his whole life without that mental image.

           “Oh, stop it you.” She chided her husband. “Harry, Draco, why don’t you boys go home.” Narcissa said loudly and gently, hoping they could concentrate enough to hear that.

            Home. The word barely registered into Harry’s mind. Home. What was that? Something was niggling in the back of his mind. Home. Is that where he could be with Draco without the distractions of these people. Who were they again? “Home.” Draco said as if he was testing the word out. Home. Harry nodded. Yes. That is where they would go. Harry tightened his hold on Draco and desperately thought of home. Whatever that was.

            The crack of apparation reverberated throughout the room. Narcissa and Lucius gaped. “The wards around the house are preventing apparation directly into the home.” Lucius explained to the rest of them. Severus raised in eyebrow. Interesting. Perhaps the joining granted them extra magical strength? Or maybe it was a combined magical apparation? Maybe they could tap into each other’s magic? His analytical brain was going haywire with all the possibilities.

            The rest of the evening was pretty subdued. No one talked. Everyone's thoughts were a mix between wondering what the two soulmates were doing and thinking about the possibilities of their own soulmate. Or in Lucius's case, he was imagining what kind of magical cleaner would scrub the horrid mental thought of his son 'consummating' his bond. He shuddered. Damn Severus for bringing that up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, I would like to hear from you guys. Positive or negative about this chapter. 
> 
> When it comes to most soulmate fanfics, they like to say how rare it is that people find their soulmate but then most of the couples in the fic have met their other half. Example, Mrs. Weasley and Mr. Weasley, The Malfoys, Ron and Hermione and so on. They say it's rare but then there are too many people for it to actually be rare. I wanted to look at this a little logically. In 1998 there were close to 6 billion people. That is a HUGE amount of possibilities for a soulmate. The odds of actually finding one is pretty damn slim. Which is why in my story there is only a handful that have been mentioned. If I hade made wizard soulmates only for other wizards then that would have greatly improved the chances of finding ones soulmate. But I didn't like that idea. 
> 
> I have read a lot of soulmate stories where Draco and Harry don't really like each other but the bond draws them forward and they grow to love each other. I don't like that. Without the bond they wouldn't have come together. I also dislike the idea that you will fall in love with your soulmate because you are soulmates. I just find that hard to believe. I mean for a silly example, say Harry's soulmate was Umbridge. Based off of the way most stories go, then Harry would end up loving her. No. Yuck. Lol. I wanted to make my story different. So that is where the prospect of the bond only forming if there was an emotional connection. I also like that just because you are soulmates doesn't mean you will end up together or that you will even know that they exist. 
> 
> Any thoughts on the Ministry? Tough question. Would you want to know if the existence of soulmates were real? Just to find out that you may never find them? I don't know what I would want. The loneliness might be too much. But I do not believe that the Ministry should not have changed the books. People deserve to know the truth. 
> 
> My main question is did the twist on historical couples go smoothly? My worst fear is that it offended anyone. I can see where some of the couples would be a touchy and sensitive topic. I tried to do it tastefully. I wanted to showcase examples of Soulmates throughout the years. Hopefully it came across as I intended. Let me know. 
> 
> I don't like being cliché. I suppose doing a soulmate fic is unavoidably cliché. But other than that I wanted to go this route differently than other people. When it came to choosing a gay couple to showcase as a soulmate, I went the furthest route I could in choosing them. Most stories have Godric and Salazar as a couple. Whether it's soulmate or not I find this cliché. No offense to anyone out there that likes this pairing or has written stories with them in it. I just didn't want it for my story. When choosing Randall Ravenclaw I wanted to go for a shock value and I liked the idea of making Rowena's maiden name be Gryffindor. I could have come up with another reason for them to have a fall out but I liked the drama this way. Any thoughts on Randall and Salazar being together? I liked the idea of Salazar being with a muggleborn, partly to write the reactions of the teens. Lol. But also that it would cause some purebloods to rethink things if they knew. People like Lucius would always believe in those prejudiced views but others might not have. 
> 
> You guys are probably tired of the cliff hangers. Sorry. *shrugs sheepishly* It is difficult finding good spots to end my chapters. If I had kept going the chapter would have been too long for my liking. So I kept it like that. I think this chapter was long enough. Lol. Well I do believe my notes are a tad too long. Sorry about that. Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter. -XxTheDarkLordxX


	20. Confrontations and... Raspberries?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, you guys might have been hoping to start where we last left off with our soulmates. Sorry. I suppose you could call this a filler chapter. Don't worry, tomorrow we see what our lovely boys have been up to!

            Fred and George left the Ministry fairly easy. No one paid them any mind or attention. There was a swarm of reporters and photographers just waiting to catch a glimpse of the Malfoys and Harry. Not to mention a crowd of people wanting to watch the drama unfold. Some of them were Ministry workers! Didn’t they have a job to do? Unless gossiping like school girls is a new position that they were unaware of. If so, they knew quite a few simpering girls that would fit the bill.

            George sighed, couldn’t they just leave their brother alone? Hadn’t Harry done enough for the wizarding world? Didn’t he deserve some peace and quiet? Who cares if he got the Malfoys off? Part of him loathed that Lucius Malfoy was free, with not even a slap on the wrist. Especially after his actions nearly cost the life of Ginny during her first year. But Harry had his reasons, whether George agreed with them or not. It didn’t matter. If this is the one thing Harry wanted in life to make him happy then George could take getting Lucius Malfoy off scot free. Harry was never one to do things without a reason. George hadn’t needed to read the contract to know it had involved Draco. Why else what Harry do something?   And listening to Lucius read off the contract had been a humbling experience. Draco was the one thing that Harry wanted above all else. It was obvious looking at them interact. How could anyone fault him for that?

            Fred grabbed a hold of his brother’s hand and squeezed gently. “I know.” Fred said simply. That was one thing George loved about having a twin. Fred just got him. They never had to have elaborate conversations. Words weren’t always needed. They could look at each other and have a world of conversations in that single glance. Fred knew what George was thinking sometimes before even he knew himself. They understood each other in ways that no one else could. They knew the rest of the family didn’t understand their need to be together. They didn’t understand why they couldn’t settle down into their own lives. But that just wasn’t something that interested either of them.

            They were a packaged deal. Where one went so did the other. You couldn’t have Fred without George and vice versa. It just didn’t work like that. It felt unnatural to separate them. They weren’t meant to lead separate lives. Fred wasn’t sure he could function without his brother. That wasn’t normal. But since when did they care about trivial things like being normal? Normal is a relative term. What is the basis that people compare being normal to anyways? People used to ask him if he ever wanted his own space, or if it ever got crowded always being together. Fred always laughed in response. No. That wasn’t something he had ever wanted around George. They were extensions of each other. They clicked in ways that most people just wouldn’t understand. They were more than just brothers. They were lifetime friends. If there was a position beyond family, then that is what you could use to describe them. With George by his side he would never grow lonely. Sure, there were times when he longed for someone to share his life with besides as a brother but he had time. When the right person came along that could put up with George always being his number one, then he would know that they were meant to be. Which is why relationships always failed for the pair of them. Partners just couldn’t understand that they would have to share his time between the two of them. George and Fred’s partner would have to share being the most important person in his life. It was always the deal breaker that ended most of their relationships.   

            The twins had never felt connected to the rest of the family like they did to each other. Their mother had a hard time telling them a part most of the time. That was why she knitted sweaters with the first letter of their name on it. Their father was always busy at the Ministry and when he did have time for them, he had five other children besides them to visit with. Growing up Bill and Charlie were busy with Hogwarts to have time for them. During the summer they were busy doing homework or hanging out with each other. They weren’t envious or wished their older brothers had had time for them. They had lives to live and even at a young age Fred and George understood that.

            Percy was the one that understood them the most. Perhaps it was because he was the closest one in age to them. Even though Percy’s strict personality often warred with their mischievous nature, the three of them got a long better than they did with anyone else. When Percy was in a good mood he would often give them pointers on their ideas. He would point out logical ways to get materials for cheaper. Or he would help them plan some of the more complicated pranks. He never wanted credit. He preferred to be the in the back, silently approving of their handiwork while publicly chastising them. When Percy left the family, it had crushed Fred and George. Harry was their brother just as much as Percy was. They felt like they were stuck between a rock and a hard place. But Percy kept them updated with weekly letters. That was something they never told anyone. Percy never pressured them to think like him. He let them come to their own conclusions when it came to Harry. When everything with you-know-who came to light the letters increased. Percy never admitted to being wrong but the twins could tell. Percy had been wracked with guilt but too prideful to come crawling back. He never asked for forgiveness, but that was something Fred and George gave willingly. Percy never needed to worry.

            When Percy died, it devastated them. Percy had been their favorite brother. The one who they could always count on. Even if he gave up on the rest of the family, Percy never gave up on them. He was _always_ there for them. There would be no more weekly letters. No fond chastising. No more silent egging on. No more praise hidden under strict glances. The twins had lost a lifeline when Percy died. He died fighting and that was the way he would have wanted to go. But still.

            With Percy’s death came the inevitable closeness that sprang between them. They had never thought it could be possible for them to be even closer but they were. They drew in on themselves and threw everything they had into the shop. They rarely came home for visits and didn’t answer many firecalls. The only reason they had initially answered the call from their mother when Ron came home was because she had mentioned Harry’s name.

            Ron and Ginny had never been real close to them. They always seemed far younger than they actually were. Their mother coddled them in ways that the rest of the family hadn’t been. Maybe because they were her babies? The closeness Ron and Ginny had with their mother never made them envious. No. They saw the damage it was causing them. Entitlement. That was what Ron always wanted but never earned. He felt entitled to life and didn’t want to work to get it. Being Harry’s friend gave him a bit of that entitlement. They didn’t doubt that their younger brother really cared for Harry. It was obvious that he did. It’s just that Ron could be very selfish. It’s funny most people assume that children with no siblings tend to be more selfish. But when you are a child of seven and times are difficult, toys and possessions were sparse. Ron grew up wanting more and more and didn’t want to share. So when things got difficult in his friendship with Harry, Ron did the first thing he always did. He only thought of himself. He didn’t stop to think about what Harry was feeling or even if he had a good reason to do so. By the time he realized his mistake, Harry was always there to take him back. But if Ron didn’t get over his issues he was going to wake up one day and realize that Harry was gone. Draco was Harry’s whole world now, and if Ron wanted to be a part of that world than he would have to swallow his pride and accept Draco.

            Ginny… well she was a girl. With only brothers in the house she was the odd one out. They had no idea how to play with a girl. Their mother always told them they had to treat Ginny differently because she was a girl. They couldn’t play normal pranks on her because it would hurt her feelings. They couldn’t get her outfits dirty because she was a girl. They couldn’t tease her because you just didn’t do that to a girl. You were supposed to treat girls with respect and dignity. Well all that was a load of hogwash. Ginny didn’t want to be treated like a girl. She didn’t want to be pampered. With six brothers, she wanted to be like them. She didn’t want to be the odd one out. She wanted to be pranked. She wanted to be teased like everyone else. She didn’t want to stay clean and orderly, she wanted to get dirty with her siblings. The two warring opinions always threw Fred and George for a loop. Instead of getting in the way of either of them, the twins just stuck to themselves except for the occasional talks with Percy.   

            Fred and George, they were seen as one person. Sure they always did things together but they had their own interests. Everyone always assumes that they like the same things and eat the same foods. They don’t. Fred is allergic to raspberry but his mother forgets because George loves raspberry. George hates onion in anything but his mother forgets because Fred loves onions in excess. Fred was never a fan of Quidditch but George was and so he joined the team to please his brother. Fred actually enjoys knitting. It was something that gave him time to just be still and think things over. His best inventions had been thought up during his knitting time. George could never sit still long enough to do something as time consuming as knitting. George was more of a hands-on thinker. He liked to mess around with old projects, that would always get his creative juices flowing. They have their own quarks that defines who they are but people don’t notice that. It is easier to lump them together than to bother getting to know them separately.

            Which is why they adored Harry so much. Harry could always tell them apart. He knew that they liked different things. He never talked to them like they were one brain instead of two. Harry treated them like Percy always did. Harry was a unique character. No matter how many times they tried to understand him they just couldn’t. He was always doing things that surprised them. Harry was considerate of everyone, always ready to listen to others in a time of need. He never demanded the same treatment or got upset when no one was there to listen to him. Harry had been a martyr in every sense of the word. It used to upset Fred and George when they would witness Harry just take the shite everyone threw at him instead of fighting back. They worried that Harry would always do what was expected of him. Never taking what he wanted. But watching him grow into his own person with Draco was a dream come true. Draco was giving Harry everything he never let himself have. Today in the trial they heard Harry say that Draco saved him. They could tell by the tone of his voice that he meant it in more ways than just one. There was more to the story. They weren’t going to ask about it though. Some things are just personal. But they just _knew_ that Draco was part of the reason that Harry was okay. Draco being with Harry wasn’t a bad thing. It was one of the most natural things either of them had witnessed.

            Which is why they lied to everyone back in the courtroom. They hadn’t closed their shop. They left Verity in charge. She could handle it for the rest of the night. It wasn’t because they didn’t want to go to the Manor either. That actually sounded intriguing. They really did want that raincheck. No they lied because they were going to talk to their family. And it was about time too.

            Harry didn’t deserve their silence. They chose a good night too. It was the monthly annual Weasley dinner. Bill and Charlie couldn’t always make it but since Percy’s death they have been firm about showing up.

            The two of them apparated out front of the burrow. “Ready?” They asked in unison. They shared a fond look. Fred sighed heavily. He was not looking forward to this. Confrontations were just not his thing. George was better suited for this then him. “Right” They answered in synch, answering their own question.

            It was George’s turn to sigh as he pushed open the front door. Heaven help them. They put on fake identical grins and marched into the kitchen.

            “Fred! George!” Molly Weasley shot out as soon as she saw her sons. It had been too long since she last saw them. They hadn’t been coming around for dinner lately and since Percy’s death she really needed all of her family home.

             Bill narrowed his eyes upon seeing the twins faces. He may not have known them as much as Percy but he still knew his baby brothers. Bill shared a look with Charlie, who also noticed the fake smiles. Before he could come up with an appropriate response the floo whooshed and their father stepped out. Bill noticed the grimaces the twins held when they caught sight of their father. He crossed his arms across his chest and tried to understand what this could be about. Well whatever it was, dinner was no doubt about to get interesting.

            Ron was excited that the twins came home for dinner. It had been ages since they had a proper conversation. After the twins stormed out of The Three Broomsticks last week, he had been worried about them.

            Hermione could tell something was wrong. She couldn’t figure out just what but she planned to observe everyone and figure out what was going on. She was about to ask Ginny if she noticed anything out of the ordinary but Ginny wasn’t paying attention. She was having a one-sided conversation with Charlie. Ginny hadn’t even noticed that her brother wasn’t paying attention.

            “Arthur! Just in time. Look the twins came for dinner. Isn’t that lovely?” Molly gushed as she kissed her husband in greeting. Arthur straightened immediately.

            “Boys.” Arthur said testily. The twins lost their smiles and looked at their father in indifference. The temperature in the room dropped drastically. Everyone looking from Arthur to the twins with confusion.

            “I just came from the Malfoy trial.” Arthur began to explain. Hermione narrowed her yes. Did Harry know? “Did they get what they deserved?” Ron interrupted not noticing the glares the twins sent Ron. Everyone else did though. They were now looking at the twins curiously. What was that about?

            “No. Harry spoke on their behalf.” The silence in the room was deafening. “With Harry’s testimony, they didn’t even have to pay a fine. They just walked away free men.” Arthur said bitterly. He may not have given much thought to Lucius’s wife or son but Lucius Malfoy didn’t deserve to walk free. Not after everything he has done.

             “I knew it! See mum I told you they were using Harry!” Ron said in outrage as he waved his fist angrily. Fred had to hold George back from cursing their brother. George always did have the shorter fuse than Fred.

            Ron looked bewildered at George. He closed his mouth with an audible snap. “What’s with you?” He demanded after he recovered.

            “These two were at the trial. They were there to show support for the Malfoys and Harry.” Fred could never handle silences very well. It was why he loved playing pranks on people. It covered up silences. This silence made him nervous. He had to fight the urge to shift from one foot to the other. George moved his hand to the side to grab hold of Fred’s. This is why he loved his brother. George just knew when he needed support without him ever needing to ask.

            “What??” Ron exploded angrily. Hermione winced at how loud Ron could yell. She knows his mother taught him manners. He just tended to disregard them. Typical.

            “After I talked with Kingsley when the trial was over, I went back to see where the twins had gone off to and I saw them hugging Draco Malfoy.” This silence really did make Fred shift from one foot to the other. He hadn’t realized that their father had seen them. If their father saw them then that could mean someone else might have seen the way Harry interacted with them as well.

            “Not you too!” Ron shouted as his face grew red quickly. “Dad check them for any spells.” This time it was George holding Fred back. Hermione and Ginny leaned away in surprise. The twins were acting out of character. The twins were usually the ones to break rough tensions, not start them.   

            “Just explain it to me.” Arthur asked sitting down wearily ignoring Ron’s outburst. Fred and George shared a long look that irritated those watching. Couldn’t they for once just be normal? Did they have to confer to each other every time?

            They twins sighed in unison which caused Bill’s lips to twitch in amusement. “Despite what Ronald.” Ron flinched at the venom in George’s tone. “Has said, Harry is not confunded. He has not been duped. He has not lost his marbles. Harry befriended Draco with a clear head and sound mind.” Fred finished glaring at Ron.

            “ _Draco_?” Hermione asked in surprise. Hearing Harry say Draco was weird enough but listening to a Weasley say it as well was out of the ordinary.  

            “Yes Draco. He is not just Harry’s friend. He is our friend as well.” Everyone started at them like they were mad.

            Bill narrowed his eyes. He hadn’t had the pleasure of going to school with a Malfoy. So he didn’t have the hatred that Ron did for them. Hearing the stories that both Ron and Ginny have said about the Malfoy heir had been enough. Bill however did have the unfortunate pleasure of meeting Lucius Malfoy once. The man was a repugnant arse who looked like he belonged on hair care advertisements. There had to be more to the story then they were letting on. Harry had been through a lot in his life, he was smart enough to know if someone was using him. When his mother mentioned that Harry was being duped by the Malfoy’s, Bill had a hard time believing that. Harry had been through too much to be blinded by them. So, there must be a reason Harry was spending time with the Malfoy heir. It could just be as simple as Harry making a new friend. What was wrong with that?

            The thought of Harry getting Lucius Malfoy off was unsettling. The man didn’t deserve it. But… for Harry to speak for him meant something. Harry doesn’t do things for no reason. He must have had a reason. And to be honest how was that anyone else’s business? The courts found the Malfoy family innocent of the charges. That should be the end of it. Why Harry did it didn’t matter. All that matters is that he did it. Harry was an honorary Weasley, Bill wasn’t about to judge Harry on hearsay. He would just accept Harry’s decisions and move on with his own life.

            Charlie was unsure on what to think. The only times he had been in contact with Lucius Malfoy was when the man was shooting stunners at him through his deatheater robes. Which was a giant glaring reason to dislike the man. But you can’t judge someone solely on them being a deatheater. Snape was a proof of that. Yes, he changed sides when it mattered but at one point he had joined Voldemort willingly. So just being a deatheater wasn’t enough to completely hate the man. Charlie didn’t know Harry as well as Ron, Ginny and the twins but he knew enough about Harry to know that the Malfoy’s must be somewhat redeemable for him to speak for them. Harry wasn’t the type of person to be tricked into things. He was uneasy at the thought of Lucius Malfoy getting away without any punishment. What kind of message did that send? You can break the law and get away as long as you know powerful people?  

            “Why would you two befriend a Malfoy?” Arthur asked. He couldn’t process this. Malfoy’s have always been enemies of the Weasleys. It went back generations and it wasn’t like Lucius Malfoy had been pleasant to them. Ginny was a prime example.  

            “The war is over and it is about time you all grew up.” Fred said bluntly. Bill and Charlie shared surprised looks. This was the first time they had ever seen the twins speak to the family like this. They usually stuck to themselves and only added input when prompted or to make a joke.  

            “If you want to continue a childish hatred for the Malfoy family then go ahead. But we won’t. We don’t like Lucius any more than you do. But Draco is not his father. He is a really kind and caring person when you get to know him. He cares for Harry far more than any of you do.” Ron stood up interrupting George.

            “What are you on about? Malfoy was the one who bullied Harry since first year! We are his family!” Everyone was nodding their heads in agreement with Ron. Bill tilted to his head to the side curiously. Something must have happened between the Malfoy heir and Harry for a statement like that. The Weasley family had been a huge part of Harry’s life, so for the twins to say that it had to go beyond a simple friendship. It was the only thing that made sense. But what kind of relationship would that be?

            “Right. Because family stops talking to each other because they don’t like who you hang out with.” Winces were seen across the table.

            “Right. Because family throws out everything they have been together because they can’t cope with someone else’s decisions. Who Harry chooses to spend his time with is none of our business.” George said angrily.

            “I don’t like that odd lady from down the road that comes and knits with you mum but that doesn’t mean I am going to stop talking to you.” Molly flushed red.

            “Mrs. Raymond didn’t bully Harry though!” Ginny piped up. Fred and George shook their heads. It was like they were deliberately ignoring the whole point. Were they being particularly obtuse on purpose?  

            “Listen to your own statement. Draco bullied _Harry_. So if _Harry_ chooses to forgive him then how is it any of _your_ business.” Ginny squirmed uncomfortably. He was right. It wasn’t like Harry befriending Draco affected her at all.  

            “Malfoy didn’t just bully Harry. He bullied us too.” Hermione added. Honestly, it was like Harry wanted her to just forget all the harsh names and cruel teasing Malfoy put her through. Some of her worst memories were at the hands of Malfoys. Not to mention the cruel things that were said about Ron too.   

             “Harry didn’t ask for you to forgive him, did he? He just asked that you respect his decisions. He just wants you to accept that Draco will be in his life.” Fred bit back angrily. Hermione had the grace to appear ashamed.

             “Family may not always understand everything you do but they are there for you regardless. You lot abandoned him the first chance you got because of who he chooses to spend his time with. That’s not a family I would want to be a part of.” George said glaring at them all.

            “Draco will be in Harry’s life forever. You better get used to that if you want Harry in your life. If it were me, I wouldn’t have forgiven any of you.” Charlie raised his eyebrows and looked towards Bill’s wide eyes. Forever? That seems a bit presumptuous, right? You can’t predict a friendship to last that long. Ron was the proof of that. Charlie had a feeling that he was missing something rather big. By the look on his older brother’s face, Bill may have figured it out already. Charlie bit back a sigh. Just once he would like to beat Bill to the punch.

            Hermione glared at them defiantly. “But Harry isn’t you.” They nodded in agreement. “You are right. You are lucky he isn’t. We would have turned our backs on you and walked out without a backwards glance back. But if you think he will just accept you all back with open arms you are fooling yourself. You didn’t see what utter heartache your silence caused him. Harry was gutted. After the way he grew up, he finally found a home with us and you all abandoned him like he was nothing. Harry has found new friends and a new family.” Gasps could be heard. Hermione’s eyes filled with tears. She hadn’t wanted to hurt Harry but she thought that Ron needed her more at the moment. Harry had always been a fighter, she thought that he could handle it until it all blew away. Ron was her boyfriend and it felt wrong to agree with Harry when it seemed so obvious that Ron couldn’t cope.   

            “We aren’t saying he won’t forgive you all but I doubt it could ever be completely fixed.” Fred said sadly.

            “Why would Harry want to be a family with the Malfoys?” Ron said in disgust. None of this made sense to him. Ron had met all of the Malfoys and not a single one of them had a redeemable bone in their bodies. What could Harry possibly see in them. Why would Harry want to make friends with the slimy gits? Harry was the one turning his back on him! Not the other way around.  

            “Maybe because he isn’t a judgmental prat like you?” Ron spluttered at George’s words. Not only was Malfoy stealing Harry but he was twisting his brothers against him too!

            “Ron seriously grow the fuck up. You hurt Harry the most. You threw his friendship away because he made room for a new friend? What are you five? You don’t want to share your friends so you think acting like a git is going to make Harry want to come back? If you don’t change your ways Harry is going to walk out of your life forever. And newsflash, he doesn’t need you. He has already begun the process of moving on.” Fred warned, glaring daggers at his younger brother.

             Ron sat down dumbfounded. This wasn’t right. This wasn’t how things were supposed to go. After the war was over, he and Harry were supposed to finish their final year at Hogwarts with Hermione. They were going to become Aurors and live the dream. Harry was going to marry Ginny and really become part of the family. Nowhere in his plan did he see Malfoy befriending Harry and stealing his best friend away. This was all wrong. So wrong.

            “We really messed up.” Molly whispered before burying her head into her hands. She really did think of Harry as one of her children. She hadn’t wanted to hurt him she just wanted to give him time to realize that no good could come of befriending a Malfoy.

            Arthur reached over and rubbed the back of her neck. When he had seen his sons talking and joking with the Malfoy’s he was filled with a sense of betrayal. How could his sons support them? He still didn’t understand the need for Harry to get Lucius Malfoy a free pass. The man didn’t deserve it. He deserved to rot in Azkaban. Maybe if they got back on good terms with Harry he would finally get some answers. Arthur was embarrassed that his sons needed to teach him a lesson on tolerance. Were they really that blinded by hate that they pushed Harry away?

            “No mum.” Ron whispered. He couldn’t let it go. He just couldn’t.

            Molly stood up with her hands on her hips. “Ronald, knock it off. We have already alienated Harry enough. What good will silence do if it pushes him away forever? He needs us and you being rude to him will not make him want to come back.” She scolded him harshly.

            “I can’t accept Malfoy being his friend. It just doesn’t make sense.” Ron said bitterly and stubbornly.

            “Then find yourself a new friend.” Fred and George said in unison. Ron’s ears turned red and he stomped away upstairs with Hermione trailing after him.

            After an awkward silence filled with uncomfortable stares, Molly cleared her throat. “Why don’t you two sit down? Oh Fred I made your favorite. Raspberry pie!” She said with enthusiasm.

            Fred let out a laugh of disbelief. Maybe it was the stressful day. Or the emotional argument they just had, but Fred threw his hands in the air. “I quit. I absolutely fucking quit.” Everyone watched Fred walk out of the house slamming the door.

            “Was it something I said?” She asked George fretfully. George opened his mouth a couple of times before catching sight of French onion soup that was for dinner. He closed his mouth with a snap and began shaking his head.

            “You know what? I quit too!” He yelled before following his twins lead and slamming the door behind him.

            “What just happened here?” Arthur asked bewildered. No one could answer him. It was safe to say that dinner that night at the burrow was a subdued affair.

            The twins apparated outside of their shop and checked that Verity closed the shop properly before heading upstairs towards their flat.

            “Un-fucking believable!” Fred swore loudly when they reached the top step. George sighed and pulled his twin in for a hug. “I know Freddie. I know. You know them though.”

             Fred let out a little hysterical laughter that tugged at George’s heart. “That is sad when that is the excuse we have to tell each other to be able to face our family. It’s like they don’t know us at all. Raspberries George! Raspberries! How hard is it to remember?” He mumbled out rapidly. George winced. This wasn’t a good sign. Fred was winding himself up. George mentally prepared himself for an hour of listening to Fred rage against the injustice of the world. Lovely end to a lovely night, he thought sarcastically.  

            “Are you guys okay?” A hesitant voice came out of nowhere, causing Fred to jump and George to tighten his hold on his brother. They spun around to see the concerned faces of Pansy and Blaise.

            “Don’t scare us like that!” They said in unison while trying to calm their racing hearts. Pansy and Blaise smirked in amusement, it’s not every day you catch pranksters letting their guard down.

            “It wasn’t intentional. And it is about time you two liars showed up. We’ve been waiting here for what at least ten minutes?” Blaise asked Pansy. Pansy rolled her eyes. He acts like ten minutes was really hours. And people think she is the dramatic one.  

            Fred smiled at Blaise. He really was a sight for sore eyes. Blaise’s smirk faded into a genuine smile as he stared at Fred. “It is a relief to see you guys after what we just went through.” Fred said as his smile fell in remembrance.

            Blaise took a hesitant step forward towards Fred. The four of them had gone out on a double date to get to know each other earlier in the week. Then went on one individual dates to get to know each other _better_. Blaise didn’t want to rush things. He felt like he finally found someone who could understand his close friendship with Pansy, someone who wouldn’t be upset if he needed to spend the day with her if she needed it. Because Fred himself had a similar situation. Blaise wouldn’t dream of coming between the twins.

             Fred saw the timid step forward and flashed him a smile before rushing the rest of the way and gripping Blaise in a tight hug. It was slightly awkward because Fred was taller than Blaise but it was still providing the comfort that he needed.

            Pansy shot George a look of concern as she stepped up into his welcoming hug. “What happened to Fred? Is he okay?” George was thrilled that she cared about Fred, it showed him that she really could handle the relationship he had with his brother.

            “We had a dinner discussion tonight with the family.” Pansy winced. Her own family dinners weren’t pleasant ones. She could understand. Blaise frowned. That was something he could empathize with. His mother was constantly trying to force him into ‘family bonding’ with whatever husband of the month she brought home.

            George opened the door and invited them into the flat. Fred dragged Blaise over to the couch and wouldn’t let go of him. Blaise didn’t seem to mind. He looked down at George with a fond smile.

             “Fred doesn’t like confrontations. Which is exactly what we did tonight. Then our mum told him she made raspberry pie for him.” Pansy seemed confused but Blaise made an indignant noise.

             Fred had his head on Blaise’s shoulder when George and Pansy looked towards Blaise.

            “But Fred is allergic to raspberry!” Fred lifted his head so fast George wondered if he cracked it. 

            “How do you know that?” Fred rasped shocked. Blaise looked a little uncomfortable.

            “Harry told us. Remember Pans?” Pansy shook her head. “No.” Blaise sighed. “I swear you have the worst memory of anyone I have ever met.” Pansy grinned sheepishly. It was true.

            “It was the first time Harry and Draco invited us over to their place. H-” Blaise was interrupted.

            “Hold it. Harry and Draco are living together?” George asked insulted that he hadn’t known this. He wracked his brain trying to remember if it had been said but he couldn’t remember anything.

            Pansy and Blaise nodded in unison. “Yes. They are living in the old Black residence.” Pansy stated with a shrug.

            Fred and George shared a startled look. Why would they want to live in Grimwald place? “With Kreacher?” George shuddered thinking about the senile old thing.

            Pansy giggled, a sound that was music to George’s ears. “The house elf _loves_ them.” At their incredulous looks, Blaise elaborated. “Well he definitely loves Draco. But he is very nice to Harry too. You should hear Draco talk about him. He won’t admit it but he is very fond of Kreacher.” Fred was having a hard time believing that. He knew Draco was a different person than he used to be but being nice to house elves? That seemed farfetched.

            Blaise laughed. “I’m serious. I overheard Draco telling Harry that Kreacher needed a better bedroom. He wanted to turn the attic into Kreacher’s living space. Harry said that Kreacher wouldn’t want that but Draco started droning on about the benefits of color coordinating the room, completely ignoring Harry’s protests and that is where I tuned him out.” The twin’s jaws dropped open.

            Pansy laughed along with Blaise. “Kreacher was in the background cleaning. You should have seen his horrified look. I could hear him mumbling that his ‘indecent’ masters were trying to give him a heart attack. They treat him like a part of the family.”

            “This I got to see.” George said with a wicked grin. Oh the blackmail material this could bring. Draco was practically part of the family now, and no one is safe against blackmail. Especially family.  

            “I wonder why he said indecent.” Fred pondered dubiously. Pansy and Blaise shared a look. “After tonight’s dinner, I don’t.” Pansy said with a blush. Fred and George shared another look.

            “What they hell goes on at Malfoy dinner parties?” George demanded with interest. It sounded far more interesting than the Weasley dinners.  

            “That is a long story.” Blaise warned. George nodded. “Get along with your explanation and then we can swap stories of our horrid night.”

            “As I was saying, we were visiting them for the first time and Harry mentioned a couple times that we reminded him of you two. I asked him to tell us a little about you guys. Harry was telling us some stories and one of them was when Fred’s hands puffed up after picking raspberries for your mum. Harry didn’t mention that you were allergic but it was obvious that you were from the story.” Blaise explained with a shrug.

            Fred was staring at Blaise with an intense scrutiny that was making Blaise nervous. Fred couldn’t believe it. Blaise, a relative stranger knew he was allergic but his own mother couldn’t remember. Fred was filled with such warmth for Blaise that it surprised him. Then his mind caught up with what Blaise said.

            “That wanker! He just had to tell you an embarrassing story, didn’t he?” They all cracked up laughing.

            “Doesn’t your mum know that you are allergic?” Pansy regretted her question when the smile fell off of Fred’s face. Blaise shot her a glare. She winced and raised her hands in surrender.

            “She should. I have told her countless times but because it’s George’s favorite she forgets and assumes it’s mine as well. With so many children to look after the details tend to lose her.” Pansy and Blaise furrowed their brows in distaste.

            “But you aren’t the same person. You have your own interests.” Blaise felt like he was stating the obvious. Why would that be a hard concept for their mother to grasp?

            “Thank you.” The twins said in unison. Blaise just smiled warmly at the two of them.

            “Is that all that happened?” Pansy pressed gently. George shook his head. “We have been avoiding family dinners for a while now. It was just hard after Percy’s death. We wanted time alone to grieve instead of being suffocated by the family.”

            “I’m sorry.” Pansy and Blaise said at the same time, giving their condolences.

            Fred and George waved away the apology with small smiles. “We wanted to go to dinner tonight because we wanted to confront the family about the way they are treating Harry.” Pansy and Blaise’s eyebrows raised but their eyes lit up in delight. The twins were momentarily startled. They hadn’t realized that a friendship formed this fast between Harry and Draco’s friends. Interesting.  

            “Ron was a disaster but I do believe we made some headway with the rest of them.” Fred said with a sad smile.

            “I am sure Harry will appreciate it. Especially now.” Pansy grimaced at the sharp looks the brothers were sending her.

            “Explain.” They said in unison. Fred tightened his hold on Blaise. George crossed his arms across his chest.

            It took a while but between the two of them they managed to describe what had happened at dinner and explained everything that had been said. Fred and George were blown away. They picked a hell of a night to miss the excitement. Pansy and Blaise’s night sounded a lot better than theirs at the burrow.

            “Soulmates exist?” Fred breathed in amazement. Pansy and Blaise nodded. “You should have seen it. Their cores were combining and it was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. Blaise was crying.”

            “Hey! I was not. Dust got in my eye. That’s all.” They all busted out laughing while Blaise glared weakly at them all. Fred kissed the side of his head which calmed him down immensely.

            “Dust existing in a place like the Manor?” Pansy asked through tears of laughter. Blaise shrugged sheepishly. Alright it hadn’t been the best excuse.  

            “I’ll admit I cried too. It was amazing.” Pansy said with a reverent tone. Blaise nodded vehemently. “I agree. I don’t think I will ever see something as powerful or amazing as that again.” Blaise added.

            Fred and George shared considering looks. They weren’t sure what to think. Why did the Ministry have to go so far in covering up the existence of soulmates? He understood why people would be upset that they didn’t have their other halves but to eradicate the history books seemed a bit extreme.

            “I wonder why our parents never told us about soulmates.” Fred said disgruntled. George nodded angrily. They had a right to know. Even if it wasn’t the best news to be told that you may never find your soulmate, it was still their right to know it. It wasn’t right of the Ministry to outlaw it nor was it right for parents to choose what to tell their children when it came to history.  

            “They may not have even known.” They arched an identical eyebrow.

            “No Pansy is right. It was up to the parents to teach the children. Their parents may have decided that it was too emotional to talk about.”

            “But that is just one reasoning. They could have known all along and decided not to tell us.” George said bitterly.

            “That’s true.” Pansy conceded. “Narcissa said that our parents knew but they never intended to tell us.” Blaise frowned again at the injustice.

            “I knew something odd was happening between them. You guys should have felt the magical energy when they were in our shop.” Fred said excitedly.

            Blaise hummed in thought. “Well if you can find a pensive then we can swap memories.” He offered. Fred and George grinned wickedly. That was a good idea. The twins wanted to see this once in a life time experience. It had to be good for the two of them to go on about it.

            Blaise shifted uneasily. “Pans, do you remember what Severus said about sexual orientation?”

            “You call Snape by his first name?” Fred said weakly.

            Pansy ignored Fred and thought back to the conversation. “Yeah, he said that if one of the partners was gay but the other one wasn’t that no bond would form between the soulmates.” She stated.

            Blaise stared at her pointedly. She gasped loudly. “You t-think that we are soulmates?” Fred and George shared frightened looks.

            “Well it makes sense if you think about it. I mean I have never been into women but I have always been drawn to you Pans. It would explain why we need to have each other in our lives. But it would also explain why no bond has formed because I am just not into you like that.” Blaise felt Fred relax at his words. He wanted to shake his head. Silly red head.

            Pansy stared at Blaise with wide eyes. “You could be right. It explains so much. But there is no test or spell to verify a soulmate.”

            He nodded. “I know. It was just a thought.” Pansy wasn’t sure what to think. On the one hand if it was true that would be really cool that Blaise was her soulmate. On the other hand, she wasn’t romantically inclined to be with him. If he was her soulmate would she still feel the longing of her missing half? It was enough to make her head spin.

            “Well I don’t know if we are soulmates or not but it doesn’t change anything. You are my best friend and you always will be.” Blaise smiled at her and blew her an air kiss. She laughed warmly and cuddled into George’s side.

             George let out a breath he hadn’t known he was holding. He had been worried hearing the possibility that they were soulmates. But knowing that it would change their relationship relieved him. He was growing attached to Pansy, he didn’t want to lose her now.

             “So, what do you think Harry and Draco are doing now?” Fred asked curiously.

             “Fucking.”

             “Having sex.”

             Pansy and Blaise spoke at the same time. Pansy turned to Blaise scandalized. “Blaise! How vulgar.” Blaise and the twins broke into laughter. “Sorry Pans. What I meant to say, was they are probably exploring their bodies in the delicate art of making love. There is that better?” Pansy shoved him playfully. “Oh shush it you.” She joined in on the laughter that rang out across the room.

            “Since Harry told us stories about you two, you should tell us some stories about him that we might not know.” Pansy stated with a smile. She was picturing happy memories of the Weasley family as they let in a younger Harry.

            “Yeah give us the inside scoop. The more embarrassing the better.” Blaise added. The twins grinned wickedly. “Blaise!” Came Pansy’s indignant tone but she couldn’t help but be interested. She was a Slytherin after all.

             George leaned forward slightly capturing the rest of the rooms attention. “Okay, there was this one time….”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not much of a filler eh? It is just as long as yesterdays chapter! So any thoughts on Fred and George? I wanted to give them more character depth. I wanted to show an inside to their brotherly love. The bond between the twins is unique and I wanted to showcase that. Hopefully that came across. I loved the idea of having Percy be the brother that they connected to the most. Percy is usually left out of most stories or always shown in a negative light. I like the idea of him secretly helping the twins but still being the strict brother that he is. I know I killed him off but it was either him or keep with cannon and kill Fred. Which I just couldn't do. Lol. The twins can't be separated. Sorry Percy. You had to go. 
> 
> Any thoughts on the confrontation itself? Not enough drama? I chose to talk more about Bill and Charlie than to show what Ron, Hermione and Ginny were thinking. We know what goes through their minds. But I wanted to showcase the older brothers too. 
> 
> Okay. Now I am dying to hear your thoughts on Blaise's idea that he might be soulmates with Pansy. Would that explain their bond? Keep in mind that there is no way of ever knowing if you have met your soulmate till the bond forms. There is no soulmate bond connecting them so they will never know if they are actually soulmates or not. Do you think the chances of both Draco, Harry, Pansy and Blaise having a soulmate in their geographical region plausible? Or was Draco and Harry rare enough? Or are Pansy and Blaise just good friends and not soulmates? If they were soulmates, it wouldn't matter. Blaise's sexual orientation would prevent the bond from ever forming. I would like to hear what you think. Plus your guess is as good as mine. I am leaving this one up to the reader to draw their opinion on Pansy and Blaise. 
> 
> Sorry if you all were hoping this would be the steamy chapter of our couple! I needed to talk about the Weasley family first. Tune in tomorrow to see Draco and Harry pick up where we left off. -XxTheDarkLordxX


	21. Completing the Bond and The Terrors of the Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are picking up where our boys left the Manor. This chapter is a smutty chapter. So if that bothers you then skip to the Italicized font. Enjoy.

            Harry and Draco apparated unknowingly into their bedroom. They were just thinking of home but their magic knew what they needed and acted accordingly.

            As soon as they landed they were on each other. Draco tackled Harry to the bed. Harry tilted his head to the side when Draco’s lips made contact with his neck. Draco was lost to his senses and primal need. He knew if he paused to think he would realize _something_ , he just couldn’t care. Nothing else mattered except for Harry. Wherever they were before this didn’t matter. They were alone and that is all Draco cared about as he licked and sucked a pulse point along Harry’s neck.

            Harry moaned and arched his back. “Draco.” He panted harshly. Draco groaned, oh that was exactly what he wanted to hear. Draco wanted their clothes off. He didn’t stop to think about it, he waved his hand and their clothes were gone. Perfect. Just what he wanted.

            Draco laid his body on top of Harry’s and moaned at the feel of Harry’s warm body pressed underneath him. Oh, this was surely heaven. It had to be.

            Harry moved his hands up to explore Draco’s body, mapping out the territory. He tried to pay attention to all the spots that caused Draco to gasp and moan but his mind was so flustered and wound up that he couldn’t think straight.

            “I need you.” Harry whispered into Draco’s ears as he licked his earlobe. Harry thrusted his hips up to reaffirm his statement. Draco cried out wildly when their exposed groans made contact.

            “Want you.” Draco gasped out when a particularly hard thrust came from Harry. Draco automatically grinded downward. Harry cried out Draco’s name.

            “Take me.” Harry demanded before he sucked Draco’s bottom lip into his mouth and sucked lightly. A teeny tiny part of Draco’s mind felt like he should ask if Harry was sure but the rest of his brain shut down and grunted out his agreement. Again, something was telling him that there was something he was missing. Was he supposed to go slow? He tried to concentrate long enough to understand what his mind was telling him but another hard thrust from Harry had his mind blanking. What had he been thinking? Oh well.  

            Draco flung his hand out and a distinctive sound of glass breaking from somewhere could be heard. Draco didn’t give two shits what broke. The only thing he could think about was the taste and smell of Harry. How arousing it was. How much he wanted to immerse himself into everything Harry could give.

            Harry’s brows furrowed. Was that glass? Fuck it. The house could be on fire and it still wouldn’t be enough to drag him away from Draco. Every single pore in his body was screaming for Draco. He wanted to be surrounded by Draco, wanted to be filled by him. Harry didn’t give a damn what was happening around them as long as he had Draco.

            Finally, the smack of something hitting Draco’s hand registered in his mind. Draco unscrewed the vile and dipped his fingers into the liquid. The smell of strawberries registered in his mind. Mmm. Draco lifted half lidded eyes to stare into Harry’s lust filled ones as he circled the puckered ring with his lubed-up fingers.

           Harry closed his eyes when a single digit entered him. It felt good. So good. Draco watched the pleasure on Harry’s face and it spurred him on. When it seemed like Harry was relaxed he added a second finger.

           Harry winced slightly at the burning stretch of the second finger. He took a calming breath and concentrated on the sensation of Draco doing this to him. That was enough for him to relax and once he did, he moaned at the feel of those fingers inside him.

            Draco scissored his fingers and began rapidly thrusting his fingers in and out of Harry. Draco watched entranced at the way Harry’s hole clenched his fingers on the way out. Draco added more lube to his fingers before adding a third finger.

            Harry shook his head at the stretch. He knew this was necessary before Draco could be inside him but he was impatient. He wanted Draco now, damnit. Harry growled.

            Draco moaned at the sound. Fuck. Harry growled. _Growled_. He hurried up stretching Harry. He couldn’t wait any longer. Draco grabbed more lube and hurriedly fisted himself. He had to restrain himself from wanting more. Just the simple touch to his sensitive member had almost been enough to undo him.

            Harry watched Draco touch himself with envy. Gods he wanted that in him now. He couldn’t wait any longer. This was torturing him. He was about to growl again when Draco got into position.

            Draco grabbed hold of Harrys knees and pushed them further out. He lined himself up and slowly pushed the head of his cock against Harry’s well lubed entrance. When it gave way immediately, he wanted to grin but couldn’t. All the air left him in a whoosh once the tight heat of Harry was surrounding the head of his length.

            Harry moaned in slight pain and a whole lot of pleasure when Draco entered him. The fingers had stretched him a lot but Draco was bigger than his fingers. It wasn’t as bad as he thought it would be. Each inch that Draco sunk, Harry let out another breathy moan.

             When Draco was fully inside Harry and his pelvis was pressed up against Harry’s arse, did he still. “So tight. So hot.” Merlin, he just wanted to thrust but something told him not to. He didn’t want to hurt Harry. Never hurt him.

             Harry writhed underneath Draco. Fuck. He took a moment to get used to the intrusion. This is what he needed, this is what he wanted. Harry experimentally clenched and was delighted at the loud groan Draco let out. But was rewarded with Draco swearing out loud before he began to move inside him.

            Draco couldn’t help it. He had to move, he couldn’t hold it anymore. Hopefully Harry was ready enough. Draco leaned over Harry and placed his hands on the side of his head. Harry lifted his head to kiss Draco’s lips.

            The kiss was sloppy and wet but they didn’t care. Draco’s thrusts began to speed up. Soon Harry was meeting him thrust for thrust as best as he could.

            “So good. So big. So full.” Harry chanted unaware he was doing so. Draco flushed when Harry’s words penetrated his mind. He cursed and began pounding inside of Harry. That’s all he could focus on. He watched as his cock slid in and out of Harry with fascination.

            Sweat rolled off of Draco’s temple and onto his chest as he tried to angle himself differently. His efforts were rewarded when a loud scream permeated the air.

            “Fuck.” Harry swore when Draco’s last plunge hit something inside of him. What was that? His mind wanted to know but Harry couldn’t be bothered to care. Some tingling in the back of his mind was trying to tell him but that was unimportant. Not when every thrust of Draco’s hips hit that same something inside him. He wasn’t going to last if Draco kept doing that.

            “Draco.” Harry whispered breathlessly. Draco snapped his hips harshly in reply. Harry arched his back off the bed and whimpered. “So close. So close.” Draco sped up at that. He buried his head into Harry’s neck and listened to Harry’s harsh breathing, the slapping of their skin as his thrusts became more powerful. Draco could feel the roaring of his blood the closer he got to completion.

            Draco separated slightly so that he could reach a hand in between them, he grabbed hold of Harry’s hard, dripping member and began rubbing up and down relentlessly.

            The dual sensations sent Harry into overdrive. He arched as high as he could with Draco on top of him and screamed as spilled all over Draco’s fingers. Draco moaned as the already tight heat gripped him even tighter. He couldn’t hold it anymore. He bit down on Harry’s shoulder as he slammed home one more time, as deep as he could go and spilled his seed inside Harry.

            Draco went limp in the aftershocks of his orgasm, he was breathing harshly as the warmth of Harry’s body comforted him. He heard Harry let out a funny breath and that was when he realized with a jolt, that he had collapsed on top of him. Draco rolled off his boyfriend and wrapped his arms around him.

            As they began to regain their lack of breath, their minds caught up to what just happened. They had been sitting at the dinner table when their souls started connecting and that is where things got a bit hazy. Harry could remember the all-consuming need for Draco’s touch. Everything else had faded away. Embarrassment. That’s what he felt. They had nearly started things at the table for crying out loud! It was lucky they apparated or Harry feared what the rest of the group would have seen.

            The aftermath of what they just did filled Draco’s mind. Most of it was primal need and a lot of things were fuzzy but he remembered enough of it to definitely want to do it again. Draco was about to kiss Harry when he felt his boyfriend’s embarrassment. Pain shot throughout Draco’s body as he recoiled away from Harry.

            Harry gasped at the pain and hurt coming from his lover. He was confused. What just happened? He reached out his hands to pull him back but Draco scooted away from him. Silver eyes were closed off and a mask of indifference was on the other boy's face.

            “Draco what-” Harry cut off not sure how to ask what was wrong. Draco looked down refusing to meet Harry’s eyes. He began picking at the comforter. “Do you regret it?” Draco winced at the helpless way it came out.

            Harry furrowed his brows. “No of course not.” Harry was worried. Why would Draco ask that? Was he having regrets? Is that why Draco was asking?

            Draco looked up at Harry with sad but confused eyes. “Then why are you embarrassed? Did- did you not like it?” He mumbled as his cheeks flushed a pale pink. He had thought Harry had been enjoying himself but everything was so hazy that he wasn’t sure.

            Understanding lit Harry’s eyes as Draco stared into them trying to figure out what had happened. Draco didn’t have time to prepare himself before suddenly he was pushed on his back as Harry launched at him.

            “Oh, I enjoyed it. Quite thoroughly.” Harry grinned wickedly. Draco furrowed his brows in confusion. “Draco love, I wasn’t embarrassed about what we did. Far from it. No I was embarrassed about how we acted at your parents’ home. If we hadn’t apparated out of there, I fear we would have gone at it like animals right there while they served dessert.”

            Draco chuckled at the mental picture. He could picture his father’s thunderous look and his mother’s scandalized expression if that had happened. Relief. That is what Draco felt after hearing Harry’s words. He was partly ashamed that the first thing he had thought had been negative.

            Harry could still feel a lingering indecision on Draco’s behalf. He leaned in to whisper in Draco’s ear. “I promise you that I enjoyed having you inside me Draco.” Harry smirked as he heard Draco’s hitched breath. “The way you pounded into me. Mmm. It was like nothing I have ever experienced before.” Draco moaned, his member twitching in renewed interest. Goodness was this a benefit of being a randy teenager? Or a side effect from the bond?

            “Just when I thought it couldn’t possibly get any better, you hit something inside me. It was like a button. It was incredible. It felt so good.” Harry moaned just thinking about it. He could feel how his words were affecting Draco, good because he was just as hard. Now that he could think properly, Harry realized it must have been his prostate. Lovely little thing.  

            “You felt so good.” Harry licked and nibbled Draco’s neck, enjoying the gasps and moans that Draco released.

            “Harry” Harry grunted at the pure want in Draco’s voice. He trailed his tongue down Draco’s throat and didn’t stop until he reached a pale pink nipple. Harry looked into Draco’s eyes as his tongue circled the hard nub. Draco cried out when Harry sucked his nipple into his mouth.

            Draco clutched the back of Harry’s head, holding him in place. “Mmm. That feels so good.” Harry chuckled around the nub. He kissed his way over to the other one while he pinched and twisted the one he just left. Draco moaned and bucked his hips.

            Harry gasped when Draco made contact with his pulsing member. Draco delighted in that gasp. He wanted to hear more. He bucked his hips again, only harder. Harry threw his head back and let out a loud cry of Draco’s name. Causing shudders to wrack through Draco’s body.

            “Are you too sore? Would you like to reverse positions?” Draco asked breathing harshly with half lidded eyes. Harry shook his head. “Maybe later. I want you inside me again.” Draco’s cock pulsed at his words.

            Draco made to move but was stopped by Harry’s hands shoving him back down. His face twisted in confusion. Harry straddled Draco’s hips and smirked down at him. “I want to do it like this.”

            Draco swore. “Ride me baby.” He rasped out, loving the way Harry’s green eyes darkened drastically with lust.

            Harry knew he didn’t need it, but he grabbed hold of the discarded lube and slicked Draco’s slightly leaking member. Draco groaned at the touch attempting to thrust into Harry’s hand. Harry shook his head with a chuckle.

            Harry grabbed the base of Draco’s cock and held it in position as he slowly lowered himself down, moaning at the feel of being slowly filled. Draco panted as the tight heat of Harry clamped around him. He groaned loudly, not caring how loud he was being. Harry felt too good to care about that.

            Harry stilled once the swell of his arse made contact with Draco’s lap. He stared into Draco’s eyes as he lifted up slightly before slamming back down. Draco cried out and began thrusting up meeting every single one of Harry’s downward thrusts.

            The feel of Draco throbbing inside him was distracting. The repetitive motion of being filled and emptied over and over again was so intoxicating. The room was filled with their pants and occasional moans as they began to rock together faster. Harry leaned forward and put his hands on Draco’s chest so that he could slam down harder.

            When he did that, Draco’s cock hit that place inside him again that made him see stars. Harry cried out wildly causing Draco to thrust harder and faster inside him.

            “Yes.” Harry moaned as the continuous pounding of his prostate was met. Draco knew he was close but he wanted to finish with Harry.

            “Touch yourself Harry. I want you to stroke yourself as I pound into you.” Draco forced his eyes to stay open as he watched Harry’s hand circle his leaking member. When Harry made contact with his cock the moans increased in volume. Draco thrusted as hard and deep as he could, hoping to hit home for Harry with each thrust.

            The closer Harry got to completion the wilder his movements became. He was bouncing enthusiastically on top of Draco. He moved his hand up and down his shaft rapidly. He was close. So close.

            Draco slammed into Harry over and over again as he felt the tightening of the velvet walls clamping down around him. Draco arched his back as he came hard and deep inside of Harry. He continued to thrust through his orgasm as he dimly noted the wail of Harry’s climax.

            Feeling Draco fill him up with his seamen was enough to send him over the edge as he spilled himself all over the both of them.

            Harry slumped forward listening to Draco’s beating heart thrumming against his chest rapidly. Draco raised a hand and ran it through Harry’s damp messy hair. Harry was heavy but not uncomfortably so. With his other hand, he ran it up and down Harry’s back.

            Harry closed his eyes as he became lost in Draco’s touch. He shifted slowly as Draco’s now soft member slid out of him. He waved his hand and the mess of their bodies evaporated. He positioned himself in the crook of Draco’s neck and closed his eyes.

            Draco smiled down at his exhausted boyfriend. He was about to fall asleep as well but he grabbed hold of the blanket and covered them both, before wrapping his arms around Harry and letting sleep overtake him.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

_Draco looked around the courtroom with resignation. He could tell by the faces of the Wizengamot that they were going to convict him. You didn’t need to be a genius to figure that out. The satisfied smirk on Umbridge’s face was sickening. It was like a cat catching the canary. It didn’t sit well with him. Draco looked over to see what his father thought of this but was startled to see his parents gone. They weren’t here! Draco looked around wildly in his panic, only to be confused to see them in the audience. What? Had they been found innocent?_

_His father adopted the perfect picture of grief as he stared at Draco. “How could you?” His father whispered dramatically. His mother was openly weeping. The audience members looked at Draco with such hate but sent sympathetic glances to his parents. What the hell was going on?_

_He could see the entire Weasley family sitting not too far from his parents. He was about to call out to the twins but then he saw them glaring at him. He was confused. Had he done something to upset them? Draco checked the audience to see if Pansy and Blaise were around too. He knew they would never abandon him. They were his best friends. But he couldn’t find them anywhere. He checked the courtroom twice and still they were not there. Had something held them up?_

_Harry. Maybe Harry would know. Draco suddenly noticed it was silent. Too silent. Not the courtroom. No, the courtroom was a mass of noise. No, the bond was silent. Draco couldn’t feel Harry! Why? Panic. Deep rooted terror filled Draco. His mind whirling with a thousand different reasons why he would not be able to feel Harry. Was something wrong? Was Harry okay? Did something happen to him?_

_The banging of a gavel jarred Draco out of his stupor. He looked up to see Fudge viciously smirking down at him. This could not bode well for him._

_“Draconis Lucius Malfoy. You have been brought up on charges of murder.” Draco gasped. Murder?! He would never murder someone. He had thought this trial was for the crimes of being a deatheater. He couldn’t murder someone if he tried. Which he had, and that didn’t end well. Just ask Dumbledore. He obviously didn’t have it in him. Alright, probably not the best argument. But still, he wouldn’t murder someone._

_“You are responsible for the death and murder of Harry Potter.” What? Draco’s eyes widened. Harry was dead? How? When? He didn’t do it! No way. Grief, so much sorrow filled Draco. He knew Harry was dead. Why else wouldn’t he be able to feel the bond? Tears filled his eyes as he shook his head rapidly. It was the only thing that made sense._

_“I didn’t murder Harry! I would never do that!” Draco protested, ignoring the boos and hissing of the audience._

_Fudge raised an eyebrow. “No? So you are saying that you did not give away Harry Potters identity when snatchers brought him to your residence? You may not have been the one to shoot the final curse that killed Mister Potter but you are directly responsible for his death. If it hadn’t been for you then he would have lived.”_

_Draco shook his head rapidly. What was he talking about? “No of course I didn’t!”_

_“Liar!” Draco looked over to see Weasel standing up shaking his fist at Draco. Granger was crying silently into her hands. Draco was so confused. They were there that night. Why would Harry’s friends lie about what happened? Was this retaliation for Harry befriending him?_

_"We were there that night! We watched you give him away! We watched as you-know-who killed him! It’s all your fault!” The crowd started yelling and throwing things at him. If the audience hadn't been required to hand over their wands before entering, Draco would have feared for his wellbeing._

_What was happening? He hadn’t done that. He had lied to save Harry. Why were they lying? Why would they think he did that? He could never have done that to Harry._

_Fudge banged the gavel. “You say it wasn’t you? Alright bring in the proof.” Draco nearly fainted in relief. Finally. There was no way they could have any proof that he had done what they are saying. He had been the one to lie! Whatever proof they think they have must not be very good._

_Draco furrowed his brows when a court assistant brought in a giant pensive. It was spelled to show the whole courtroom the memory inside. A feeling of dread filled within him. Whatever memory was in that pensive wasn’t a good one._

_“We have four different memories from four individuals who were there that night. The memories all match.” Fudge warned as the memory began._

_Draco could make out the drawing room of the Manor._

**_‘They say they have caught Potter.’ Narcissa said coldly. ‘Draco be a good boy and come here.’_ **

_Draco watched as his own pale face stood up from a chair and came closer to inspect the puffed-up Harry._

**_‘Well?’ Lucius said lowly. ‘Is it? Is it him?’_ **

**_‘I-I can’t be sure.’ Draco said averting his eyes from everyone in the room._ **

**_‘Look at him closely! You can’t tell from there!’ Came the rough but excited tone of Greyback._ **

**_Lucius got up and stood to inspect Harry himself. He touched his puffed up face with distaste. He looked towards Greyback. ‘What did you do to him? Why is his face like this?’_ **

**_Greyback lifted his hands in the air. ‘Don’t look at me. I wasn’t the one who did it. His face looked like that before we got there.’_ **

**_‘Looks more like a jinx of some kind.’ Bellatrix said with a mad cackle. ‘If we are the ones to turn Potter over to The Dark Lord then he will forgive us!’_ **

**_Greyback narrowed his eyes. ‘You won’t be forgetting who actually caught him, would you Miss Lestrange?’ Bellatrix’s face twisted into an ugly sneer._ **

**_Lucius’s voice stopped whatever angry retort she would have come up with. ‘Draco come take a proper look.’_ **

**_Draco stepped up closely to Harry and reached out to trace where the scar would be if Harry’s face hadn’t been so puffy. ‘Yeah.’ Draco’s voice came out in a whisper. ‘It’s him’_ **

_Draco gasped. This isn’t how it happened! Why was it showing a lie?! He never gave Harry away!_

**_Bellatrix’s face lit up and put the tip of her wand to her dark mark. Harry cried out wildly when she did that. Ron and Hermione began screaming and crying as they tried to struggle against their captors._ **

**_Not even seconds later they could hear the sound of something slithering across the ground. The head of a giant green snake could be seen as it moved closer and closer to where they all stood, it’s forked tongue tasting the air. Nearly silent footfalls rebounded off the hallway walls, causing an eerie echo. Everyone in the room tensed as the door was pushed open._ **

_Everyone in the audience gasped in horror at the sight of Voldemort. Draco shuddered. He was still as ugly as he remembered._

**_‘Bellatrix why have you summoned me?’ The harsh tone causing them all to flinch. ‘I told you I only wanted to be bothered if it involved Potter.’_ **

**_Bellatrix bowed, her head touching the ground in a sign of respect. ‘My Lord, forgive me for disturbing you but we have Potter.’ Bellatrix raised her head as she pointed directly at Harry._ **

**_Voldemort’s blood red eyes widened as they caught sight of the rapidly shrinking puffed up skin on Harry’s face. This was definitely the face of his enemy._ **

**_'Potter. What a surprise. The boy-who-lived finally has come to meet his end?’ Harry struggled against the werewolf holding him._ **

**_'You will never be able to kill me!’ Harry warned as he continued to struggle._ **

**_Voldemort laughed loudly and coldly, sending chills to everyone witnessing. He raised his wand and watched as Harry’s eyes widen in recognition. Harry opened his mouth to say something but it was too late._ **

**_‘Avada Kedavra’_ **

_Draco watched the light leave the love of his life’s eyes. He felt cold all over. So cold. Harry died right in front of him. Draco had been the one to sell him out. He had been the one that got Harry killed. Draco covered his face in his hands and sobbed. How could he have done that? Why hadn’t he lied? Why hadn’t he just turned around and left? It didn’t matter that none of this made sense. It didn’t matter that Draco had other memories of lying to save Harry. He couldn’t tell if that had been imaginary or if this was. In the end it didn’t matter, Harry’s lifeless eyes spoke loud enough._

_Draco could hear the sounds of the angry crowd. He could hear the sound of the gavel slamming down harshly. He could hear the sounds of Fudge and the rest of the Wizengamot talking. He could hear it all but it wasn’t making sense. His brain had gone to mush. Draco couldn’t focus on anything past his grief. Harry was dead. He had been responsible. His mind just kept replaying the memory over and over. Draco didn’t struggle when he was bodily lifted from his chair and put into chains. He didn’t struggle when he was thrown into a boat. He didn’t struggle when he was kicked into a cell. Draco wasn’t aware anything had happened. He was so emotionally drained and lost in his grief._

_Draco could feel the chill of the dementors but their torment had nothing on the torment of his own mind. Their silly chill was child play to the horrors of his own torture. Draco couldn’t believe it. He had gotten Harry killed. The haunting stare of those green eyes as they stared lifelessly at him was taunting him. He couldn’t cope. He couldn’t live in a world where Harry didn’t exist, let alone a world where he was the one responsible for putting him there. Draco wrapped his hands around his throat and squeezed as tightly as he could. He could feel the last breath as he inhaled and held it as he began to let his hands crush his throat. He-_

 

           “Draco!” Confusion. That was all that was in his mind. That sounded like Harry’s voice. Draco sprang up into a sitting position gasping for air. He realized his hands were on his throat and dropped them immediately. Sobs wracked through him. Harry’s lifeless eyes stared at him every time he closed his eyes.

            “Love?” Draco looked over and saw Harry’s concerned face. He felt fleeting relief as he threw himself at Harry as he sobbed his heart out.

            Harry didn’t know what to do. When he had been woken up by the shaking of Draco and he had been confused. But Draco was screaming in his sleep. He tried waking him up but he had been lost in his nightmare. Then the tears started coming and it tore at his heart to watch Draco have a nightmare and not know how to help. He began shaking him, hoping that would be enough to wake him up. When Draco started choking himself, Harry became panicked. But his boyfriend woke up before any damage could be done.

            Harry could feel the utter despair from Draco when he had sat up. The sobs tore at his heartstrings. What could he have been dreaming about that had affected him so badly? The relief when Draco saw him almost blew him away. Harry didn’t know how to calm Draco down. So he just held him and gently ran his hand up and down Draco’s back as he whispered soothing words of comfort in his ear.

            Draco cried until his eyes burned and his nose was all gross and runny. He held out his hand to summon a rag to wipe off Harry. “I’m sorry.” He choked out as a couple tears slipped down his face.

            Harry took the rag gently from Draco’s fingers. He lifted Draco’s chin so he could stare more clearly at him. Harry ignored his messy chest and wiped Draco’s face off first before tending to himself.

            Draco closed his eyes as a rush of affection for Harry swelled inside him. Such a sweet gesture. It was almost his undoing. He was pretty sure he fell in love with Harry all over again.  

            “Don’t be sorry love. Are you okay?” Harry asked as he ran his fingers through Dracos’ hair. Draco shook his head violently.

            “Do you want to talk about it?” Draco really didn’t but he needed to. He didn’t want those eyes to haunt him forever. He feared that if he didn’t tell someone then the dream would continue to torment him.  

            “It was my fault!” Draco cried out loudly, startling Harry. “I killed you and it was my fault.” Harry could feel the renewed tears as Draco hid his face in his neck. Harry had no idea what to say to that so he waited patiently till Draco managed to be able to speak.

            “We were back at the Manor when you were brought in with Granger and Weasley. They asked me if it was you and I said y-yes.” Draco gushed out as sobs wracked his frame.

            “Oh Draco.” Harry murmured. Draco couldn’t take that sweet voice trying to comfort him. It would have been easier if Harry yelled and screamed at him. Anger he could take but the comfort made it all worse. It made it so much harder to face.

            “They called in Voldemort and he k-killed you. I watched the life leave your eyes Harry!” Harry clenched his eyes when he felt Draco’s heartache and despair. Nightmares had always been something Harry knew quite well. But a second-hand nightmare where he was feeling the emotional backlash was not. Draco’s emotions were so raw and fresh and he didn’t know what to say. Draco was usually the one to comfort him after a nightmare.

             “I was on trial for your murder. Everyone was booing at me. I got put in Azkaban. I couldn’t take the look of your eyes as you died. I couldn’t cope Harry. I tried to kill myself.” Harry’s heart clenched in pain at the thought of Draco taking his life.

             Draco lifted his head when he felt Harry’s pain. “I’m sorry.” Harry shook his head. “It’s a nightmare Draco. Don’t be sorry for that. You can’t control them.” Draco nodded his head as tears rolled down his face.

            Harry gently wiped them away. “I’m here. I’m alive and you helped me be this way. You didn’t get me killed. You lied to them and that made it possible for all of this. You saved me then and you have saved me every day since that night in the quidditch pitch.” Harry whispered leaning in to kiss Draco on the cheek.

            Draco closed his eyes willing the rest of his mind to calm down. It was so hard to let the dream go. It felt so real. “I love you Draco.” He opened his eyes to see those beautiful green eyes filled with love. These were not dead eyes. Harry was not dead. No, Harry was alive. His eyes were alive and filled with warmth. Harry was with him. Everything was okay. They would be alright.

            Draco burrowed into Harry’s side. “I love you too Harry. More than you will ever know.” Harry smiled at the mop of blonde that he could see. Silly Draco. He could feel the love Draco had for him. Of course he knew how much he was loved. Harry closed his eyes and breathed in the sweet smell of Draco’s shampoo as it lulled him back to sleep.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know your thoughts. :) Tomorrow's chapter will deal with the results of Fred and George's talk with the family. See you then. -XxTheDarkLordxX


	22. Consequences

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this chapter is coming out so late. I have been having weird issues with my internet. It deleted the bits of the chapter that I had changed and I unfortunately hadn't been on Word when I changed it. So I had to try and remember which parts I changed from memory. It was a bitch. Well hopefully you enjoy this chapter.

            Draco woke to the sound of something tapping on the window. He groaned loudly when the noise just wouldn’t go away. His comfy pillow chuckled in amusement. Draco squinted his eyes as he looked at Harry.

            “Find something funny Potter?” He attempted a sneer but his mouth was twitching too much to pull it off. Harry’s chuckles were now guffaws of laughter. Draco huffed and glared at his boyfriend till he could control himself.

            “You call that a sneer?” Harry asked as his eyes danced with mirth. Draco’s breath caught. Harry had never looked more beautiful than he did right now, with the sun shining lighting up half of Harry’s face, his green eyes shining and pure happiness radiating off of him. Draco was mesmerized.

            “You have ruined me. I used to be able to pull that look off perfectly. You have gone and softened me up. I am a sodding Hufflepuff.” Harry’s mouth twitched at his indignant tone. Draco said it like it was the worst possible thing that could have happened to him.

            Harry raised his fist in the air. “Hufflepuff pride.”

            Draco narrowed his eyes. “I hate you. I literally fucking hate you.” Harry broke out into a fit of giggles. Harry could feel the amusement and love through the bond. His statement was so far from the truth that Harry couldn’t help but laugh. Draco opened his mouth to know doubt say something equally as rude but was cut off by the same tapping that woke them up.

            Draco shifted slightly so that Harry could roll over and investigate. Because he sure the fuck wasn’t. The bed was way too warm and cozy. He didn’t feel like getting up.

            “Lazy git.” Draco might have taken offense except it was said with such fondness it made him smile. Harry stretched as he stood. There was a slight twinge of pain in his lower back and arse but overall it was better than he expected.

            Harry opened the window and his breath caught when he recognized Errol. Draco’s head snapped up at the emotional rollercoaster he could feel from Harry. He hurried out of bed, all laziness evaporating. He wrapped his arms around Harry from behind not caring that they were naked.

            “What’s wrong?” Harry smiled at Draco’s concern. He patted the hands around his waist once. “It’s the Weasleys’ owl.” Draco sucked in a sharp breath. Well it was about damn time that they get around to sending a letter. Draco just hoped that it wasn’t a cruel letter, considering the trial had just been yesterday. Merlin was that only yesterday? With finding out that they were soulmates everything else just kind of faded away. Soulmates. The word filled him with a sense of wonderment.

            Harry turned away from the owl still waiting to be relieved of his burden, to wrap his arms around Draco. “I have felt about ten different emotions from you in the past thirty seconds. What’s up?” He asked as he kissed Draco’s nose.

            Draco smiled fondly at Harry as he attempted to tame his boyfriend’s hair with his fingers. “I was just worried that the letter brought bad news. The trial was yesterday. What if they found out about it and think that I somehow tricked you into testifying? Then I was surprised that the trial was only yesterday. It feels like it has been more time than that. Especially since we found out about us being soulmates.” Harry felt Draco’s thrill at being soulmates and he grinned besottedly.

            “I love that we are meant to be together. I mean we would be together soulmates or not but it’s nice to think that we were destined for one another.”

            Draco couldn’t agree more. He leaned down and kissed Harry. When Harry tried to deepen the kiss, Draco groaned but reluctantly pulled away. Harry pouted, which tempted Draco, he wanted to suck that bottom lip into his mouth.

            Harry narrowed his eyes in confusion. He could feel the lust from Draco through the bond, so why was he pulling away? Draco smiled at the insecurities he could feel. He gently ran his finger down Harry’s face in a loving caress.

            “You have to at least take the letter from the bird, Harry. Then if you would like, after you read the letter we can do whatever you like.” Draco wagged his brows suggestively. “That is if you feel like it.” He offered knowing that letter might not contain good news.

            Harry reluctantly conceded. Draco was right. If he gave into his bodies desires he would just be putting off the inevitable. He pulled the letter off of Errol and watched the bird fly out the window. He was about to open the letter when three more owls came through the open window.

            Draco leaned his head on Harry’s shoulder and raised a brow as the owls all hooted for attention, vowing to be the first one to get their letter delivered.

            “Think it’s a bad omen?” Harry asked biting his lip. Draco chuckled. “No love. I don’t. A bad omen would have been three howlers.”

            Draco helped Harry pull all the letters off the owls. One of them was the daily prophet. Harry didn’t understand why Draco paid for the stupid thing but Draco tried to tell him it was better to understand what the opposition was saying than to be in the dark.

            Once the owls all flew away did they turn back to the small pile of letters. “That one is from the twins.” Harry could recognize their writing. “Then that is the one we shall open first.” Draco figured that one would hold the best news. Hopefully.

 

_Dear Harry (And our favorite brother in law)_

_You may receive some letters today. We would like to apologize in advance. Last night we lied to you guys. We did not go back to the shop. We went home to dinner to talk to the family. We wanted to talk some sense into them. It wasn’t right how they were treating you. We know you don’t like to talk about it but the sadness can be seen on your face sometimes._

_Dinner… was a fucking disaster. Not for the reasons you are probably thinking. We unloaded all the shite we have been wanting to say to them for a while now. It was tense. Father had seen us after the trial hugging Draco. The family didn’t understand why we would be friends with him. We tried to explain the best we could._

_Ronnikens was a prat. We hope we made some headway but it was hard to tell with his attitude. Sorry! Hermione seemed genuinely upset. As did the rest of the family. I do believe they now understand what it is their silence was doing to you. Hopefully they send you something to let you know that they are sorry._

_Some sneaky snakes came to visit us last night. We have been briefed on everything that happened at the manor last night. Don’t want to say much in case the letter gets intercepted. But wow. That is all we can say. Everything magical that can happen seems to happen to you Harry. We are upset that we had never been told of its existence. The four of us are going to be spending the day trying to see if we can find any research on the subject. Blaise thinks that he may have someone who can help find lost books on the subject. He said something about his mother’s fifth ex-husband owning a high-end book store that was left to his mother after his death._

_Sorry to have missed such an exciting dinner but we felt it was worth it if we could knock some sense into the family. So how was the consummating? Pansy’s face was beet red when she mentioned the two of you at the dinner table. Risqué choice if you ask me. We would have paid good money to see old Lucy’s face if you two had done the deed right there at the table._

_Let us know if there were any letters. If there weren’t then forget them. We will come up with some nasty pranks. That’ll show them. You know what, even if there are letters we still might prank them. Everyone loves a good prank. Well everyone that matters that is. We will contact you if we find out anything interesting. Have fun defiling yourselves. Don’t wear yourselves out, remember to stay hydrated._

_Love,_

_George Weasley (The good looking twin)_

_Fred Weasley (The better twin)_

_P.S. Harry, you git! Why did you tell Blaise my embarrassing moments? You do realize payback is a bitch right? -Fred xoxo_

            Draco laughed at how red Harry’s face went. “So vulgar.” Which caused Draco to laugh harder. “Which is why I love them.” He said fondly when he got a hold of himself.

            Harry shook his head at Draco’s amusement. Harry beamed in pleasure at how far the twins had gone for him. They had stood up to their family for him. He didn’t care if the letters he received from the rest of the family were all hate filled. He had Draco, Pansy, Blaise, the twins and the rest of the Malfoys. Oh, alright and Snape too. The snarky git.

            Draco was curious about the part his friends played in the letter. He was surprised that they had gone to the twins after dinner was over. They must have gotten closer over the past week. Well good for them. It was about time that they had some happiness. He was intrigued that they were researching about soulmates. He wondered if they would uncover anything. He doubted it since the Ministry had gone to such lengths to hide the existence of them from the current generations.

            Harry skipped the letter that Errol sent. He would save that one for last. Just in case it didn’t bring good news. He opened the third letter that arrived. He looked down at the signature and was surprised to see Bills name.

 

_Harry,_

_I know that we have not talked too often but I felt that you should know how sorry I am. I do not go home very often to visit since I moved out. Since Percy’s death I make it a habit to try at least twice a month. I am not making excuses, just trying to lay it all out there so that you understand._

_When I heard from mum that she thought that the young Malfoy heir was duping you into a friendship I was confused. I know you are not the type to be easily tricked into doing something you don’t want to do. I knew that there had to be more to the story than Ron knew about. I didn’t understand why they were hating so strongly. I don’t have the hatred for the Malfoy’s that my parents or even Ron has for them. I know mum and dad blame the Malfoy heir for my attack but he was just a 16 year old boy, he had a deatheater for a father. I can't imagine the type of pressure he would have been under. Besides, he was not the one who attacked me. That blame lies with Fenrir Greyback. If you are friends with them then that is all I need to know. We aren’t close enough for me to have any say on who you are allowed to be friends with. Even if we were close it is not my right to dictate your choices. That is your right alone._

_That is something I fear Ronald can’t grasp. I don’t know why the rest of the family cares so much that you are friends with the Malfoys. Who you chose to be friends with does not affect us. I am conflicted about the outcome of the trial. I will not tell you that Lucius Malfoy deserved jail based off of who he is but more of the things he has done. I think his actual crimes may have warranted some type of punishment. But I know that you don’t do things unless you have a reason to. If you spoke out for him then it doesn’t matter to me why you did it. It is none of my business anyways. The courts found them innocent of the charges. That should be the end of it. And it is the end of it, for me at least._

_I know you are going to get some public heat for this. I won’t insult your intelligence and ask if you were prepared for that. I know you thought this through. If you need any help in dealing with the press let me know. I will offer any help I can give. So does Fleur._

_I should have sent you this letter immediately after hearing the one-sided argument from Ron. I didn’t think that you needed to hear that I didn’t believe everything he was saying, but that was my mistake. The twins let us know how our silence was hurting you. I am sorry for that. Charlie doesn’t hate you either. He has not turned his back on you. I do not know if he will send you a letter. Probably not. He had to go back to Romania this morning. I told him I would send his regards to you. The next time he is in town he would like to meet with you and catch up._

_I apologize again for not sending you a letter sooner. Fleur and I would like to extend an invitation for you and Draco over for dinner at your earliest convenience. I don’t think the twins realized it but the way they passionately advocated for Draco seemed to go past friendship on your part. I do believe I am the only one who realized this. Charlie may have suspected but I didn’t ask. Who you choose to be with, whether it be friend or partner in life is none of my concern. If he is who makes you happy then that is all that matters in the end._

_Sincerely,_

_William Weasley._

Draco was impressed. He had only seen the elder Weasley son during his fourth year when he came to visit Harry. So he couldn’t honestly give an opinion on the man. But this letter changed that. Draco was pleased that Harry had not lost any more of his surrogate family. So the count was up to four Weasley’s that Harry had gained back. Draco was pleasantly surprised that the twins ‘passionately advocated’ for him. The two terrors had really grown on him.  

            Harry was thrilled. If the twins had been here he could have kissed them. He hadn’t realized how much they did for him. Their talk must have been more powerful then they realized. Bill had never been around much so it was hard to say he was close to him. But Bill had taken them in during the war when they needed a place to stay after the Manor incident. Bill and Fleur had been kind and generous to them. Harry was really happy that Bill and Fleur included Draco in the invitation. He would have felt very uncomfortable without him. It was surprising how much the twins must have spoken on Draco’s behalf if Bill picked up on the fact that they were more than friends. He would have thought Hermione would have been the first to suspect something was off.  

            He honestly wouldn’t care if any of them had a problem with their relationship. Nothing would stop him from being with Draco. Nothing.

            Harry picked up the letter that had originally came in with the Errol with shaking fingers. Draco squeezed Harry tightly letting him know that he was here for him. Harry felt the pulse of love from Draco and turned to kiss his cheek.

            Harry sighed as he opened the letter and prepared himself for the worst.

 

_Harry Dear,_

_Arthur and I would like to apologize to you. Fred and George let us know how badly we were hurting you. We never wanted to hurt you. Harry, you are like a son to me. I was just so worried about you. The Malfoy family is bad news. They always have been. I didn’t want you to get hurt. We want you to know that we will always be here for you._

_When Ronald told me about the fight I was concerned. I know that there may have been some side effects from the war. I know you wouldn’t mean to hurt Ronald physically. Ginny let me know that Ron had said some unkind words to you. If you can forgive his words, then I am sure he forgives you for the physical attack. He is not fond of the idea that you are friends with the Malfoy boy. I must admit that I am conflicted as well. We only want the best for you dear. You must know that. I fear I made a mistake in distancing myself from you. I had hoped that the distance would make you realize that you were making a mistake by befriending that boy. He is bad news. When we heard that you befriended him we worried that it would cause you to speak out for him. Which is exactly what happened. We did not however think that you would speak out for the entire family._

_We don’t understand why you spoke out on behalf of the whole Malfoy family. You must have had your reasons and we can’t wait to hear them. It would make everything go a little smoother to know that there was a reason behind all of this._

_To show how sorry we are, we would like to invite you to over to dinner this upcoming weekend. The whole family should be there, except for Charlie. He had to go back to Romania. If you would like you can bring the Malfoy boy. See? We can be accommodating. The normal summer invitation is open as well. You are more than welcome in our home._

_With many apologies and a lot of love,_

_Arthur and Molly Weasley._  

  

Harry clenched the letter tightly in his hands. Did she not proof read it? It was the most hypocritical letter he had ever read. In one hand she apologized for her behavior and said that they would always be there for him. Um, where were they when he needed them a month ago? Oh, that’s right, they were ignoring him! On the other hand, she insulted Draco and demanded an answer for speaking up at their trial. She tells him that he is like her son but ignores that fact that a real mother wouldn’t do that. She invites him to dinner and then backhandedly invites Draco as an afterthought. He wasn’t sure if she was being obtuse or delusional. She would have to be out of her mind if she thinks they would be showing up.

            “We are going.” Draco’s statement jarred him out of his thoughts. He turned around in Draco’s arms to gape at his soulmate. “What?”

            Draco felt all of Harry’s anger on his behalf and he appreciated it. He really did. “I said we are going” Harry spluttered. “But why? This letter-”

            “Was horribly rude. I know. But she cares about you Harry. I won’t be the reason you have a falling out. We will go to this weekend. We will show her that I am not the man she thinks I am. I will be nice till it kills me. I won’t utter a single negative word. I will eat all of the food she forces upon me without complaint. I will take the thinly veiled insults that they will no doubt make about me and my father. I will take the open insults that Weasel will yell at me. I can’t promise you I will take it with a smile but I will take it. If it ends in disaster and a burning fire, it won’t be because of me. If things end badly it will be because of something they have done. You haven’t decided if you are going to forgive them, which you won’t be able to do unless you confront them physically.” He promised with conviction.

            Harry was conflicted. He didn’t want to see them but at the same time he missed them. He missed the wild constant hustle and bustle of the burrow. He missed the love and affection that was so freely given there. Harry missed the silly gnomes in the garden. Missed playing quidditch in the field near the house. He missed the Weasley family something fierce. But he was not about to subject his boyfriend to all the things that would be said. The Weasley family may be loving but they had zero tact. They said what was on their mind and Harry knew nothing good could come of this.

            “The first insult to you and we are out of there.” When it looked like Draco was about to argue, Harry held up a hand. “No Draco. I won’t let them insult the man I love. You can’t ask me to sit back and watch that happen. You mean the world to me and you don’t deserve it. So, we will go. But I can’t promise you we will stick around.” Draco sighed but nodded his approval anyways. He wanted to argue and say that he could handle whatever insults they could throw at him but if the position had been reversed he wouldn’t have allowed anyone to insult Harry either.

            Draco kissed the side of Harry’s head and reached for the Daily Prophet. He mentally braced himself. He could handle this. Draco picked it up and let out a little squeak.

            Harry looked over startled. He narrowed his eyes as he saw Draco try and shield the paper from him. He sighed heavily. “What is it?” Draco shook his head heavily. Harry had to restrain himself from sighing again. “Love, I have been in the papers since my return to the wizarding world when I was eleven. Whatever it is, I can handle it.” Draco shook his head again and made to step away from Harry.

            This only seemed to annoy Harry. He narrowed his eyes and with his quick seeker reflexes managed to snatch it out of Draco’s hands before he could hide the paper.

 

                                                 **T** **he Boy-Who-Lived a Sexual Assault Victim? Or the Next Dark Lord?**

            Harry gasped at the title. He closed his eyes and prayed to whatever higher power existed to give him patience.

            **Yesterday, the trial that all of my lovely readers have been looking forward to kicked off with a bang. Literally. Harry Potter charged his way into the courtroom and bullied his way into being a witness for the defense of the Malfoy family.**

**That’s right. You did not read that wrong. The notorious deatheater family was being defended by our very own Savior of The World. Potter was not in the mood for messing around. The shy boy that he used to be, is no more. Potter stood proud and tall against the Wizengamot. He accused them of trying innocent people. Potter stated that the Malfoy family was innocent of all charges.**

**I know what you are thinking? This must be a joke? Sadly my loyal readers it was not. I asked myself, why would Potter defend them? He must have had some very good proof to back up his claims. But alas, no. Potter spun a wild tale of fantasy about how the Malfoy family saved him on two separate instances. He said that Draco Malfoy, saved him from being identified by some snatchers early on in the war. Hmmm. The same Draco Malfoy that has been Potter’s rival since the moment they met. I talked to some students at Hogwarts to gain a perspective on their past interactions.**

**“Malfoy and Potter are always going at it. Malfoy has said some pretty nasty things against Potter.” – Terry Boot. Returning Ravenclaw Hogwarts student.**

**“I remember this one time where Malfoy pulled his wand on Potter while his back was turned. Pretty cowardly if you ask me.” – Terrance Lankton. Hufflepuff graduate of Hogwarts.**

**“Malfoy has always had it out for Harry. He is always throwing things in Harry’s cauldron when Professor Snape isn’t looking. That is why he is so bad at potions.” -Seamus Finnegan. Returning Gryffindor Hogwarts student.**

**“I heard from one of the portraits in the hospital wing that Malfoy got hurt trying to use an unforgivable on Potter.” – Hannah Abbot. Returning Hufflepuff Hogwarts student.**

**“I think the Wrackspurts were the ones causing Draco to act like that towards Harry. No worries. The Blibbering Humdinger chased them away. The two are now good friends.” -Luna Lovegood. Odd Returning Ravenclaw 7 th year Hogwarts student. **

**“At least once a week the two of them were at each other’s throats. It’s like the founders. Godric Gryffindor had a problem with Salazar Slytherin. It is just natural that Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter are enemies.” – Romilda Vane. Returning Gryffindor 7 th year Hogwarts student. **

**“They were rivals in everything. Classes, quidditch and even girls. I heard that Malfoy was interested in the Weasley girl and when she chose Potter over him it raised a lot more tension between them.” – Kevin Entwhistle. Returning Hufflepuff 7 th year Hogwarts student. **

**So there you have it folks. First hand insight from the students themselves. Years of bitter rivalry and Potter expects us to believe that he got over all of that to help out the Malfoys? Or expects us to believe that Malfoy himself would get over the rivalry to save Potter? Something else is going on here.**

**Potter gave ‘evidence’ stating that Lucius Malfoy could have been at the Ministry during the break in two years ago, for other reasons than being a deatheater. He claimed that there was a Malfoy prophecy and he was there that night to collect it. Pretty convenient, right? Such a shame that all the prophecies that night were destroyed. There is no evidence to back up his claim. Again, convenient. With the alternative theory of why Lucius Malfoy was there that night, it raised some serious doubt within the Wizengamot.**

**Potter gave some thinly veiled threats about how Malfoy may want to sue for wrongful imprisonment but didn’t actually prove that he had been innocent in the first place!**

**Delores Umbridge kindly asked Potter if he would take Veritaserum to prove the wild stories he was spinning. Potter sited the Protection for Witnesses Act of 1920, which allowed him to decline to take it. He claimed that the Ministry had been rude to him and that if they had treated him better then he might have taken it. Well Potter has always been dramatic. Umbridge was unavailable for comment after the trial.**

**With the elaborate stories that Potter told the Wizengamot he managed to get the entire Malfoy family off. That’s right. I was just as shocked as you. Innocent of all charges. When Cornelius Fudge, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot tried to fairly get restitution for the Malfoy’s share in the war debts, Potter argued that too! Yes indeed! So not only did the Malfoy’s get no prison sentence, no parole, no limit on their magic, they also didn’t have to pay a penny back to society.**

**I, like many of you, was hoping that the trial would hand out justice to the notorious deatheaters. It is a sad day for the wizard community when Harry Potter the ‘savior’ bullies his way to get what he wants.**

**Why did Potter defend them so passionately? Was he being paid? Was he being bullied into doing so? Perhaps blackmailed? There are some darker theories out there. I talked with a couple different mind healers and they stated that it is entirely possible that after fighting evil for so long, that Potter may have cracked. They said that Potter could be slipping into Dark Magic. The healers and I strongly urge Potter to consider going to St. Mungos and receiving treatment. It’s not too late.**

**If Potter is indeed going dark, then he may not have defended the Malfoy family because they ‘saved’ him. He may have done it because they are to be his first followers when he takes over as the next Dark Lord. What a tragedy if this is to be true.**

**After the trial, Potter was seen with Draco Malfoy. They were talking like they were friends. Potter was confronted by a group of reporters and there was one question that had Potter violently reacting. A reporter asked Potter if he was having an affair with Lucius Malfoy. They suggested that was the reason he protected the family from Azkaban. Potter shuddered quite dramatically at that. At first I asked myself why? It could be that the man is so much older than him. Or perhaps Potter found the thought of being with Lucius so unpleasant that it disgusted him. The latter seemed more plausible. After the reporters awaited answers to their many questions, Potter gave only one statement.**

**“I am sure that you all have been informed of what was said in the courtroom. The reasons I testified are in the transcript of the trial. I am not going to repeat myself. There was no hidden agenda or secret reason why I testified. No I am not confunded or under the influence of any potions or spells. I testified of my own free will. I can honestly tell you that I am not having an affair with Lucius Malfoy.” -Harry Potter**

**Potter again shuddered so violently when he emphasized that he was not having an affair with the elder Malfoy that it raised more questions than it did answers. Why was he so affected by the question? Was there a deeper reasoning behind just not being interested? We contacted more specialists in the Mind department of St. Mungos. They stated that Potter’s reaction was too violent to be normal. They said that it was an obvious sign of abuse. Did Lucius Malfoy abuse Potter so bad that he felt compelled to testify? Is Harry Potter a victim of sexual assault? I contacted the Auror department to see what they were going to do about this but they declined to comment.**

**I leave it up to you my lovely readers. Is it possible that Potter and the Malfoy heir have set aside their differences? Is it possible that Potter defended them of his own free will? Will Potter be the next Dark Lord? Did we get rid of one to have to deal with another one? Has Potter given up on the light side? Is Potter having an affair with Lucius Malfoy? Or is Potter a victim of the older man’s sexual prowess? So many questions and no answers. Until next time, stay classy.**

**\- Rita Skeeter, Daily Prophet free-lance reporter.**

“Well this is new.” Harry breathed out. Draco jerked in shock. He could feel annoyance and disbelief through the bond but no anger or any sorrow. Which was surprising. They were blatantly calling him out. Skeeter sure had a vendetta against Harry.

            “Why isn’t this bothering you more than it is?” Draco wondered. Harry gave him a grimace. “I will admit the sexual prowess of your father is a new one.” Harry gave a shudder. Draco snorted.

            “But the rest of this junk is typical. The public is fickle. Even without the trial I would have given them three months tops before they started claiming I was the next Voldemort.” Harry shrugged. “This doesn’t bother me. I knew what I was getting into, love. This is actually mild. I don’t like the suggestions that I lied during the trial.”

            Draco tilted his head. “… But you did.” He said hesitantly. Harry smiled softly. “Yeah but they don’t need to know that! It could start a hysteria and the public could be demanding a retrial!” Draco reached out and laid his hands on Harry’s shoulders.

            “Harry, breathe. Even if they demanded a retrial they wouldn’t be able to get it. Unless the demand was because we didn’t receive a fair trial, they cannot try us on the same crimes again.” Harry grinned sheepishly. He had known that.

            “Sorry, I just don’t like the idea of anyone speaking out against you.” Draco smiled sweetly. “And how do you think I feel? It’s killing me that they are saying all this rubbish about you.” Draco mumbled not meeting Harry’s eyes.

            Harry narrowed his eyes. “Is that all that is upsetting you?” When Draco wouldn’t look at him, Harry lifted Draco’s chin. When those grey eyes looked at him with sorrow in them it was almost his undoing.

            “What’s wrong?” Harry whispered as he leaned his forehead against Draco’s.

            “Reading all those student comments. It just reminds me how much of a git I had been to you.” He murmured, trying to look away but Harry’s grip on his chin tightened.  

Harry sighed. “Draco, of course that is what they would all say. They don’t know you like I do. They haven’t seen us interact since our sixth year. That was nearly two years ago. All they remember is our fights. Remember it was never one-sided. What those comments don’t mention is the retaliation that I would do every time something was started.”

            “I know. I just wish I hadn’t been such an arse.” Harry chuckled. “Babe that is water under the bridge where we are concerned. All of this is in the past. Where it will stay. We will handle the press and the people who don’t understand what we have, we will do it together. Okay?” When Draco nodded, Harry leaned up to give him a kiss against his nose.

            “I am surprised that there are no Slytherin students in the article.” Draco snorted in response.

            “People probably think that she wouldn’t want to talk to the Slytherins or that they would just say positive things about me. But she knows the Guideline. Skeeter is a Slytherin after all.”

            Harry was confused. “Guideline?” Draco looked up at him surprised. “I just figured since you bought the Slytherin Handbook that the Guideline would be in there too. _‘All Slytherins are your brethren. Protect one to protect them all. We are a united front against all those who oppose us.’_ ” Draco recited from memory.

            “To Gryffindors and the rest of the houses it isn’t so bad. There are people like you who are friends with other people from different houses. But we can’t do that. The distrust for Slytherins is ingrained into society. For Gryffindors you look at it as Gryffindor vs Slytherin. That is the only house you have to worry about. Not us. For us it’s Slytherin vs the entire school. I am not saying that we are innocent, we start plenty of issues. But can you blame us? It’s hard when the whole school, including the teachers, look at you and think that you will only ever accomplish evil things in life. You can only take so much before you start believing it yourself. The prejudice we face is daunting. Why bother trying when no one will ever acknowledge the good you do?”

            Harry thought back and tried to remember if he had seen any Slytherin who had friends in other houses. He couldn’t find an instance. The other houses didn’t trust them. Not because of things they have done but just because they are Slytherin.

            “We have to face distrust from not just the school but from the rest of the world too. All everyone sees when they look at us is evil dark wizards. It’s hypocritical. Dark wizards come from all walks of life. Take the deatheaters for example, yes the majority of them are Slytherin but not by much. There were a huge number of Ravenclaws, a handful of Hufflepuffs and a few Gryffindors. Hufflepuff are loyal to a tee. That is what their house prides themselves on the most. So once they prove their worth in being a deatheater they quickly climb to the top of the deatheater ranks. Because of how loyal they are. The Dark Lord didn’t trust Gryffindors on principal so there was only ever a couple of them which included Pettigrew. But when people think of deatheaters they instantly think of Slytherins. Because that is how they were raised to think.”

            Harry raised his brows. He had never given thought to what the Slytherin students had to face. Being in Gryffindor made him only really aware of the rivalry he had with the Slytherins. He didn’t stop to think that the Slytherins were against the whole school not just the Gryffindors.

            “Slytherins are a united front. The only time we are ever truly allowed to be ourselves is when we are in the common room. Squabbles and fights aren’t allowed inside, if you have a fight with a fellow member than it is to be handled in the halls. If the situation can’t be taken care of then Severus gets involved. There is a hierarchy that must be followed. Slytherin house is a home. We watch each other’s backs. Slytherins do not sell out one another. They do not tattle. Slytherins do not talk about each other to non Slytherins. We protect our own fiercely because no one else will.” Draco finished proudly.

            Harry was a little taken aback. He was intrigued at how intricate being a Slytherin was. He almost snorted when he thought of his own house. They were so fickle. They liked him one moment then turned their backs on him the next. They really only ever liked him when he was winning Quidditch matches. He was amazed at how well the Slytherin house was a family. That is how a house should be. He liked Professor McGonagall, he really did but she was not the best head of house. She was never there for him when his own house turned on him. She didn’t take an active role in the house. She was mainly just a punisher for when they did wrong.

            “So it’s not that she didn’t want to ask any Slytherin students, she just knew that none of them would have given her the time of day.”

            “I can’t believe I never noticed what you guys were up against.” Harry said a little disgusted. He had been blinded by his own issues.

            Draco chuckled. “Don’t worry about it love. We are used to it.” Harry opened his mouth to tell Draco that it shouldn’t be like that, they shouldn’t have to be used to it. But Draco leaned forward and covered his mouth in a gentle kiss.  

            Maybe it was the horrible article or the stress of the past week, Harry wasn’t sure. But he was needing some confirmation of their relationship. So when Draco gave him a gentle kiss, Harry quickly deepened it.

            Harry groaned into the kiss. This is what he needed. Draco’s hands started roaming his body, caressing and kneading his flesh. Harry moaned when those wicked hands caressed his arse. He broke the kiss, panting lightly.

            “I’ll never get enough of you.” Draco whispered as he pushed Harry back till he landed on the bed. Draco climbed on top of him and then looked down at Harry’s body hungrily. He ran his hands along Harry’s torso loving the way the muscles twitched underneath his palm.

            “All of this is mine.” Draco rasped as he stared intently into Harry’s eyes. Harry nodded quickly as he moaned at the possessive glint in Draco’s eyes.

            “All of it?” Harry retorted raising a challenging eyebrow. He watched fascinated as Draco’s eyes darkened in lust and at the challenge. “Show me.” Harry demanded.

            Draco smirked down at the lovely raven in their bed. His smirk took on a wicked spin as he set out to show Harry exactly how much of his body was his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, any thoughts? What did you think of the letters? Were any of you surprised that Ron nor Hermione sent any letters? Thoughts on Mrs. Weasley's letter?  
> I enjoyed this chapter because I had fun with the article. Lol. But I also enjoyed showing a different side to the Slytherins that Harry wouldn't have been aware of.  
> Tomorrows chapter will show a little drama. It involves someone that has been mentioned during the quidditch pitch chapters. He was originally died in cannon. Any guesses?  
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	23. Remus Lupin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I realize that Remus originally died. Please remember that the author notes in the very beginning of the prologue mentioned that there would be some people who I kept alive. Remus is one of those people. So please don't tell me, 'I thought he died'. Other than that, I hope you enjoy. :)

            Much later, when their bodies were sated did they leave their bedrooms. Kreacher was ecstatic to see Master Draco. He had known that Master Harry would be able to bring him back. Nope, he hadn’t been worried.

            “Kreacher, I have set a repelling charm on the house to ensure that only usual mail gets through. The charm will collect the rest. I need you to sort through it. Any mail that is spelled with curses will automatically combust upon making contact with the charm. So the mail should be safe, be careful though. I don’t want you hurt if a bad one manages to come through.” Harry told him.

            “Yes Master Harry.” Kreacher was confused but didn’t ask Master Harry about it. Master didn’t normally receive mail like this. Kreacher was worried for his Master. Draco must have noticed his confusion.

            “The Daily Prophet sent out a negative article about the both us. Mainly Harry.” Draco pointed out. The chime of the floo let them know that someone was wanting to come through. Draco got up to investigate because he didn’t want to have to deal with the outburst he knew was about to happen.

            “People writing lies about Master Harry?” Kreacher rasped aghast. Harry mentally sighed. Damnit. Why did Draco have to do that? He knew how Kreacher could get. The slimy git.

            “Yes. But Draco and I will handle it.” He assured the concerned elf. Kreacher nodded. “Of course Master Harry can handle it. Ifs a reporter comes to the door cans Kreacher handle them?” Draco came back into the room snorting at the vicious look on the elf’s face. Gods, he loved the little creature.

            Harry was about to answer in the negative when Draco intercepted. “Of course you can.” Draco said fondly. Harry groaned as Kreacher clapped his hands happily and his ears wiggled in excitement before apparating away.

            “Must you encourage him?” Harry whined. Draco’s mouth twitched. “Harry, he is positively Slytherin. Of course I have to encourage him. Goodness knows what kind of exposure your Gryffindor tendencies would do to him otherwise. Besides he is very entertaining.” Harry pinched the bridge of his nose not even bothering to reply.

            “Oh, before I forget, that was Lupin at the floo. He said he would be coming through in about five minutes.” Draco expected to feel some happiness but he was not prepared for the sheer panic that nearly knocked him off his feet.

            “What? You said he could come through? Why? Why would you say that?” Draco steadied himself before walking towards Harry. He was going to pull him into a hug but Harry backed away with wide eyes.

            “Harry what’s wrong? I thought you would be happy to see Lupin.” Harry started breathing heavily. Panic. That is what he could feel. Draco was growing concerned. Why would Harry be feeling like this? When Harry didn’t answer him, Draco grew afraid.

            “Harry is something the matter?” Draco asked gently.

            “That is something I would like to know as well.” Harry tensed at the sound of Remus’s voice. He shot a panicked look at Draco before looking all over the kitchen trying to find a way out.

            Draco was close to panicking himself at the emotions he could feel from Harry. This wasn’t like him. Something was wrong. Usually Harry was able to talk to him about anything. He tried sending Harry a sense of calm through the bond but Harry shoved the calm back at him and shook his head. “No.” He whispered brokenly.

            Remus wasn’t sure what to think when it came to Harry. He had been sure that Harry would have contacted him after the war but when he received no letters he began to get concerned. Harry was his honorary godson. Remus was the last marauder left and Harry was like a son to him. So when the paper came out talking about the Malfoy trial, to say that he had been surprised would have been an understatement.

            Remus could still remember all the times Harry and Ron used to gripe about Malfoy. He remembered when Harry was the only one who believed that Malfoy had been up to something. No one would listen to him, they thought Harry had been exaggerating and just consumed with his school grudge. Even Remus had had doubts at the time. When he read the paper his first instinct had been to steal Harry away from the Malfoys and keep him safe. But then he thought back to when no one believed that Malfoy had been a deatheater. Was this the same thing? Was there something redeemable about the Malfoy family that Harry saw but no one else wanted to believe? Harry was a smart young man, he wasn’t stupid. Remus believed that Harry knew what he was doing. So Remus decided to trust Harry’s judgement.

            When he had fire called to let Harry know that he would be coming through, he had been surprised to find the Malfoy heir on the other end. For Harry to invite him over to Grimmauld place would indicate a friendship. When he came through his over sensitive ears picked up on the end of a conversation. Harry didn’t want to see him. Why? Remus tried not to be hurt by that but Harry was the only family he had left besides his son. What did he do to push Harry away? He tried to shove the pain of Harry's words away but it was hard.

            Remus was once again surprised at the Malfoy heir. He was gentle and kind when asking Harry what was wrong. When he walked into the room he was immediately concerned. Harry was acting like a cornered animal on its last leg in life.

            Harry couldn’t do it. He couldn’t face him. He couldn’t talk to Remus, not now. Harry had been putting off this confrontation for a while now. He thought it wouldn’t happen for at least another month. He had hoped that Remus would be busy with Teddy. Harry could feel the beginnings of a panic attack.

            Harry locked eyes with Draco. “I’m sorry.” He whispered before apparating out of there with a crack. Draco sighed heavily. He felt the love Harry sent him before leaving. He was worried. Where would Harry go? He was in no condition to just be wandering around.

            “What just happened?” Remus asked in a panic. Draco turned around and stared at the man that meant so much to Harry. Remus Lupin didn’t look too much different than the last time Draco had seen him. His robes were still shabby. He did have more grey hair however and a lot more worry lines etched into his skin. He stared into concerned amber eyes and sighed.

            “I am not entirely sure. I think I know what it might have been about.” Remus let out an impatient noise in the back of his throat. Draco shook his head. “It’s not my place to talk about it. I think I may know where he went.” Draco offered his arm out indicating that they would be apparating. Remus hesitated. The war was over but to apparate to an unknown location with an ex deatheater was not a smart idea. But… Harry trusted him. That was enough for Remus to push aside his concern and take a hold of Draco’s arm.

            Harry landed in the study of the Manor. His abrupt entrance had Lucius, Narcissa and Severus to stand suddenly in panic. Harry was glad to see them, in the back of his mind he did have to wonder if Snape just had no life if he was to always be here. He shook away the thought. Later, he could come back to that later.

            Harry stared at the three of them and didn’t know what to say. Narcissa took a step toward him, he immediately took a step back. The concern on her face was too much. It touched him in ways that he couldn’t afford right now. He couldn’t handle nice.

            Narcissa froze when Harry took a step back. “Harry dear what’s wrong?” Harry closed his eyes at the caring tone of her voice. He clenched his lids tightly but it couldn’t stop the tears from falling down his face.

            “Is Draco okay?” Lucius asked sharply. Narcissa sent him venomous glare, it was a silent warning to shut up. Obviously, Lucius had little experience in comforting people.

            Harry shuddered. “He’s fine.” He choked out. “Did you two get into a fight?” She pressed gently. Harry shook his head violently. “N-no.”

            Severus could never handle tears well. It made him uncomfortable. He also had little patience. “Out with it Potter.” Severus barked, ignoring the thunderous look on Narcissa’s face.

            Harry’s eyes snapped open as he stared at Snape. Yes, anger. That is what he needed. He didn’t want the warm comfort of Narcissa. Harry launched himself at Severus who in a knee-jerk reaction caught him.

            Severus stared wide eyed at his friends. Narcissa beamed at him while Lucius dropped his mouth open in shock. Narcissa saw her son and Remus Lupin enter the room. She held up a hand letting them know to stay there and to not interfere.

            Draco didn’t need his mother’s hand to keep him still. Just seeing Harry clutching his godfather was enough. He had been concerned before but now he was dreadfully afraid for his boyfriend. Anyone willingly seeking comfort from his godfather was surely not in their right mind.  

            Remus also hadn’t needed the hand signal. He stood frozen at the sight of Harry crying into Severus’s robes. The panicked look on the potion masters face was priceless. If the situation had been less tense he probably would have laughed.

            Harry had wanted a confrontation but as Snape’s hands caught him he realized that was just a fight or flight response. He couldn’t argue with the man if he had wanted to. Harry broke down.

            Draco’s heart clenched at the sight of Harry sobbing his heart out. He made to take a step forward but Lupin clasped his shoulder. Draco turned his head to tell the man off but the concerned expression reminded him that he was not the only one worried for Harry. He sighed but nodded reluctantly.

            Remus dropped his hand from the young man’s shoulder confused. He saw the worry for Harry and it confused him. Were they really that good of friends? There was something about his smell that was throwing him off too.

            “Potter why are you drenching me with your tears?” Snape barked out. Remus narrowed his eyes. You would think a man who was responsible for an entire house of students would know how to talk to an upset teen.

            Harry sobbed harder. “I-I’m sorry. I had to get out of there. R-Remus was there.” Harry choked out.

            Remus’s heart clenched in pain. Why was Harry so upset about him visiting? Had he done something wrong? He couldn’t understand why Harry wouldn’t want to see him. They were family, right?

            Severus looked up confused to see Lupin and Draco in the room. He narrowed his eyes at the werewolf. This was his fault he had an armful of a crying Potter.

            “And why is that a bad thing? Isn’t he your honorary godfather or something?” He sneered.

            Harry nodded his head. “Yes. B-but he hates me.” Harry whimpered. Narcissa and Lucius glared at Lupin who held up his hands. Remus was so lost. What on earth was he talking about? He could never hate Harry.

            Draco ignored everyone and walked slowly towards Harry. Their opinions could be damned. They weren’t the ones who had to feel Harry’s emotions. They weren’t the ones to feel the self-loathing that was happening. They knew nothing of what Harry needed. Draco walked up to where Harry was standing.

            “Harry?” Draco asked gently. Harry whirled around and threw himself at Draco, much to the relief of Severus who hurried away from the duo. As if he was worried Harry would need more comfort. Draco pulled Harry onto his lap on the loveseat.

            Remus was surprised at the familiarity the two of them had. This was not the way Harry acted with Ron or Hermione. Or anyone actually. Harry wasn’t much of a touchy feely guy.  

            Harry buried his face into Draco’s neck as more tears slid down his face. Draco gently stroked the side of Harry’s cheek before tilting Harry’s face towards him. He wiped the tears on Harry’s face.

            “Harry what did I tell you that night at the quidditch field?” Harry looked down biting his lip.

            “That it wasn’t my fault.” Draco nodded. “That’s right. I was telling you the truth Harry. Remus doesn’t hate you. Nor does he blame you for Tonk’s death.” Harry broke down into sobs at the words. He wanted to believe them, he really did. But the prospect of facing Remus had made those fears and insecurities come back full force.

            Remus and Narcissa gasped quietly. Remus closed his eyes tightly. He should have known that was what was bothering Harry. Harry had gone through the same thing when it came to Sirius’s death.

            “Hey, shhh.” Draco whispered as he slowly rocked Harry. It pained him to feel the guilt Harry was carrying. He thought they were past this, he had thought they already had this conversation.

            “It’s my fault.” Harry argued. Draco sighed. “Harry it’s not your fault. Have I ever lied to you?” Harry shook his head in the negative. “Would I lie to you just to please you?” The question made Harry pause. He thought about it and realized that Draco was always honest with him. Most of the time brutally honest.

            “No.” He whispered. He closed his eyes trying to stop the tears. “I hear what you are saying. I wasn’t the one who k-killed her. But I am in part responsible! She was there that night for me Draco. She died protecting me.”

            “Harry, you are wrong.” That was enough to make Harry snap his eyes open in confusion. “She didn’t die protecting you. She died protecting everyone. It wasn’t you against Voldemort. I know to you it must have felt like that since you were the one to bear most of the responsibility. But she died protecting a world where her son could grow up safe. She died protecting free will. She died fighting to ensure that the world she knew would remain that way. Yes, she was there that night for you but that wasn’t all she was there for. She didn’t just die for you. She died for everything that she stood for.”

            Remus’s brows lifted high into his hairline. This was not the kid he had been expecting when he apparated here. Malfoy was telling Harry exactly what he needed to hear better than he could have done. Looking at the Malfoy heir, Remus could see exactly what pulled Harry into defending him. This wasn’t the snotty child he had been during Remus’s teaching year. This was a boy who grew up and understood the harsh reality of the world.

            “If you want to blame someone for her death than blame the caster of the spell. Blame the man who ordered the attack. Let the blame reside with Voldemort. I may not have known my cousin but I do know that she would never ever blame you for her death.” Draco promised with need. Harry’s tears stopped flowing. He lifted his hand to wipe his eyes but Draco beat him to it.

            Harry leaned his forehead against Draco’s. “Thank you.” He whispered. Draco ran his fingers through Harry’s hair as he smiled gently. He kissed the side of Harry’s head.

            “How do you do it? How do you take every single one of my worries and wash them away?” Harry asked the same question he did that night under the stars. Draco smiled fondly in remembrance. “By telling you the truth.” Draco responded the same way.

            Harry cupped Draco’s cheeks with his hands. “I love you.” They said in unison. Harry smiled sweetly as he let the positive emotions Draco was sending him through their connection soothe him.

            Remus blinked. And then blinked again. Well, that explained it. He took a step forward when Harry spoke up again.

            “And you don’t think he will hate me?” Harry asked again, needing the reassurance.

            “I promise you that he doesn’t hate you.”

            Harry sighed. “Draco, you can’t promise that.” He chided gently. Draco opened his mouth to retort but a voice broke out before he could. 

            “He can’t, but I can.” Remus spoke softly. His voice startled Harry.     

            Harry turned around on Draco’s lap towards Remus’s voice. “Remus.” Harry choked out. If he hadn’t just cried his eyes out, then that statement would have brought more tears. Harry threw himself at the third person today. Remus chuckled as he caught Harry.

            “I have been worried about you. When you didn’t return my letters, I was concerned I had done something to upset you.” Harry shook his head. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you. I was just…” Harry trailed off not sure how to say it.

            “You were just being you.” Remus offered quietly. “Harry there is not a single thing that you could do that would make me hate you. I don’t blame you for what happened.” Remus whispered. Thinking about Tonks still hurt. It hadn’t been long since her death. Teddy was a huge help in distracting him from his grief.

            Harry nodded against Remus’s chest before he squeezed him tightly, letting go and stepping back down onto Draco’s lap. Draco’s arms automatically wrapped around Harry’s waist. Remus lifted an eyebrow but didn’t say anything.

            Harry looked around the room and flushed in embarrassment. He opened his mouth to say something but Draco tightened his hold.

            “Harry there is nothing to be embarrassed about. Don’t apologize.” Remus was confused. Harry hadn’t said anything. He looked to the rest of the adults but saw them staring at the couple with amusement and fond smiles. Well that is something you don’t see every day.

            Narcissa stepped towards Remus. “Narcissa.” She offered her hand for Remus to shake. “I am afraid we haven’t been properly introduced. It is nice to meet you. Any family of Harry’s is welcome here.” Remus’s mouth opened in surprise.

            Harry let out a startled noise and leapt at Narcissa. She let out a surprised giggle. “Do you mean that?” She stared down into the boy that has changed her son’s life. “Of course, I do. Harry dear you are a part of the family whether you want to be or not.” She promised with a gentle smile. Harry closed his eyes and soaked up all the warmth Narcissa had to offer. Looking at her she appeared to be cold and emotionless but that was before you got to know her.

            Draco smiled as he watched Harry hug his mother. She hadn’t always been there for Draco but watching her comfort Harry was enough for him. That made all the difference.  

            Remus recovered from his shock and cleared his throat. Harry took a step back and grinned as Remus shook Narcissa’s hand. “Remus Lupin.” Narcissa smiled at him.

            “You know Harry, I think Lucius is the only one you haven’t hugged today.” Narcissa said with open mirth. Harry grinned mischievously. Hugging Lucius Malfoy? Now that is something he never in a million years thought he would even consider doing. But the man was Draco’s father and the one to tell them about soulmates. He invited them into his home and he approved of their relationship. Whether he wanted to or not, Lucius Malfoy was a part of their odd family.

            Lucius took a step back. “Oh no.” He waved his hands back in forth in denial. Draco and Severus snorted at the look of horror on Lucius’s face. Narcissa and Remus’s mouth twitched as they watched Harry slowly stalk forward like he was the hunter and Lucius was his prey.

            Harry waited until Lucius walked backwards into the bookshelf before launching at the last person in the room. Lucius sighed and pat the back of Harry’s back in resignation. Harry laughed and squeezed the blonde aristocrat. Lucius looked down at the odd enigma that was Harry Potter.

            “I am not letting go until you hug me properly.” Harry warned as the room broke out into laughter. Lucius knew he was putting off the inevitable. The brat probably meant it too. So Lucius Malfoy, ex deatheater and all around evil git hugged Harry Potter to his chest tightly.

            “Well I’ll be.”-

            “Miss one dinner-”

            “And suddenly everyone-”

            “Is acting out of character-”

            Everyone looked over to see the Weasley twins along with Pansy and Blaise being led into the room by Izzy the house elf. Pansy was holding George’s hand while Blaise had his arm wrapped around Fred’s waist.

            Remus was unsure of what to think. When he got out of bed this morning this was not how he thought his day would turn out. He did not think he would be dealing with a tiny crisis. He did not think he would be standing in Malfoy Manor. He did not think he would be welcomed. He did not think that Harry would be in a relationship with Draco Malfoy of all people. He did not think that any Weasley would be at said Manor. The day was already one of the weirdest he had ever experienced and that was saying something considering who his friends had been.

            “Has my house become a party zone without my knowledge?” Lucius asked disgruntled as he stepped away from Harry and locked arms with his wife.

            The twins shared a gleeful look at the word party. Harry shook his head. He pulled Draco up off the couch and entwined their fingers. Draco whined slightly. “I was comfy there.” Draco pointed out.

            “Lazy arse.” He mumbled back. Draco grinned in reply. “Ah yes but you love me anyways.” Harry shook his head as his mouth twitched. “God knows why.” Draco opened his mouth but was cut off.

            “Not to interrupt or anything but you two could go on all day if we left it to you.” Pansy said smirking at the double glares being sent her way.

            “Yeah, we did have a reason for coming by.” Blaise said lifting a brow.

            Lucius conjured chairs for everyone to sit down. Harry was the only one to ignore his chair. He opted to sit back down on Draco’s lap. Lucius raised a hand signaling them to get on with it. Pansy and Blaise shifted uncomfortably as they shot unsure glances at Lupin.       

            Harry tilted his head to the side in confusion. Why were they being weird? Draco sent a couple different emotions pulsing through the bond. Harry swung his head towards Draco. “What was that about?’’ Draco lifted his brows and sent him a pointed look. “Ohhhh. I see, you have research.” Harry told the four new comers. Remus furrowed his brows in confusion at the one-sided conversation.

            “The quartet is worried about saying anything.” Draco offered. The twins broke out into laughter.

            “Quartet?” They asked in unison through their laughter.

            “I like it.” Pansy and Blaise said at the same time. The rest of the room broke out into laughter.

            “See it is the perfect name for them.” Draco pointed out. The quartet shrugged.

            Remus ignored the playful banter. Harry and Draco’s smell was bothering him again. “Harry.” Remus began but paused to sniff the air again. Harry raised his brows in surprise.

            “You smell funny.” The twins snorted. Harry flushed. “I didn’t mean like that.” Remus rushed to reassure. Harry relaxed slightly from his position in Draco’s lap.

            “I just mean that you don’t smell like you used to. It’s weird. You and Draco have the same smell.” Remus noticed the looks that were shared around the room. Like that wasn’t obvious. They may be Slytherins but they weren’t discreet.  

            “I don’t mean spending time together either. Normally with couples their scent is mixed with their partners. That is to be expected. But you and Draco smell the exact same with small subtle differences. It’s like two chocolate cakes with separate flavored icings. You have your own signature smell but underneath that you two smell the _same_.” Remus said with such confusion that Draco and Harry smiled.

            Remus shook his head. “I just can’t figure it out. I have never come across this before.” He scratched the side of his head in thought.

            “Color me impressed.” Severus said with amusement. It wasn’t often the werewolf was confused. The man should have been placed in Ravenclaw with the way he gobbled up knowledge. But for his nose to pick up the changes in them was surprising. He didn’t think just any werewolf would have noticed either. Perhaps because this was his godson that smelt different?

            Remus flushed a little at the praise but he narrowed his eyes. He was the only one not aware of what everyone else seemed to be in on. He did not like it.

            Harry and Draco shared a considering look. Draco shrugged letting Harry know that it was up to him. Harry sent indecision back at him through the bond. Draco shook his head and sent Harry a rush of confidence. “You are sure?” Harry asked. Draco smiled and sent him a pulse of love.

            “I hate when they do that.” Pansy grumbled. Blaise and the twins nodded in agreement. Ironic considering the four of them do the same thing upon occasion, just without the emotions.

            “But what is it that they are doing?” Remus asked curiously. His mind was whirling trying to come up with logical conclusions. It could be some type of bond or maybe a potion gone wrong? They seemed to be in tune with each other’s thoughts. Some form of Legilimency? How fascinating.

            Harry turned towards Remus. “So Remus, what do you know about soulmates?” He decided to be as blunt as possible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright any thoughts? I like drama so this was a good chapter for me lol.  
> Tomorrows chapter will be a bit long. There is a lot more to them being soulmates that will be mentioned. It will be a different spin on things that will hopefully interest you all.  
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	24. The Sorcerer's Stone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The only reason I am doing a summary is because the last chapter ended in mid conversation. So without further ado...
> 
> “I hate when they do that?” Pansy grumbled. Blaise and the twins nodded in agreement. Ironic considering the four of them do the same thing upon occasion, just without the emotions.  
> “But what is it that they are doing?” Remus asked curiously. His mind was whirling trying to come up with logical conclusions. It could be some type of bond or maybe a potion gone wrong? They seemed to be in tune with each other’s thoughts. Some form of Legilimency? How fascinating.  
> Harry turned towards Remus. “So Remus, what do you know about soulmates?” He decided to be as blunt as possible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter involves something that isn't really in a whole lot of fics. Usually when it is, it is glossed over and not many details. Most of the time it is only mentioned in stories where Harry goes dark or where its a Voldemort/Harry story. I went into some depth here trying to explain. Hopefully it is enough of a twist to avoid cliché.

            “Not much, I mean-” He stopped himself short and stared at Harry wide eyed. “No way.” He whispered inelegantly. Severus snorted which Remus ignored. It would explain so much. Why they smelt the same. Why they seemed to be having silent conversations. They were reading each other’s emotions. Wicked.

            “We are soulmates.” Harry told Remus simply. Remus felt as if his mind blanked. Soulmates. His heart clenched in sorrow at never finding his own mate. The longing had dimmed with Tonks in his life. But with her gone the longing came back full force along with the grief of her absence. But to know that Harry had found his own mate, that was something else. Wild even.

            Lily hadn’t given much thought into soulmates existing. James had only talked to her about it in regards to when they would tell Harry about it. She had scoffed at the idea. She didn’t believe in it. James, Sirius and Remus had tried telling her that it was indeed a real thing in the magical community. Lily was weary and didn’t want to tell Harry about it. She said that she managed to find happiness and love without ever finding her other half. She didn’t want Harry longing for something that he would never have. She didn’t understand that the longing would be there whether Harry knew about it or not. The longing doesn’t go away till you find your other half.

            James had disagreed. It led to one of their more spectacular rows. Lily said that James would be condemning Harry to a lifetime of sadness if they told him. Sirius suggested that it was because she was a muggleborn that she just didn’t understand. That had led to him being kicked out by a furious Lily. Neither James nor Lily would concede in the argument. They agreed to talk about it when Harry got older. Remus had actually forgot that Harry wouldn’t know. Soulmates aren’t something that come up in polite conversations. Due to the sad nature of never finding your mate, it is a rather taboo subject. Not to mention most people just don’t know of its existence anymore. Remus being a half blood with a pureblood mother, she made sure that Remus knew about Soulmates. Especially since he was a werewolf. Magical creatures aren’t meant to be without their mate. The longing intensifies in any magical creature. Part of the reason werewolves even howl at the moon is because they are crying out their loneliness. They are screaming for their other half hoping that they will hear the cry and come. Remus could feel his own longing for his soulmate _and_ Moonys desperate primal need to be complete. It was like two doses of longing that sometimes became crippling.  

            But to see that Harry found his soulmate was something else. He envied Harry so much. Part of him wished that he had been the one to find his mate but the rest of him was so ecstatic for Harry and Draco. He could call him that now. Anyone Harry was with deserved his approval. Harry deserved all the happiness and love that he can get. If anyone deserved to find their soulmate it would be Harry. Remus wasn’t sure how long he stared at Harry lost in thought.

            “I am happy for you cub.” Harry sighed in relief. That had been something he was worried about. He knew that Remus cared for him but to accept Draco was asking a lot.

            “You mean it?” Remus tilted his head in confusion. Why wouldn’t he be happy for Harry? Finding something so beautiful and miraculous as a soulmate was so revered to those who knew. There was no way he could ever not be happy for Harry. Even if you stripped away them being soulmates, Remus had never seen Harry so happy and comfortable.

            “It’s because of me. He wants to know if you can really accept me.” Draco explained. Harry bit his lip. That didn’t come out right.

            “Harry I wouldn’t care who you end up with as long as you are happy.” Remus told him. And he meant it to, Harry could tell.

            “Thank you.” Draco said quietly. He breathed a sigh of relief. He knew that even if Lupin had disagreed with their relationship that it wouldn’t have mattered. Harry would always be with him. But after the Weasleys being so difficult, he hated the idea of Harry losing more people. Draco knew how important Lupin was for Harry. He was the only parental figure he had left. Lupin being okay with their relationship was the best news he had heard all day.

            Remus was a little taken aback by the gratitude. After everything he had seen today he shouldn’t be surprised. Remus could really grow to like Draco. He obviously cared a great deal for Harry. That is what matters in the end when it comes to relationships.  

            “Now that this sickly-sweet moment is over can we move on?” Lucius drawled. Then pursed his lips slightly when his wife smacked his arm. “What? I find myself curious to find out what the four of them found.”

            “Keep your knickers on Lucy.-”

            “We have the research right here.” George finished with a wicked grin.

            Many mouths dropped open at the gall they had. Pansy and Blaise winced and shifted slightly in their seats. Damn the twins’ lack of common sense. Harry and Remus had to press their mouths in a thin line to keep from smiling. Narcissa’s mouth dropped open. Severus snorted openly. Draco groaned.

            “Where should we bury them?” Draco whispered to Harry. It was quiet enough that the only person who had heard had been Remus, due to his ears. Remus snorted and had to cover his mouth to stop from laughing. “You are insinuating that there will be anything left to bury.” Harry whispered back in amusement. Draco snorted while Remus had to cough to cover his laughing.

            Lucius opened his mouth just to close it. He couldn’t believe it. These Weasleys had some nerve. No one has ever talked to him like that. Let alone a Weasley! People were afraid of him, they rarely looked him in the eyes and when they did he could see the way they would fidget. Which is why he isn’t a people person. People are spineless weak beings. But having someone treat him like this was quite the experience. It was odd but intriguing.

            “You know, I think I might just like the pair of you.” The twins’ jaws dropped. They weren’t the only ones. Harry and Draco gaped openly. Severus twitched in surprise. Remus and Narcissa stared at him like he was a stranger. Well to Remus he practically was.

            “But do not call me that again.” Lucius warned darkly. The twins were still shell shocked so they just nodded without a witty comment or making a joke. Rare moment that is.  

            Pansy cleared her throat. She decided a change of conversation was needed. “There wasn’t much that we could find. We didn’t want to attract any attention so George, Fred and I glamoured ourselves. Since the bookstore owner knows Blaise he went uncharmed.”

            “Francis doesn’t sell any books on soulmates in the main store or his license to sell could be revoked from the Ministry. The last store to sell one had been shut down and had to pay a hefty fine, the owner even had to spend six months in Azkaban. So he was a little weary about even mentioning it.” Harry couldn’t believe it. The Ministry was that concerned about soulmates? He was having an uneasy worry in the pit of stomach.

             “There were some books that he had that are not quite legal in the back. He had a few books on soulmates. He let me skim through them but I would have to buy them for anything past that.” Blaise said shrugging.

             “Were they expensive?” Harry wondered. Between him and Draco they weren’t concerned about money.

            “Ohhh yeah. But they weren’t worth buying. The books only contained the stuff that was already mentioned at dinner. Though one of them did mention something similar to what happened when your cores combined.”

             Remus choked. “Your cores connected? As in your magical cores?” He breathed in wonder. The whole room nodded.

            “It was beautiful.” Pansy sighed in delight. Remus’s eyes widened. “It was visible?”

            “Oh yes. It was a sight to see.” Narcissa said proudly. Remus was stunned. He had never heard anything like that happening before. He hadn’t thought it could even be possible.

            “You said similar?” Draco asked. George was the one to answer. “Yes. It described what Fred and I felt in the shop.” Everyone besides those who had been there were confused.

            “What happened in the shop?” Lucius demanded impatiently. No one mentioned anything happening before dinner last night. Narcissa patted his arm gently, telling him to be calm.

            “It was the first time we acknowledged that we loved each other.” Harry said quietly as he brought the hands around him up to his lips to kiss. Draco grinned and kissed Harry’s neck. Remus smiled gently as he watched them. They sure were something else. On a first glance they seemed like any other normal couple but there were moments when it was like they were connected. Like they understood each other on a level that no one else could understand. Remus was intrigued, it made him want to openly watch them to see what else they would do. But that would probably be considered creepy. Best not do that.

            “What they aren’t saying is that the whole room was alive with magic.” Severus and Lucius shared a surprised look. That was not expected. The books hadn’t mentioned that. Well at least the ones they owned. Remus was floored at the possibilities. He wondered what that had felt like to be an observer. Was it tangible or just like a sense of magic in the air? When they said they could feel the magic did they mean literally or figuratively? If literally, then what did it feel like?

            “The two of them stared into each other’s eyes and we could feel the magic surrounding them.”

            “It was really beautiful.” Fred said with a little sigh. George rolled his eyes at his brother. You could definitely tell which one of them was the sentimental twin.

            Severus furrowed his brows in thought. “It could be that the bond has phases. Phase one would be when the emotional bond begins. Phase two could have been what happened at the shop. It could be that when you declared your love that the bond grew stronger. Phase three would have been when your cores combined.” Severus suggested.

            “Did you guys find out anything else?” Lucius changed the subject. It was best to stop Severus early on or else they would have sat there all day hearing his theories. Severus glared but turned to give his attention to the quartet.

            The four of them shook their heads sadly. Harry hummed in thought. He turned to Lucius and Severus. “Is Nicolas and Perenelle Flamel still alive?”

            “Why would they? Their time was close to 700 years ago. I know they were soulmates but why ask about them?” Remus asked as the teens nodded along.

            Harry, Severus, Lucius and Narcissa gaped at the remaining members in the room.

            “You mean you don’t know?” Severus asked in barely contained glee. Finally. The mutt doesn’t know something. Remus crossed his arms across his chest and glared at Severus. Merlin, the man could always grate on his nerves.

            “Nicolas Flamel was the creator of the Sorcerer’s Stone.” Remus lifted an eyebrow.

            “I know that Harry.” Remus said as Pansy and Blaise spoke up. “What’s the Sorcerer’s Stone?”

            Lucius saw that his son was not confused for this part. He hadn’t ever told Draco about Nicolas Flamel. And with good reason too. He narrowed his eyes in suspicion.  

            “Harry told me about it from his first year.” Draco explained. They had been talking about Hogwarts one afternoon when Draco was curious to learn more about Quirrell. Lucius was lost. What would have happened during their first year that would have to do with the Sorcerer’s Stone? He didn’t want Draco to know anything about it.

            “Wait. You actually saw it? I thought that was just Hogwarts rumor mill.” Severus said astonished. Dumbledore told him about the fight against Quirrell but he made no mention of Potter ever seeing it. It made him uneasy. Lucius jerked in shock.

            “What?” Lucius breathed out wildly.

            “Can one of you start at the beginning because I am really fucking confused.” Blaise demanded angrily.

            Harry chuckled at Blaise’s patience or rather lack of. “The Sorcerer’s Stone was created with Alchemy. It can turn any metal into pure gold and it also produces the Elixir of Life. Which will make the drinker immortal. You can see why Voldemort would want it. And why the Flamels might still be alive.” The room shuddered at his name. Harry rolled his eyes. You would think that they would get over that by now.

            Remus was blown away. He had known about the stone. He came across an obscure text that had mentioned it. But they didn’t mention that the Flames were still using it. To think that there could be immortal soulmates was an eye opener.

            “Harry.” Severus said slowly. Harry startled at hearing his first name from Snape. He looked up and was not liking the looks Lucius and Narcissa were shooting him. “Who told you that Alchemy was how the Sorcerer’s Stone was created?”

            Harry squinted his eyes trying to remember. “It was in a book that Hermione checked out from the library. That and Dumbledore’s chocolate frog mentioned that him and Flamel were Alchemist partners. Why?”

            “Because that is not how it was created. Perhaps there was a small amount Alchemy involved but the Sorcerer’s Stone is a _very_ Dark Artifact.” Severus said slowly.

            Harry gaped. “What?” Lucius nodded. “Immortality. To a lot of people that sounds like a dream come true. People like The Dark Lord. There is no spell or potion that can just grant you immortality. Alchemy is a lost art. People don’t practice it any more. They used to in Flamels time. But spells and potions were quicker and easier ways to accomplish things. So, Alchemy faded into the background long forgotten. Dumbledore tried to become an Alchemist but with Flamel being the only Alchemist left it put a damper on things. He studied under him for a brief time but as far as I know it was always as a hobby.” Lucius looked to Severus in question.

            “He never actually performed Alchemy to my knowledge. He just liked to read up on the subject. I was always shocked to hear that he was a student of Flamels.” Severus added shrugging.

            “Why?” Questioned Harry. Lucius, Narcissa and Severus shared a considering look.

            “Because Nicolas Flamel is a Dark wizard. A _very_ Dark wizard.” Harry’s mouth dropped open and he looked incredulously at Snape.

            “Did you even think about what it would take to actually create the Elixir of Life?” Severus scoffed. “It’s literally made from life. From human sacrifices.” Harry thought he was going to be sick. “Immortality is not something to be messed with. To actually be able to live forever. The kind of magic that would take to create would never ever be considered light. People aren’t meant to live forever. Very Dark rituals were used to be able to get enough life force to make the stone. I don’t know all of the things it required but human sacrifices is definitely one of the basic requirements.” Silence engulfed the room.

            “Why do you think The Dark Lord wanted it? If the stone had been light like you believed, then why hasn’t anyone else made one? If you ignore the fact that Flamel made it nearly 700 years ago. There were other Alchemists alive in his time. Many famous light wizards were alchemists too. The stone had been a huge scandal back then. It divided the Alchemist community. Many couldn’t figure out how he had done it. Because it took more than just Alchemy to make it. When Flamel wouldn’t answer their questions the Ministry got involved and it ended with Flamel and his wife fleeing. They came back many generations later when mostly everyone forgot who exactly they were. Many people believed the stone was a myth of fantasy.” Lucius added when Severus paused.

            “People of Dark families passed down the information with each generation. Some normal dark rituals were used on the stone which is why we even know that it is dark. There were many people who tried to recreate the Sorcerer’s Stone. It always failed because of the Alchemy part that was required and also due to the horrendous rituals it required. Despite what some people may think, there is a limit to what a Dark wizard will be comfortable performing. It takes a seriously disturbed individual capable of creating the stone.” Severus wrinkled his nose in disgust.

            Harry thought about it. Voldemort never went after anything light in nature. With a jolt, he realized that anything that would have helped Voldemort gain his body back couldn’t be considered light. What kind of light magic would help restore a spirit? Not that he had been dead but he was close to it. He felt sick thinking about it. Horcruxes had been a way of gaining immortality. In a way, they were similar to the stone. It required to take the life of someone and then once it split the soul you could extract it and place in objects. Elixir of Life. What a fitting name. He couldn’t believe that the Flamels literally took lives to make it.  

            “Why did you ask if they would be alive? As far as I know they are immortal. The stone won’t protect them from attacks or spells. It only affects the aging process. So, unless you know of some attack on them then they should still be alive.” Narcissa said softly.

            “Dumbledore said the stone was destroyed.” Narcissa gaped in shock. Severus furrowed his brows. Lucius however, snorted.

            “And you believed him?” Harry glared at the insult to Dumbledore. Lucius raised his hands. “I am not implying that he lied to you. But did he say he was going to personally destroy it? Because I highly doubt that the Flamels would allow it to be destroyed. Think about it. Someone who went to the lengths they had gone through to make the stone, why would they willingly destroy it?”

            Harry considered his words and then considered them again. “I had woken up in the hospital wing and he had said it had been destroyed but he didn’t say he had been the one to do so. He said that Flamel and his wife had enough Elixir to set their affairs in order and they were going to die.” The more Harry thought about it the more it raised questions. Without the stone destroyed, how did they have more Elixir? If they made one stone, why couldn’t they make another? Had Dumbledore given it to the Flamels and just assumed that they had actually destroyed it?

            Lucius smiled smugly. “See. I am finding it difficult to believe that they would just die.”

            “Why?” Draco asked. He wasn’t doubting his father but perhaps the Flamels were just sick of living after 700 years. That is a long time to be alive.

            “Dark Wizards like the Flamels knew what they were getting into when creating the stone. The callous disregard for the lives they took to make the stone. If they can take the lives of so many people without feeling an ounce of regret than I doubt they would have regret enough to just die after all this time. They have immortality and an unlimited amount of gold at their fingertips. That is not something that a Dark wizard would just give up. A light wizard like Dumbledore would believe a statement like that. To light wizards it would make sense that after being alive for so long that they would get tired of living. But that is laughable to someone like the Flamels.”

            “You talk about them like they were just as bad as Voldemort.” Remus breathed out.

            Severus lifted an eyebrow. “They are worse.” Harry jerked in shock. Draco had to hold on to him tightly to ensure that Harry didn’t fall out of his lap.

            “What makes you say that?” Harry said narrowing his eyes. That was a bold statement.

            “Think of all the lives Voldemort took in both wars. I am not just talking wizards either. Include magical creatures and muggles. The number would be pretty high, right?” When Harry nodded, Severus continued. “The Dark Lords goal was in essence a political move based off of wanting to make wizards great again. He believed in our world and didn’t like that we had to hide ourselves away. The muggle teachings that are brought into our world when muggleborns enter were causing our traditions to fade. Which is why his ideas fed into the pureblood beliefs. Purebloods are very proud of where they come from and their heritage. They firmly love and believe in our world. To watch generation after generation of muggleborns come in and disregard our teachings and demand that we conform to their beliefs, was too much for them. So when Voldemort started his propaganda it played right into their wishes.” Harry furrowed his brows. Why was Snape giving him a lesson on Voldemort’s beliefs?  

            “If The Dark Lord had been a different man he probably could have achieved his means by political advances but he was a violent man. He took the lives of those who opposed him and those he felt weren’t going to help in his way to pave the road of his beliefs. He led with an iron grip and no tolerance for others. Whether you believed what he did was right or wrong he did it for a personal belief that many believed in. He did it to change the world. He believed what he was doing was right. Which is why he was better than the Flamels. Can you imagine how many lives it would have taken to create The Elixir of Life? A lot Harry. That’s not even counting trial and error. How many attempts before they got it right. Flamel callously took lives for his own benefit. He wasn’t changing the world. He wasn’t doing this to help out wizards. He did it for himself. He didn’t share his findings. He didn’t use the stone to help others. He killed hundreds of people so that he could live forever. He was sacrificing people for his own selfish agenda. I don’t know about you but I find him more repugnant than The Dark Lord. They were both evil and dark but at least The Dark Lord thought what he was doing was going to save the wizarding world. What can Flamel say? What could he possibly say to justify the lives he was taking?”

             Harry’s mind was whirling around in many different directions. Snape was right. However misguided and wrong Voldemort had been, he thought he was doing what was best. Voldemort was selfish just like the Flamels though. If Voldemort had won the war, Harry believed that the man would have gotten bored eventually. Once the muggleborn and muggles had been taken care of, what would he do next? If there wasn’t war or deaths happening the man would never be satisfied. Harry believed he would then go after the half bloods and any purebloods that annoyed him. Voldemort only cared about himself but he also fought for the political beliefs of the purebloods. Harry wasn’t sure what to think. He hadn’t known that the stone was dark. Nor would he ever have thought that Nicolas Flamel was a dark wizard. “If he was dark how come he stayed out of the wars?”

            Lucius snorted. “He’s dark not stupid. The wizarding world still regards him as a myth mostly. His name has been on some shared findings with Dumbledore over the years but most people, like Lupin, don’t make the connection to the wizard that lived over 700 years ago. You don’t live that long by getting involved with every dispute. He stayed out of the war with Grindewald as well. Like Narcissa said earlier, the stone only protects against aging. He would be risking a lot by getting involved in the wars. Besides I doubt they care what happens to the rest of the world as long as they have the stone.”

            “I can’t believe someone like him found his soulmate.” Remus said moodily. The injustice of the situation was daunting. An evil git like that getting to spend the rest of his very long life with a soulmate. Someone so evil shouldn’t be allowed to have a soulmate. Narcissa shared a smile with Harry.

            “I agree.” The quartet said at the same time. Draco rolled his eyes when they all shared grins. Gods they were going to take some time getting used to. He was used to Pansy and Blaise being in synch with each other. And he had finally gotten used to the twins but now he was going to have to get used to the four of them together.

            “Why would Dumbledore want to learn from Flamel?” Harry asked the question that had been bothering him the most.

            Severus and Lucius shrugged their shoulders. “Your guess would be just as good as ours. It could be something as simple as wanting to learn Alchemy. It wasn’t like he had another option. Flamel is the only Alchemist alive. With how firmly Dumbledore was against Dark wizards, I have a hard time believing that he learned from Flamel for any other reason than Alchemy.” Severus explained shrugging slightly. Potter raised a good question. He had wondered that for years but Albus never wanted to talk about Flamel.  

            “Now what does the stone have to do with your first year?” Lucius asked the question that he wanted to know earlier. Part of him would always be the concerned parent of the Board of Governors. Severus said that Harry had seen it? It better not have been in the school. He would raise some hell if he found out that the Ministry allowed the stone inside a bloody school.  

            Harry and Draco shared uneasy feelings through the bond.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. This chapter is not as long as I would have liked it to be. The entire conversation that they are having was way too long for just one chapter. Tomorrow's chapter finishes off the conversation and is about 2k longer than this chapter. So hopefully that makes you feel better. :)
> 
> Thoughts on the stone? Flamel? I would love to hear your thoughts. If you are sitting there saying, 'this is fascinating and all but what does it have to do with anything?' then patience my lovely readers. Foreshadowing. No details will be given but just keep that in mind. This conversation has played an important part that will be mentioned..... later. ;p
> 
> Now if you have come across the stone being dark in other stories, I would love to hear how mine is hopefully different. I don't fancy doing something that has been done over and over. Most stories that mention the stone being dark usually don't mention too much detail on the Flamels. Which is why I wanted to show depth to this subject. Hopefully it came across as I planned. 
> 
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	25. Dark Resonates With Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously on 'I Do What I Want' (That sounded cooler in my head)
> 
> “Why would Dumbledore want to learn from Flamel?” Harry asked the question that had been bothering him the most.  
>             Severus and Lucius shrugged their shoulders. “Your guess would be just as good as ours. It could be something as simple as wanting to learn Alchemy. It wasn’t like he had another option. Flamel is the only Alchemist alive. With how firmly Dumbledore was against Dark wizards, I have a hard time believing that he learned from Flamel for any other reason than Alchemy.” Severus explained shrugging slightly. Potter raised a good question. He had wondered that for years but Albus never wanted to talk about Flamel.    
>             “Now what does the stone have to do with your first year?” Lucius asked the question that he wanted to know earlier. Part of him would always be the concerned parent of the Board of Governors. Severus said that Harry had seen it? It better not have been in the school. He would raise some hell if he found out that the Ministry allowed the stone inside a bloody school.    
>             Harry and Draco shared uneasy feelings through the bond.

            “During our first year, Dumbledore had gotten wind that Voldemort wanted the Sorcerer’s Stone. So he sent word out to Flamel and they agreed to hold it in Gringotts. When Dumbledore feared the safety of the stone, he had it moved to Hogwarts. I was at Gringotts with Hagrid when they took the stone out of the vault. I didn’t know that it was the stone at that time.” Lucius and Narcissa shared a look of disbelief.

            “Are you trying to tell me that Dumbledore allowed the Sorcerer’s Stone inside the school?” Lucius demanded angrily and in disbelief. He couldn’t believe it. Lucius wished he could revive the man just to give him a piece of his mind. Harry nodded warily.

            “The stone is incredibly dark and dangerous and he just let it sit inside the school?? That doesn’t make sense. Why would the Flamels hand over the stone in the first place? They are nearly 700 years old, Dumbledore was what 150? They have lived through so many generations of magic. 150 is like a child compared to them. Not to mention how dark they are. Why would they trust Dumbledore with their stone? That makes absolutely no sense to me. They haven’t been seen for _years_. Putting the stone in the school would be like putting it into The Dark Lords lap. Keeping the stone wherever it was before worked for the last 700 years. Why change it?”

            Harry was blown away by his questions. Why had he never thought of that before. It made sense the more he thought about it. Why would they have let Dumbledore take it? The stone hadn’t been found before. Placing it in school sounded stupid. Even if you were to ignore the fact that is a dark artifact. Why would you place something you know Voldemort is looking for inside a school with hundreds of innocent school children?

            “Was it even real?” The surprising question came from Remus. Everyone turned to stare at him. “If you believe that the Flamels wouldn’t have given Dumbledore the stone then that must mean the one in the school was a fake. Or, they really did give him the stone and it really was in the school.”

            Harry wasn’t sure which was correct. He felt like his mind had been dumped out on the floor and stomped on. He was ready to implode. So many questions and no answers. “It better bloody well have been real! I nearly died protecting it!” At the startled looks he was receiving he decided he better get back to the story.

            “Ron, Hermione and I came across Fluffy one night by accident.”

            Severus snorted while everyone else looked confused. “You would come across that thing by accident.” He said with amusement. Harry grinned at him a little surprised that they were being friendly with each other.

            “And what is a fluffy?” Lucius asked curling his mouth in distaste at saying such a hufflepuff word.

            “It’s a three-headed dog that was meant to guard the entrance to the stone.” Lucius lifted his brows in surprise.

            “A Cerberus?” Remus let out a low whistle. “That is an incredibly rare creature.”

            Harry shrugged. “It was Hagrids. He said he let Dumbledore borrow it.” Lucius let out a low moan. “He would have something so dangerous and call it _fluffy_.” Harry’s mouth twitched in effort to not laugh.

            “Hermione was the one to notice that it had been standing on a trap door. The thing nearly bit our heads off. Did you know it took a simple Alohomora to open the door that led to it?” Harry shook his head in bewilderment at that thought. You would think that a creature like that would have been harder to get to.

            Lucius and Remus narrowed their eyes. Dumbledore shouldn’t have had a creature like that inside a school to begin with. One of them could have died that night. A simple unlocking charm? That was just asking for trouble. What had the man been thinking?

            “Draco and I had received detention with Hermione and Neville.”

            Draco winced. “Yeah not one of my best moments.” Harry laughed warmly. “You abandoned me!”

            “I was eleven! And scared shitless. There was some _thing_ drinking unicorn blood slithering around in the forest at night. Nope. That was a definite get the fuck out of there moment. I assumed you would have turned around and hightailed it out of there too! If that thing was going to attack one of us, all I had to do was be faster than you. Self-preservation and all. Besides, I saved Fang, didn’t I? I think that deserves some recognition.”

            Harry started chuckling. He couldn’t help it. “You saved a dog over me Draco.” The room erupted in laughter.

            Draco grinned sheepishly. “Sorry?” He offered weakly. Harry shook his head but leaned back to kiss Draco’s cheek. “You are lucky I love you.” Draco just grinned in response. He knew how lucky he was to have Harry.

            “Who was drinking unicorn blood?” Remus asked wrinkling his nose. Only an idiot would do such a thing. Why would you want to live a cursed life? Someone very desperate. They would’ve had to have known what drinking it would do.

            “Voldemort. Well Quirrell but he had Voldemort on the back of his head… so same thing.” The room had gone silent. All humor gone.

            “That is when I found that unicorn blood will keep someone alive even if they were close to death. I realized that it was Voldemort and that he wanted the stone. I knew someone was trying to take it.” Harry left out that he had thought it was Snape. They were finally getting along… somewhat. He didn’t want to ruin that.

            “Hermione insisted that the stone was safe inside the school. It wasn’t until after talking to Hagrid and he let it slip that he told some stranger in a pub how to get past Fluffy that I knew there was a problem. I tried telling Professor McGonagall that someone was going to take it that night. I just knew it. I could tell. But she wouldn’t listen to me. Maybe it was my age? Or she believed like Hermione that the stone was safe inside Hogwarts.”

            “Minerva didn’t believe you?” Severus asked lifting a brow. That wasn’t like his colleague. He wasn’t even going to ask why they didn’t warn him, it wasn’t like Potter would come to him for help.

            “If she did, that wasn’t something she let me know. Anyways, after I couldn’t convince her that someone really was after the stone, I decided I would protect it myself.” The looks of disbelief were seen all around.

            “I know. I was only eleven but I already had a hero complex. So Ron, Hermione and I made our way over to Fluffy. Quirrell had already been there. Which just proved to my friends that we really were doing the right thing. We went down the trap and landed in devils snare. Hermione got us out of that.” Remus jerked in shock.

            “Why in the world was there devils snare inside the school?” Remus was honestly questioning the sanity of Dumbledore. Sweet Merlin, the odds that the three first years hadn’t died that year went against all statistics and logic.

            “The teachers all added their own traps to ensure that the stone would be safe. That one was Pomonas.” Severus explained. He agreed with Lupin’s outrage. He had told Dumbledore that the school was not the place to house the Sorcerer’s Stone. He didn’t like knowing the thing was there. He shuddered at the thought of such an evil thing being in the place he lived and worked.

            “We got past Flitwick’s charms. He had charmed keys to a locked door to fly. We had to figure out which one unlocked the door. Then came Professor McGonagall’s transfiguration traps. It was a game of live wizard’s chess. Ron got injured while we played. He sacrificed himself so that we could continue on. There was a troll from Professor Quirrell. That had already been taken care of. Hermione and I entered your trap Professor Snape. It was the hardest one out of all of them.” Severus had a smug smile. Of course it was. Like anything he would produce would have been simple. Silly Gryffindor.

            “I would have been screwed without Hermione. I had thought your trap would’ve been about potions. Which I still would have been screwed if it had been. But it was all logic and quite difficult. Hermione took a bit to figure it out but there was only enough of the potion to send me forward. So I sent her back to take Ron to the hospital wing and to get help. When I made it to the room where Quirrell was, he ended up revealing that Voldemort was on the back of his head. Man, what an ugly sight.” Draco and the twins snorted. Lucius and Severus grimaced.

            “This was Dumbledore’s trap. It was the Mirror of Erised.” Narcissa gasped and Lucius blinked rapidly.

            “What is that?” Pansy and Blaise asked in unison.

            “Another Dark Artifact.” Severus said slowly. He had known it was a part of the traps but it still surprised him to think about it. He had protested the admittance of such an artifact in the school but as usual, his complaints fell on deaf ears.  

            Harry thought for sure that they were done surprising him but nope they kept managing it.

            “How?” Harry asked a little desperately.

            “The mirror shows you your deepest darkest desires. The things you want most in life. Ones that you didn’t even know you had or wanted. Things that you may have pushed down and tried to bury because you don’t want to think about it. They say the happiest man on earth would see himself just like any other mirror would show. But the Mirror will always find _something_ that you want. It’s a trap within itself. It is meant to lure you in so that you can discover just what it is you want. And if what you want is unmanageable, then it will lure you into coming back over and over so that you waste away trying to see what you will never have.” Severus explained bitterly. He had refused to go anywhere near the mirror. Some of the other teachers had checked it out when it first got there, saying it couldn’t be that dark if Dumbledore allowed in the school. But Severus wasn’t stupid. It was a dark artifact for a reason.

            Harry shifted uncomfortably. He recalled Dumbledore’s words. ‘ _Men have wasted away before it, not knowing if what they have seen is real, or even possible’_

            When the mirror had shown him his parents he had wanted it so desperately. He wished and longed for the life he could’ve had if his parents had lived. Ron had wanted to be the best out of all of his brothers. That was a goal that was obtainable. That was something that he could have if he worked hard for it. _That_ was why the mirror never held Ron’s interest. The mirror was designed for the people that wanted things they could never have. Harry had been the perfect person for it. He fell for its lure. He came back night after night hoping to see his parents again. Harry blinked back tears. Curse Dumbledore for putting that stupid thing in a school!

            Draco could feel the emotions coming from Harry. He turned Harry slightly so that Harry’s head rested in his neck. Draco ran his fingers through his hair. Everyone turned to look at them in interest. “It’s alright love.” Draco whispered to him. He wished they could have a moment of privacy but this wasn’t the time or place for that.

            Harry clenched his eyes shut and tried to focus on the love and comfort Draco was giving him. But it was difficult. He felt violated. The mirror used his desires for his parents against him. Dumbledore knew about it and didn’t even tell him. Sure, he persuaded Harry to not go looking for the mirror again but he didn’t tell him it was a dark artifact! He didn’t tell him that he had already fallen victim to it!

            “You found the mirror.” It was a statement not a question. Harry nodded against Draco’s neck. “Before it was moved to the room where Quirrell was, it was in an old classroom. I stumbled across it by accident.” Harry ignored Snape’s mumbling of ‘Of course you did.’

            “I had no idea what it was but I was drawn to it. I-it showed me my parents. That’s what I wanted the most. That was my deepest desire.” Harry blinked rapidly to hold off the tears.

            Everyone in the room shifted uncomfortably. They were witnessing a private moment between the two. Remus and Narcissa’s heart clenched at Harry’s words. Remus couldn’t imagine what his own image would be but Harry’s desire to have his parents was heart breaking. Most people would want material things or to have power that would normally be unobtainable but all sweet Harry wanted was to see his parents. It was a saddening but yet humbling to hear.  

            “I couldn’t have that Draco. It did lure me in. I kept going back hoping to see my parents again. I wanted that so bad. It was almost like a drug. But then one night Dumbledore found me in the room and told me that the mirror was moving to a new resting place and not to go looking for it. He never once told me that it was a dark artifact. He never once told me that I had already fallen under the mirrors charms. I even told him what I saw and he still let me walk out without explaining.” Harry’s voice cracked.

            Draco held Harry tighter. Comforting Harry was like second nature. “I won’t make excuses for him because I couldn’t come up with one if I tried. I know how important Dumbledore was to you. I know how much you looked up to him at that time. He may have had a reason. Perhaps he was unsure how to tell you. You were eleven. I don’t think the mirror should have been where anyone could stumble across it. I think the mirror should have been in the final resting place the whole time. Or not in the school in the first place.” Draco paused unsure if he wanted to say this with so many ears listening.

            “I know I can’t give you the family that you should’ve had or maybe even the family that you deserve. But you are my everything Harry. You are my family and I can be your family if you want.” Harry shuddered and the tears he had been holding came down.

            Harry turned in Draco’s lap till he was straddling him. He pressed his forehead against Draco’s and stared into his eyes.

            Draco was blown away by the sheer love Harry was feeling right now. It rendered him speechless.

            “Draco.” Harry whispered reverently. “You are my family. You are my whole world. That was the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me. Gods I love you. So fucking much.” Harry rasped before slamming his lips against Draco’s.

            Most of the viewers had been smiling at the sweetness of the pair were now grimacing as the kiss became hot and heavy.

            Draco melted as Harry’s love and lust slammed into him. He opened his mouth eagerly as their tongues tangled. Draco’s hands were roaming all over Harry’s back. They were about to reach down and caress Harry’s arse when several loud coughs interrupted them.

            Pansy and Fred both let out disappointed noises. “I was enjoying that.” They said in unison and then turned to grin at each other. George and Blaise both rolled their eyes at their partners.

            “Well I wasn’t” Lucius said firmly. Salazar that was a sight he never wanted to see again. Groping with so many witnesses was so uncouth. Save it for the bedroom. Or somewhere far away… where he wouldn’t have to be witness to it. He knew Draco knew better than that.

            Harry pecked Draco’s lips before turning around on his lap. Harry could feel Draco’s interest at his wiggling. It took all he had not to grind downward. Later, he chastised himself. Draco had to bite his lip from moaning at the feel of Harry’s arse wiggling against his groin.

            “Sorry.” Harry mumbled not the least bit repentant. They were all family after all. They would have to get used to it eventually, because they weren’t going to stop any time soon.  

            “Please continue with the story.” Narcissa kindly asked. She found her husband’s discomfort amusing. As a teenager, he had not been so dignified. She remembered many instances where they hadn’t behaved as proper purebloods should. Nearly gave Abraxas a heart attack when he caught them skinny dipping. Ah that was a fond memory. Too bad the old man hadn’t croaked right then and there.

            “Right. Quirrell was trying to figure out how to get the stone out of the mirror. Voldemort told him to use me to get it out. I had sent all the energy I could into finding the stone before Voldemort so that I could protect it. When I looked into the mirror, I saw myself putting the stone into my pocket. As soon as my mirror self did that, I felt the weight of the stone against my leg.” Harry heard gasps.

            “Quirrell asked me what I saw and I tried lying but Voldemort knew I was lying. He told me to hand over the stone but I wouldn’t. Quirrell and I struggled, I had to hold onto the stone tightly to make sure that he wouldn’t get it. I had a protection on me that prevented either one of them from touching me. Quirrell ended up dying and Voldemort fled. The last thing I remember was fading out of consciousness with the stone clutched in my grasp.”

            Lucius made a strangled noise, it sounded like a cross between a fish out of water and a dying animal. “You touched it? You actually touched it?” Lucius asked a little hysterically. Severus, Narcissa and Lucius leaned far away from Harry as possible in their chairs.

            Harry furrowed his brows. “Well yeah. Why?” He found their reactions to be a little funny. Lucius reminded him of a priest he saw on the telly once. The priest had been called in to exercise a ghost. The man had holy water in a container and was spraying it all over the room chanting ‘The power of Christ compels you’ over and over again. Harry feared that Lucius was going to chant some odd ritual and cast Harry out of the house.

            “You aren’t supposed to make skin contact with it.” Severus breathed wearily. Lucius and Severus shared a worried look that set Harry and Draco on edge.

            “What happens if you do?” Draco pressed nervously. He was worried for Harry. It had been nearly 7 years ago but still.

            “What you must understand is that when doing dark rituals, the number one rule is no skin contact. It doesn’t matter what the spell or potion is that is involved in the ritual, it is essential that you never touch the artifact in question. Doing so will corrupt the ritual. Even after the ritual is done you should never touch the artifact without some type of glove protecting you. Dragonhide preferably. Depending on the level of dark magic that was placed in the artifact it can resonate with the person on a personal level if skin contact has been made.” Lucius was startled by the gasps that Draco and Harry let out.

            “What kind of resonating are we talking about?” Harry said slowly. Lucius didn’t like the sound of his voice.

            “Dark resonates with Dark. The darker the item the more it can amplify your already dark tendencies. No offense to the Black family but why do you think they were so… mad? Their entire house is filled with Dark Artifacts that they were constantly around and touching. Even the house elf would have been affected if he cleaned them.” Severus sent an apologetic look towards Narcissa but she just waved it off. She knew exactly how nuts her family had been, especially Bellatrix.

            “Then why did they have them littered around the place? Wouldn’t they have known to not touch them?” Harry asked confused but also incredibly glad that he and Kreacher had stripped the place when cleaning. The dark artifacts had been moved to the basement but now Harry was thinking about getting them out of the house permanently. Maybe he could move them to his vault in Gringotts.  

            Narcissa snorted. “What you must understand about the Black family was that they were proud of their heritage.” Harry raised an eyebrow, that much had been painfully obvious.

            “They pride themselves on their heritage so much that they want it on display for everyone to see. Most darker families have a room dedicated to dark artifacts. It is one that is kept out of the way and hard to come by unless you know where it is. That is not to hide the artifacts if Aurors were ever to search the house, although that is a side perk. The reason they are to be kept away from the rest of the house is the dark magic. Like Lucius said Dark resonates with Dark. It can latch onto you and change subtle things about you. It starts off small, like unknown anger or rash behavior. Then it starts changing your personality. You start doing things that you normally wouldn’t but you can’t bring yourself to care. Then you start becoming mad. Like the Black family. They weren’t the only family to not head the older teachings. Other Dark families became just as mad.” Narcissa said sadly.

            Harry stopped breathing for a moment. Would that explain his own anger issues that used to pop up? Because of the resonating and the fact that he was a Horcrux of already Dark magic? Is that why the locket affected Ron so badly? Harry had thought the reason was because it had been a Horcrux was enough of a reason. He didn’t realize that skin contact was a way for the dark magic to come out and connect to any darkness that Ron may have had. Would that also explain why Bellatrix was as daft as a brush and completely mental? Or why Sirius had gotten so despondent and reckless during his last year at Grimwald?

            “Which is why we reacted like that. For example, take a charmed mirror, say it has been through a ritual to enable the user to spy on an unknown victim. The magic it would take is not as Dark as sacrificial Dark magic. The type of Dark magic it took to create the Sorcerer’s Stone is beyond Dark. Blood magic, sacrificial magic, alchemy, and even soul magic. And that is just the known Dark magic. I can’t even begin to tell you everything that was added to it. Because only the Flamels know that. If a Dark wizard had touched the stone, then I would fear what would happen to them. I imagine they would make the Black family look like the perfect picture of health. The smallest amount of darkness inside you would have resonated with the stone’s Dark magic. Which again, explains our reactions.”  

            Harry and Draco shared horrified looks. Which confused the rest of the room. It wasn’t like Harry had anything to worry about. He wasn’t a Dark wizard. Severus started breathing rapidly which startled the rest of the room.

            Harry and Draco looked to Severus hoping he caught onto their dilemma. “You think that it resonated with…” He trailed off pointedly staring at Harry. The three of them were all thinking of the bit of Voldemort inside of Harry. When the two nodded nervously Severus stood up cursing as he began to pace.

            Harry swallowed thickly. The Horcrux itself was incredibly Dark magic. The idea that the Dark magic in the stone resonated with Harry’s scar, disturbed him greatly. He shivered in fear. Had the Dark magic corrupted him? Did the piece of Voldemort’s soul become stronger with the help of the stone’s magic?

            “It makes sense.” Harry snapped his head up staring at Severus with an incredulous look. Severus shook his head. “I had always wondered why the connection was so powerful. At the time I just assumed that since no one else in existence had such a cursed scar before that there was no saying how powerful it could be. I just wrote it off something unusual. But now… now it makes sense. Whether he had his body back or not your connection should have been the same as when he was in Hogwarts during your first year. It shouldn’t have increased just because he had a new form. The connection grew stronger after you touched the stone. You wouldn’t have noticed that it had changed until you came into contact with him. I can’t believe I didn’t suspect sooner.”

            Harry and Draco stared at Severus lost in thought. The rest of the room was a mix of confusion and horror. They understood the implications that Severus was saying but they didn’t understand how his scar could have resonated with the stone.

            A sudden thought occurred to Harry that made him freeze and so much horror fill him that it made Draco let out a squeak. Harry panted harshly as his eyes went wide.

            “Harry?” Came the tentative voice of Remus. Harry ignored him. He turned his head towards Severus.

            “I-I didn’t have gloves with the… err… items.” Draco and Severus gasped in horror. Draco covered his mouth with his hands. Severus’s hand was twitching.

            Those who knew Severus snapped to awareness. Lucius narrowed his eyes. He knew the subtle masks and signs of his longtime friend. His friend was shaken to his core.

            “Please tell me you are joking. Please tell me that you didn’t touch them Potter. _Please_.” The last word was said with such pleading it made everyone nervous.

            Harry shook his head rapidly. “Oh Merlin, not even second year. I _wrote_ to it. I fucking wrote to it.” Severus sucked in a sharp breath.

            “One of them was sentient?” He asked wearily.

            “Sort of. Memories mainly of its host. But yeah. It was sentient. I-I had it for a while. Talking to it. It even showed me a memory.” Harry was stricken. He had no idea what this all meant or what that had to do with him.

            “Fuck.” Lucius and Narcissa startled. Severus was never one to curse. He said it was uncouth. And it was.

            Severus ran his fingers through his hair. “That would require some type of exchange. It wouldn’t have had the magical substance to be able to communicate like that.” Harry closed his eyes in despair.

            “Sacrifice.” Snape and everyone jerked in shock. “It was taking the life of another student before it came to me. It was slowly seeping their life force to gain its sentience.”

            “Are you talking about Ginny?” George demanded. It was the only thing that was making sense. Harry and Severus shared considering looks. They couldn’t go too much into detail.

            “Yes. The diary she had been talking to was a very Dark artifact. The more the diary gained sentience the more she was losing her life essence.” Harry said quietly not meeting the twins’ looks.

            Fred and George narrowed their eyes. They had no idea what exactly was being talked about. Only that something very Dark came in contacted with Harry more than once and it also apparently had been stealing their sister’s life! They glared at Lucius.

            Lucius’s eyes widened. “What exactly was this diary?” He whispered in fear. The twins shared a look. So Lucius hadn’t known what it could do. That was something, at least.

            Harry looked to Draco. The question in Harry’s eyes was obvious. Draco shrugged a little letting Harry come to the decision on his own.

            “Lucius what kind of soul magic are you aware of?” Lucius tilted his head to the side considering the question. “There are all kinds but if you are insinuating that the diary dealt in soul magic that would be impossible.” Lucius paused and then his eye’s widened.

            “No.” He whispered in fear and disgust. Lucius slumped back in his chair inelegantly. Narcissa gasped upon realization, she visibly shivered. “Please tell me that I did not have that thing in my house?” She begged.

            Harry looked up at her sympathetically and she whimpered, covering her mouth.

            “And you touched it? Wrote in it? Oh merlin the Weasley girl too. If I had known what that thing was I never would have put it in my house. I may have followed his teachings and ideas but that type of dark magic is so beyond repugnant. It is evil. I know that sounds hypocritical coming from a dark wizard but it is. Salazar. The stone and that _thing_ are so bad I can’t decide which one is worse.” Lucius breathed out regrettably.

            Lucius turned to the Weasley twins. “I swear to you, if I had known just what I was giving her, I never would have done it. I honestly thought it was a normal diary that had seen a failed ritual. Stupid of me. I ran all kinds of spells on it but nothing came back.” Fred and George still didn’t understand the full magnitude of the situation but they could see the honesty on his face and his voice.

            Remus was thoroughly confused. He was barely understanding what was happening. Harry touched something that had Dark powerful soul magic in it? And it somehow connected to his scar and the connection with Voldemort. He wished they were making more sense.

            Severus turned to Harry. “Please tell me it was the only one you touched.” Lucius and Narcissa jerked. “Are you saying there was more than one?”

            “Seven.” Draco whispered. Lucius jumped up in shock. “Which included me.” Harry said more to himself than the rest of the room.

            Narcissa’s eyes filled with tears as Lucius gaped at him. Lucius couldn’t figure out how a living Horcrux would have even worked. Let alone what kind of side effects that would place on the person. Merlin, Harry could have turned out to be the darkest wizard the world has ever seen. Especially since he touched the stone.

           “That’s why….” Narcissa said trying to curb the urge to pull Harry into a hug. “I wondered why you walked to him that night. I couldn’t understand it. I knew it had to be more than his taunts.” Narcissa closed her eyes tightly. She couldn’t imagine walking to your death to get rid of something so vile inside your body. The chances of coming back from that were so astronomical. This 17-year-old boy had the courage to walk to his death to rid the world of The Dark Lord. This incredibly sweet and caring person lived through being a Horcrux and touching the stone and he came out unscathed. How?

            Lucius blinked at Harry rapidly. His mind was having a hard time processing this. The Dark Lord made 7 Horcruxes. The thought alone made shudders wrack through his body. The pure evil of the ritual it takes to create one is horrific. It is more than just murder that splits the soul. Vile. To think that he followed a man who would willingly create a Horcrux filled him with shame. To go to that extremes made him realize that even though The Dark Lord talked the big talk about regaining the wizarding world, his ultimate goal had been himself. Someone who would go to that kind of lengths to ensure immortality could never have anyone else’s interests in mind. No. The Dark Lord and the Flamels were nearly the same in how selfishly evil they were.

            Lucius stared at the enigma of Harry Potter. He couldn’t figure out how the boy could have touched the Horcruxes and the Sorcerer’s Stone without there being a backlash. Severus mentioned the scar being the key to the connection to them. So, the stone caused the connection to grow stronger but that wasn’t nearly enough of a side effect to counter the Dark magic in the items. It didn’t make sense.

            Harry nodded but chose not to answer. He didn’t like talking about that night. Remus’s brows furrowed. What had Harry done during the battle at Hogwarts? He knew that Harry had gone to search out Voldemort on his own. But were they implying that Harry willingly died to get rid of something inside him?

            “Why am I not effected?” Harry asked Severus.

            Severus sighed. “Who’s to say you aren’t?” Draco glared when he felt Harry’s panic. “What I am trying to say is that there is really no way to know if there has been any side effects that go against the normal ones. You haven’t gone mad nor had any drastic personality changes. Those are the typical ones. It’s possible that such prolong exposure of your… scar that when you touched the stone and the rest of the items that you were in a way immune? I don’t know Harry.” The admission cost him a lot. Harry could tell. Well what a morbid turn of events.

            “Is anyone going to explain?” The twins asked in unison. Those who knew what was going on all replied with a “No”

            Harry saw the disgruntled looks. “Look guys, it is incredibly Dark magic that Voldemort performed. Unless you already know about its existence than I won’t be telling you. The knowledge shouldn’t be passed around.” Lucius and Narcissa agreed wholeheartedly.

            He could see the disappointment on their faces and sighed. “It’s not like we don’t think you aren’t trustworthy but believe me, I wish I never knew. It’s not for the faint hearted. The more people who know about it, the easier the knowledge could get around.”

            Reluctant nods were given in reply. Harry breathed a sigh of relief. Remus narrowed his eyes. It went against his nature to let this go. But the knowledge of the Sorcerer’s Stone and what it took to create it made him uneasy and sick to his something. If whatever Harry had taken care of was just as bad… maybe it was a good thing that he never find out about it.

            Harry’s head was still spinning with all this knowledge overload that had been dumped on him. He was worried. Did he really come out okay? Why had he been able to touch the horcruxes and the stone without having anything bad from happening? Well besides his connection with Voldemort get stronger. Was it just a delayed reaction? Would he wake up one day and realize that he had lost his mind and the Dark resonating had taken effect? Harry sighed, he didn’t know what to make of this.  

            “Why did you want to know if the Flamels are still alive?” Remus asked curiously as he remembered that had been why they had this conversation in the first place.

            “Because they are soulmates. I wanted to know if they are still alive so that I could talk to them about it. They would be able to shed some light on the whole thing. In the 700 years, they have been alive I am sure they know a lot about it. They might even have books that we could look at.” At the startled looks, Harry hurried to reassure them. “Don’t worry I won’t go looking for them. Not after knowing what kind of people they are.”

            Remus relaxed. “Good. The world is free of one Dark Lord, we don’t need the Flamels to come out of the wood work and become the next one.”

            Harry frowned, his words had sounded so similar to Skeeter’s atrocious article. By the looks on some of the others in the room, he wasn’t the only one to make the connection.

            Lucius narrowed his eyes. “I didn’t realize you found the idea of being with me so horrible Harry.”

            The room broke out in muffled snickers. Harry flushed. “It wasn’t a personal insult. I promise.” Lucius raised a lone brow. “It’s just that you are my boyfriend’s dad. The thought was nauseating.”

            Draco groaned. Harry was making it worse. “I am nauseating?” Harry gaped for a moment. “No that’s not what I meant! Oh gods I am digging my grave deeper.” The snickers grew louder.

            Harry covered his face with his hands. “You should probably quit while you are behind.” Lucius warned. His mouth was twitching. He found Harry’s embarrassment quite funny.

            Narcissa smacked her husband on the arm. “Lucius leave him be. Harry, he is just messing with you.” Harry lifted his head to see amusement in Lucius’s face. He glared at the man.

            The group spent the rest of the day talking and getting to know each other. Remus found himself really enjoying the Malfoy family. Narcissa was really soft spoken and kind. She cared for her son but chose to do so from the sidelines. He watched the way she would glance at her son with warm eyes but say nothing. It was different. Not the type of mother he had grown up with. Lucius… well that would take some getting used to. He was a quiet man unless it was a subject he knew a lot about it. He didn’t argue unless he knew he was right. Which was interesting. A lot of people like to argue just for the sake of an argument. Lucius would never be considered a warm guy. He was too set in his ways, too proud. But Remus was good at watching people. He saw the way Lucius looked at his son and even Harry. Proud. He was proud of the both of them. That was something he wouldn’t have thought he would see. Severus was the same bitter, grouchy, and all around snarky git that he had always been. But Remus had always found the man’s wit to be funny. Even in school he had never gotten upset at the insults like James and Sirius. He often found himself admiring the insults. It was a language all on its own. Draco was a delightful surprise. Remus believed he got his sense of humor from his godfather. But that was part of his charm. He could see why Harry was so into him. And the love that the two of them had took his breath away every time the duo looked at each other. The quartet. Remus snorted. They were interesting in ways he didn’t even want to know. He had no idea what the dynamic was between the four of them but he wasn’t even going to ask. Ignorance is bliss in some cases. This was one of those cases. He honestly didn’t want to be mentally scarred. No thanks.

            Harry’s day had started out pretty good and then hit some bumps in the road, but overall it had been wonderful. His mind had been through the ringer. He felt as if almost everything he had ever known had been an omission. Not necessarily a lie. But things hadn’t been as they appeared. But the rest of the day, with his family, and merlin did that feel wonderful saying, had been great. As he sat on Draco’s lap and watched as everyone laughed at one of the twins’ elusive pranks, he really couldn’t imagine how his life could possibly get any better. He was still undecided on how he was going to handle the Weasley family but he knew as long as he had these guys that he would be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this was a lot of information and a lot to think about.  
> Thoughts on Flamel just handing over the stone? I mean it had been safe for the last 700 years. Who is to say Voldemort would have even found it? And why place it in a school?
> 
> What are your thoughts the Mirror? The Mirror has always bugged me by the way it attracted Harry but not Ron. Not to mention Dumbledore's explanation of the mirror. That to me didn't sound like anything good. People wasting away in front of the mirror? What the fuck was it doing inside a school? So this is the idea I came up with. I made it a Dark Artifact. I have not come across that in any other stories but I won't be single minded and think that no one else came up with that idea either. I always thought that Dumbledore's notion of the happiest man on earth would see his reflection, was silly. That sounds like hogwash to me. Lol. I like the idea that it is a Dark Artifact that will always find something to show. With Ron being eleven at the time he would consider what he saw as obtainable. Something that he could someday see happening. I did wonder what someone like Voldemort would have seen if he had come across the mirror as a child. Would it be a family? Or maybe even unobtainable power even then? 
> 
> Now with the whole Dark resonating with Dark. What are your thoughts? To me it makes sense. Things created in Dark rituals should be handled with care. They are Dark for a reason and I liked the idea that they shouldn't be touched with skin contact. Thoughts on the reason behind the Black family being so insane? With Bellatrix and Sirius, Azkaban would play a big part on their overall sanity but I felt that the Dark Artifacts sounded like a good contributing factor. Also seemed a good explanation for why Kreacher mumbles and is not all the way there. Now with Ginny having touched and wrote in the diary as well, I figure she was just a very innocent and light wizard at eleven. There would be no darkness inside her to resonate.
> 
> With Harry's scar I had always thought it was odd that it had started out with just twinges of pain in his first year. You could attribute that to Voldemort just being a spirit of sorts. But then in his fourth year he starts having dreams of Voldemort. Why? Because he was getting stronger? Okay seems plausible. And then after he gained his body back he started having way more dreams and a lot more emotions through their connection. But it kept getting stronger. By the time the seventh book was over their connection had grown pretty strong. I liked the idea of making the reason for this was that after he touched the stone, the connection got stronger explaining the dreams in the fourth one. Then Harry was literally part of the Dark ritual to bring back Voldemort. That would explain why it grew more pronounced. And finally with the last book it got stronger due to Harry touching the Horcruxes. Far fetched? Eh I don't think so. Lol. This is just my thoughts for this story. What do you guys think?
> 
> Any thoughts why Harry wouldn't have been affected more? Or do you think the connection with Voldemort getting stronger enough of a reaction? Do you agree with Severus and think that maybe the Horcrux made him immune in a way? Or do you think that when Harry died and got rid of the Horcrux that it also got rid of any lingering darkness from the stone? Do you agree with Harry not telling the others about the Horcruxes? With Narcissa and Lucius being Dark wizards they already knew of the existence. So to talk about it to them didn't seem like a stretch. But to keep the knowledge away from others made sense to me.  
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	26. Forever With You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay this chapter is to make up for yesterdays dark and morbid chapter. Warning- It is incredibly teeth rotting sweet. The fluffy is pretty high. :) It is way longer than I intended. Oh well.

            Harry was sitting in the library waiting for Draco. He sighed thinking about him. Draco had been acting very odd the past couple days since they were at the Manor. He had been leaving the house at odd times after his mother would firecall him. Draco had told him it was nothing to worry about but that was just a part of Harry’s nature. He worried regardless. Right now it was pretty late, they normally would have been getting ready for bed but instead Harry was waiting on Draco.

            If he didn’t have the bond then Harry would be suspicious about what exactly Draco was doing. But he knew how much Draco loved him so he wasn’t worried about anything there. During the times that he was leaving, the only emotions that Harry could feel was nervousness, impatience and frustration. Whatever it was that Draco was doing it was irritating him. Harry just wished that Draco would tell him about it. They didn’t like to keep things from each other. Harry tried not to be hurt by the omissions but it was hard.  

            Harry had been staring at his book without registering the words for the past half hour. He had been so focused on his mind that he hadn’t realized that Draco was back.

            Draco walked into the library frowning. He didn’t like melancholy that Harry was emitting. Had something happened while he had been gone? He stopped a couple feet away from Harry and raised an eyebrow as Harry just sat there not even turning his pages. It was obvious that something was bothering him.

            “Harry?” Harry jumped a little and quickly snapped his head up to stare at Draco. Harry could feel the concern from his boyfriend and it comforted him.

            Draco stepped forward till his legs rested against Harry’s knees. “What’s wrong?” Harry grimaced slightly. He thought about saying nothing but he knew that Draco would be able to tell. There was no point in lying when the other can feel it. Plus, it was just an insult to lie really.  

            Harry sighed heavily and then bit his lip. “I just wish that you would tell me why you keep leaving.” Harry wouldn’t meet Draco’s eyes. “Are you needing space? Is that why you keep going over to your parents? Have I done something?” Harry winced internally, he did not intend to sound so needy.

            Draco set Harry’s book on the table next to the chair. He climbed on top of Harry’s lap and gently turned Harry’s face towards him. “Harry, that isn’t it at all. If I was needing space I would just use that room in the house that was listed as mine when I first moved in. I would talk to you if I was needing space love.” Draco closed his eyes. He felt guilty. He had never wanted to make Harry feel like this.

            “It’s not that I don’t want to tell you what I am doing. I promise you I will. I would never keep something from you indefinitely. I am sorry baby.” Draco whispered as he rested his forehead against Harrys.

            Harry closed his eyes as he wrapped his arms around Draco. He let Draco’s remorse and guilt make him feel better. “It’s alright. I will try and be patient.” Harry promised.

            Draco bit his lip in indecision. He could show Harry now… or wait until tomorrow like he had planned. The turbulent sad emotions from his soulmate made up his mind. What did it matter when it happened?

            “Kreacher.” Draco ignored Harry’s curious look. He craned his neck as the elf popped into the room. “Code Blue.” Kreacher’s eyes widened drastically. “Right away Master Draco.”

            Harry was thoroughly confused. “Erm Draco, what was that about?” Draco turned back around and smiled at Harry in a reassuring manner. Harry was not reassured since he could feel an insane amount of nervousness coming from Draco. “Draco.”

            Draco winced at the commanding tone of Harry’s voice. “Shh Harry, you will find out in a couple of moments okay?” Harry sighed at the determination in Draco’s eyes. He knew there would be no point in fighting it. Draco decided to distract Harry from thinking about it. He pressed his lips against Harry’s and thrilled when Harry sighed into the kiss. Even annoyed as he was, Harry still never turned away any affection. Draco wouldn’t let things get hot and heavy, he kept the pace nice and slow with gentle caresses.

            Draco checked the clock. It should have been enough time. He pressed one last fleeting kiss to Harry’s lips before standing up and holding out his hand. Harry arched a brow looking at it.

            Draco huffed. “Well did you want to know or not?” Harry immediately grabbed the offered hand and stood up. As soon as he did Draco apparated them on the spot.

            “A little warning would have been nice!” Harry grumbled. “Honestly we could have splinched ourselves if I had moved.” Harry was about to start ranting about the carelessness of the situation when he realized that Draco had turned away from him.

            When Harry turned around the angry retort caught in his throat. They were in the back yard of the Manor. The yard was beautiful in the day time. The white gazebo was held in the center demanding attention. Harry had seen the gazebo through the window during their last visit. It had been different then though.

            The gazebo was a soft white with green vines tangling around the bottom and up the structure. Now with the darkening sky there were candles hovering around the steps of the entrance to light it up and the pathway to the gazebo was filled with candles and flower petals along the grass. At first Harry thought it was just roses but it was a mixture of flowers. A wide variety of colored petals littered the path to the gazebo. The air around them was filled with lightening bugs, creating a beautiful backdrop that took his breath away. A soft sweet melody sounded around them. From where Harry couldn’t tell. It didn’t matter.

            He turned to Draco who held out his hand. Harry entwined their fingers as Draco pulled him along the path to the gazebo. When they reached the center of the gazebo Draco came to a stop.

            “Dance with me?” Draco whispered. Harry couldn’t talk if he wanted to. He wasn’t sure what was going on but he knew that whatever was happening was about to change his life. Harry nodded.

            Draco pulled Harry close to him and wrapped his arms around his waist. Harry lifted his arms till they were around Draco’s neck. They stared into each other’s eyes as they slowly danced. The soft melody floating around them was as quiet as a whisper but in only enhanced the beauty of the situation.

            “Harry.” Draco breathed. Harry’s heart started beating fast. “When I first saw you, I was drawn immediately to you. I had no idea who you were. I can’t tell you if it was your wild hair, your bright green eyes or just the aura surrounding you. Something about you drew me in. I had wanted to impress you and did it in the most horrid way. After I knew who you were I was even more fascinated with you. Not just because you were the-boy-who-lived. To me you were the boy I met in the robe shop. Not someone famous. You have always been just Harry to me. Every time the school would whisper and talk about how great Harry Potter was and they would imagine the adventures that you used to get into when they spoke of you. Or they would mention your wins at quidditch when they whispered their gossip. Every time your name was mentioned I could never picture those things, I always saw the little boy in the robe shop. The shy sweet kid who looked at the world in wonder. The one who disliked what I said but listened regardless.” Harry opened his mouth but was silenced by a finger against his lips.

            "The obstacles that we had to go through separately in life was no small feat. We didn’t have the childhood that we would’ve loved to have had. We didn’t grow up with the love either of us needed. We had to raise ourselves. I know all the shite I have done to you is water under the bridge but I feel like it deserves to be mentioned. I am not a nice person. I never have been. I suck at making friends, you know that from personal experience. I picked up Uncle Severus’s awful humor. I say things without thinking about it. I have done awful things. I have bullied and said reprehensible things to you. I can be vicious and cruel. I don’t like people, they tend to let you down and are hard to trust. I am suspicious by nature, I never see the positive in life. I am always thinking the worst in people before seeing the good. But despite all of that… you love me anyways.” Draco’s voice cracked.

            Harry had tears in his eyes. “I have no idea what I have ever done to deserve your love. Harry, you see the good in me. When you look at me you don’t see the mistakes I have made. You don’t see the things I have done to you. When you look at me it is always filled with love. You have no idea what that alone means to me. It blows my mind knowing how much you love me. Being with you is a dream come true. Sometimes I feel like it is too good to be true, that I am going to wake up back at the Manor miserable and alone, clinging to the dream that is you. For nearly two years I wasn’t Draco. I was the mark that has been branded into my skin. I was the one thing I swore I would never become. I couldn’t look in the mirror without hating myself. People still treated me the same because they didn’t know. They didn’t know that I had sold my soul to the devil. They didn’t know that I was wasting away. They didn’t know the depths of hell I subjected myself to. I stopped thinking of myself as Draco as soon as I got this bloody mark. Because the Draco who I thought I was would never have gotten it. I have hated myself so strongly. The depths of my self-hatred went so deep that I couldn’t find a way out if I tried. But…” Draco closed his eyes and paused for a moment. He hadn’t realized tears had fallen till a gentle had wiped them away.

            Draco snapped his eyes open and smiled a watery smile at Harry who also had tears in his eyes. “… You have given me that back. That night in the quidditch pitch you forgave me. You gave me myself back. You told me that the mark doesn’t define me. No one has ever said that before. They see the mark and I as one. They see the mark before ever actually seeing me. They look at me and don’t see a person underneath the mark, they just see the mistakes and hate me for it. But not you. Harry, you look at me and make me forget that I have ever been marked. When you look at me you are only ever seeing _me_. And that means the world to me. Now when I look into the mirror I don’t flinch. I don’t see myself as clearly as you see me yet. I still see all my faults as I stare at my reflection. But I also see the man you love in there. I can see the person that you fell in love with. You make me want to be a better man. You make me see things in myself that I never thought was possible. I used to hate thinking of the future. I was condemned to a life of hell. I was condemned to always follow someone else’s plans for me. Never thinking of myself and only of duty. But with you by my side that future has disappeared. My future with you is wide open with so many possibilities. I can’t imagine my life without you Harry. Every single thing that is good in my life revolves around you. I can’t be Draco without _you_ Harry. You complete me in every single way.” Draco wiped the tears streaming down Harry’s face.

            “This bond that we have is so surreal. Soulmates. The word itself is magical. Growing up around magic people tend to take things for granted. They stop seeing the wonders of magic. They stop believing in the beautiful gift that magic is. I was guilty of that myself. Magic has always been a part of my life that I stopped seeing the world in all its colors. But this bond has awoken that wonder again. I see the world in so many bright shades that hadn’t been there before. I wouldn’t trade this bond for anything in the entire world. To be able to feel the love and joy that makes up who you are is priceless. I not only get to be with you and see the way you look at the world but I get to _feel_ it too. I would be with you without this bond. I don’t need a bond to tell me how much I love you. With our bond, it is permanent. We will always be connected for the rest of our lives. I know that we will always be together. I love being your boyfriend, your lover, your friend and your soulmate. But I want more…” Harry’s breath caught in his throat as Draco pulled out a small box.

            “I want to be your husband too. Some might say we are too young or that it’s too soon in the relationship but we are already bonded for life in heart and soul. I want it on paper too. You are already my everything. Will you do the honor of marrying me? Will you become my husband?” Draco bit his lip nervously. Had he said too much? Did he ramble? Would Harry say yes? Would-

            “Yes!” Harry yelled. He didn’t need to think about it. Harry’s emotions had been all over the place since the moment they landed. Draco’s words had been a piece of his soul. His words had been heartbreaking and beautiful at the same time. Never had he expected this. In a way they were already married, at least with the bond. This ring shouldn’t change anything… but it did. Draco was wanting him in all ways possible.  

            Draco sighed in relief. Yes. He said yes. Draco quickly opened the box. He pulled out two things. Harry smiled when Draco grabbed his left hand and slid the ring on his ring finger. The ring was a gold band with grey diamonds in the band. The diamonds made it a little feminine but overall the ring was a ring a man would wear.

            Harry pulled Draco to him and kissed him soundly. “I love you.” Harry said enthusiastically between kisses. Draco laughed in delight. “I love you too.” He said into Harry’s hair as he nuzzled the shorter man.

            “I can’t believe you were worried I would say no. Draco you know that I love you. I could never see my life without you. And-and the things you said…” Harry got choked up.

            “They were beautiful. God I love you so much. What would I do without you?” Harry blinked rapidly to hold off tears. Draco picked Harry up and twirled him around while Harry looked down at him with a giant grin.

            When Draco put him down Harry noticed something still in his hand. “What’s that?” Draco shifted nervously.

            “Well it’s an old pureblood engagement torque. Ancient mythology torques are usually worn around the neck but not magical engagement torques. They are meant to be bracelets. Torques signify a certain marriage ceremony.” Harry was nodding along. He still couldn’t figure out why that would make Draco nervous.

            “Most marriages do a bonding ceremony. But since we are already bonded I wanted to do something special. It’s not something that has been done in a long time. The ceremony would tie our magic together not just for this life but for any lives after that. Whether it be the afterlife or any type of reincarnation.” Harry opened his mouth in surprise. He thought he heard a noise somewhere but he ignored it.

            “Tying magic together isn’t something that is done because it can never be undone. You will share your magic until you die. Divorce in purebloods aren’t allowed unless one of you find your soulmate. They used to do the ritual to ensure that the spouses took their vows seriously. They eventually stopped doing this when it became archaic and outdated. They found legal ways to ensure that their heirs stayed in the marriage. The afterlife and reincarnation has never been proven, but historians strongly believe that it is a real thing. They have instances in time where they believe they have proof. A reason non-purebloods used to use the ritual was because they wanted to follow their loved one into the next life. With this ritual if either one of us were to die the other would die as well. If you were to ever die Harry, there is no way I would want to live without you. Our souls are already combined and our magical cores are the same. So our magic is already tied together. I think that there is an afterlife. I have no idea what but I know that is something I want to do with you. If reincarnation is real then again, I want to do it with you.”

            Harry was blown away for the second time that night. He could feel the sincerity coming from the bond. Draco really wanted a forever with him, not just in this lifetime but every single one after it. He wasn’t sure what he thought of reincarnation or of the afterlife but if they existed then he sure as hell didn’t want to do it without Draco. No way. As for living if Draco died? No… just no. The thought of living in a world without Draco was awful. To wake up utterly alone, no smiling, snarky but beautiful Draco was crushing. If Draco was going to die then so was he.

            Harry chose not to say anything. He reached forward and made to grab the torque but Draco pulled it away. Harry looked up at him confusion. “Are you sure Harry? Because if you put this in it solidifies the engagement. It’s like a contract. You can’t change your mind later.”

           Harry smiled sweetly at him. “I am sure Draco. As sure as I know that I love you. I want this. You are insane if you think I want to exist in a world where you aren’t. I love the idea of being tied to you in every way possible in this world and the next. I want forever with you and that doesn’t just mean this lifetime. I want it all.”

            Draco’s heart was ready to burst out of his chest at Harry’s words. Gods he loved this man. Harry reached for the torque and this time Draco didn’t stop him. Harry looked at it closely. It was a golden two headed snake. With each head nearly touching with a gap between the heads showing that it was a torque. The eyes on the torque were a dark green, much darker than his eyes. It was heavy. Harry would bet the torque was solid gold. Harry smiled at Draco. It was beautiful.

            Draco reached for it. “May I?” He asked. He waited for the confirmation before gently sliding it on Harry’s left wrist. As soon as it was in place the torque tightened to fit him and it warmed up as magic surrounded him making the engagement final.

            “Will you have one too? And what about a ring? I don’t know much about male weddings. Do they both wear a ring?” Harry bit his lip feeling out of his element.

            Draco smiled fondly as he pulled out another box from his robe. He opened it to show Harry that he had a set as well. The torque was the exact same as Harry’s. But the ring was slightly different. It was gold as well but instead of grey diamonds, his was filled with emeralds. Harry looked up at Draco and was surprised to see a blush on his face.

            “I wanted a reminder of you on the ring.” Harry grinned and leaned up to kiss him on his cheek. “That is so adorable.” Draco huffed but didn’t argue the statement. Harry slid the ring onto Draco’s finger with a sweet smile. He loved the way the light from the candles shone against the gold. Harry slid the torque onto Draco’s wrist and watched as it shrunk to fit him. Harry closed his eyes as the magic sealed the engagement.

            “We are going to get married.” Harry breathed in wonder. Draco grinned at the giddy warmth that was coming through the bond.

            “We are.” Draco leaned forward and pressed his lips against Harry’s. The sweetness of the kiss made Harry’s heart flutter. Here in the gazebo underneath the stars with the music going and the fireflies buzzing, was the most romantic thing he had ever experienced. It wouldn’t have mattered to him how Draco had proposed, it wouldn’t have mattered if it had been in their home or on the streets. The proposal itself doesn’t matter as long as the love behind it is real. But this… Draco thought long and hard about this. Harry was sure that other couples may have been more romantic but to him this proposal was perfect. This right here will be a moment that he won’t ever forget.

            Draco pulled away from the kiss with a giant grin. He felt drunk on Harrys love. This night had been everything he had hoped it would be. It was perfect. As silly as it sounded he had been nervous about Harrys answer. He had been worried that Harry would think getting married was unnecessary since they were already bonded. But the thought of legally being considered as Harry’s husband set his heart into overdrive. But to know that Harry wanted it too, made it so much better.

            “Come on.” Harry smiled at the infectious happiness Draco was feeling as Draco led him toward the house.

            “I know you want to tell your parents but Draco baby I think they are sleeping.” Harry tried to tell him. Draco let out a loud freeing laugh as they nearly ran the rest of the way to the house.

            Draco pushed the door open and when they walked through Harry clutched his heart in shock.

            “Surprise!” Came a chorus of many voices. Harry looked around the room a little awed. Everyone was here. The quartet, Snape, Lucius, Narcissa and even Remus and Teddy! Well Teddy was asleep but still! The room was decked out in decorations. A huge congratulations banner was in the background. Magical streamers floating all around the room. The twins had on party hats that began singing their congratulations as soon as they had entered. There was a giant cake in the shape of the gazebo with sparklers charmed to go off. They changed colors the longer they were lit. Harry raised his eyes at the dress code of this impromptu party.

            “Fred… George…” Harry trailed of in confusion. Draco looked over and snorted. “What the fuck are you wearing?” Draco asked before doubling over in laughter.

            The twins crossed their arms across their chest and glared. Their outfit was utterly ridiculous. They were wearing giant onesies with quidditch equipment flittering about on the material. The color was a bright green that clashed horribly with their hair.

            Harry couldn’t help it, he started cracking up the longer he stared at them. He had to clutch Draco to keep him up right. “You two look like Christmas trees that caught fire.” Harry wheezed out between chuckles. This caused Draco to laugh harder. “I can see it! I have never seen anything more ridiculous in my life.” Draco panted as he tried to regain his posture.

            “Hey! Don’t blame us. We were-” Fred started indignantly.

            “Getting ready for bed when the code blue came in!”

            Draco couldn’t stop laughing. Gods they looked ridiculous. Harry tilted his head to the side. “Code blue?” He remembered Draco had said that before they apparated here.

            Narcissa smiled warmly at her son. “It was something Draco came up with in case he needed to change when the proposal was to happen. It was a signal for us to get ready.” She finished a little crossly. Her hair was not as elegant as Harry was used to seeing.

            “I hope we didn’t wake anyone up.” Harry apologized.

            “Don’t be silly Harry.” Remus chided as he stepped forward to give him a hug. “Congratulations.” Harry grinned and clutched Remus tightly.

            “Thank you.” Harry and Draco said in unison.

            Remus stepped back and looked around the room. “I must say that for only a couple days’ preparation Draco, you did a wonderful job.” Draco flushed in pride.

            Harry turned to Draco awed. “You did all of this in a couple of days?” Draco nodded.

            “He had it all planned out by the time he asked me for your hand in marriage.” Remus said proudly. That had been one his most shining moments of his life. He had been so honored when Draco firecalled him to talk. That had been a shock. To think that Draco would ask him that. To know that Harry considers him a parental figure.

            Harry closed his eyes briefly before wrapping his arms around Draco. “Thank you. That was so sweet of you.” Harry didn’t think it was possible to fall even more in love with Draco but he did. That alone was amazing. “You are so amazingly perfect.” Harry mumbled into Draco’s chest.

            “I know.” Harry chuckled. “Pompous git. Couldn’t have just said thank you?” He chided with a cheeky grin.

            Draco sighed in happiness as he looked down at Harry. Draco looked around the room taking in everyone else’s dress ware. Pansy was in a white nightgown and her hair was a mess. He almost snorted but he caught sight of her narrowed eyes. Nope. Best not even go there. Blaise had on green sleep pants with a black shirt. At least he didn’t look silly like the twins. He wasn’t surprised to see his mother in a nightgown similar to Pansy’s. His father had on sleep pants and a dress shirt. He rolled his eyes. Couldn’t he sleep in something less… formal? Remus was in his usual attire. Perhaps he hadn’t been sleeping when the code came through. Draco looked at his godfather and sighed.

            “Uncle Severus were you already awake when the code came in?” Severus looked down at his outfit and looked up at Draco with a lifted brow.

            “No. I was preparing for bed.” Severus was slightly confused at the question.

            Draco furrowed his brows. “But you are in your normal black robes. You don’t look any different.”

            Severus sighed heavily. “Draco this is nighttime robes. Completely different from daytime robes, it’s even a lighter shade of black.”

            Draco stared at him dumbfounded. He turned to his mother to see her with an amused smile. Lucius snorted. Draco looked to the twins. “You have my sincerest apologies. That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen.” He said pointing at Severus.

            The twins cracked up laughing at the thunderous look on Snape’s face. “I will have you know that this is far more dignified than what they are wearing.” Snape said outraged.

            Draco clenched his mouth shut and just hummed his agreement. Harry could tell by the look in Draco’s eyes he didn’t believe one word of it. He snorted in open humor but then quickly averted his eyes when Snape turned his glare on him. 

            “Draco.” He looked up at his mum a little startled to see tears in her eyes. “We heard the proposal.” Draco stiffened a little in embarrassment. Those words had been only for Harry’s ears. To know that they had witnessed that… was a little hard to take. It had been a private moment that he would not have wanted to share.

            “We are sorry to have heard that… but honey that was beautiful.” She wiped her eyes and Pansy sniffled.

            “Who knew you were such a romantic?” Blaise teased but his eyes were suspiciously glassy.

            Draco ruffled his hair in an awkward manner. Unsure of what to say.

            “I knew he was a romantic.” Harry said breaking the awkward tension as he kissed Draco’s cheek.

            “Well now that we are all here-”

            “Let’s get this party started!” George said in glee. Lucius looked a little nervous about having the twins of terror having a party in his house.

            The middle of the night engagement party was perfect. Other people might find it tacky or odd that the guests were not dressed properly, hair disheveled and makeup nonexistent. Considering that it was at Malfoy Manor it would definitely shock any other pureblood family at the lack of decorum but to everyone there it was a blast.

            “Draco, are you sure you thought through doing a _in_ _perpetuum simul_ ceremony?” Severus asked with doubt in his voice.

            Draco managed to glare, roll his eyes, snort and raise an eyebrow without looking ridiculous. “Of course I did. This is what I wanted. I want a forever with Harry.” He raised his Harry’s arm showing off the torque catching everyone’s attention.

            “I can’t believe you are actually doing it.” Blaise said in wonder. The twins nodded along. They knew exactly what it was since they were purebloods as well.

            Pansy sniffled. “Well I think it is sweet.” She gushed clapping her hands together and letting out a little sigh.

            Draco lifted his chin high into the air. “Thank you Pansy.” He said haughtily. Harry and Remus had to look away to stop from smiling.

            “You know I am glad that the party is tonight. This is spontaneous and fun.” Blaise said a little surprised. He never would have thought he would be partying in his pajamas. Is this a side effect of his friend dating a Gryffindor?

            “I agree, it was a cute idea to wait until tomorrow but I like this better.” Pansy pointed out. 

            Harry furrowed his brows in confusion. “What’s tomorrow?” He looked at the clock. “Or rather today.” He conceded considering the time.

            Mouths dropped open in shock. Draco just shook his head and smiled softly. “Harry love tomorrow is your birthday.”

            Harry shook his head. No way. There is no way he forgot his birthday. At the disagreeing nods to his statement Harry held his hand up and a rattling noise came from somewhere in the house.

            Harry conjured a calendar. When it reached his hand, he looked at the date and let out a surprised ‘Oh’. It really was his birthday. He looked up at the amused chuckles in the room.

            Well almost all amused glances. Lucius had a disgruntled expression on his face. Harry gave him a sheepish smile. “Oh sorry. I guess this is yours. Erm… oh look at that, you have a meeting tomorrow. Eh he.”

            Lucius snorted and snatched it away. “Give me that.” Laughter broke out amongst the watchers. Harry waited till everyone was focused on other things before turning to Draco.

            “I can’t believe I forgot my birthday.” Harry said still a little stunned. Draco rubbed his shoulders comfortingly. “It’s not that big of a deal. It has been less than a week since the trial. We have had a lot happen.”

            “I know. It’s just that… every year I was always alone and stuck on Privet Drive. I had no one to talk to or celebrate with. So I used to wait until midnight and sing to myself. I guess that sounds rather pathetic but for the first time in my life… I have people here with me on my birthday. It’s hard for me to grasp that I forgot about it since I used to wait impatiently for it to happen.”

            Draco had to fight the lump that formed in his throat. He turned Harry to him and hugged him tightly. He ignored the suddenly quiet room. He hoped that they hadn’t overheard Harry’s confession. These nosy people needed to know when to leave things be.   

            Draco leaned down to whisper in his ear. “You will never spend another birthday or holiday alone Harry. I will be here with you for everything. So much so that you will most likely beg for moments of piece.” Harry chuckled and Draco grinned down at the mop of black hair.

            “I love you.” He said before kissing said mop. Harry squeezed Draco tightly, almost too tight. But Draco didn’t mind. “I love you too Draco.” Harry whispered back.

            As Harry stayed in the comforting warmth that Draco was providing, Draco shook his head at the concerned looks everyone was sending Harry.

            Most of them had only heard bits and pieces of Harry’s statement but Remus had caught the whole thing. Including Draco’s promise. Draco really knew how to calm Harry down. Remus didn’t care if it was due to the bond or if they just knew each other really well. He was thrilled with Harry’s choice of partner. Despite being way older than them, he couldn’t help but envy the type of relationship they had.

            Remus had always worried about Harry. Since the moment he had heard about Lily and James’ deaths, his first thought had been about Harry. He had wanted to adopt him, to take him in but Dumbledore said that it would have been unwise. He had listened to the explanation about blood wards but in the back of his mind he had wondered if it had been because he was a werewolf. If he had been a normal wizard would Dumbledore have let Harry come with him? He had been a part of the Order and a Master in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Remus could have easily defended Harry against any intrusion. From the all the talks he had with Lily about her sister, Remus knew that Harry would have a bad life. After he found out that his best friends had thought he had been the traitor, something broke inside him. He retreated in on himself and left England. He wanted to get away and leave behind all the bad memories. Harry had been the only reason he would have stayed but Dumbledore wouldn’t even let him see Harry. Said he needed to grow up away from the magical world. Looking back, he wished he had given the old man a two-finger salute and taken Harry away. Despite being out of Harry’s life, he never stopped worrying about him. He would wonder where he was at and if he was doing okay.

            Getting Harry back into his life was like getting a piece of his friends back. For a brief moment, it was like having James back. But Harry was not his father. James could never be considered perfect. He had been an outgoing kid who never knew when to keep his mouth shut. He was full of life and had twice the mischievousness that the Weasley twins had. James had been a bully. There was no sugar coating it, no denying it. Just like there was no denying that Draco had once been a bully. But people can change, they learn things about themselves and realize that they want to be a better person. Draco learned that lesson quicker than James had. Draco did the one thing that James had been too proud to do. He apologized. Draco was a bully yes, but he hadn’t been as cruel as James. That was one thing that if he could do over he would. He would go back to their school days and give James a talking to. So much could have changed if James had been a decent human being. But despite his flaws, James was more loyal than any Hufflepuff. When he loved someone, he loved them completely. There was no doubt that he would sacrifice himself in a heartbeat if that meant protecting someone that he loved. That was about the only thing Harry and James had in common.

            Harry was not outgoing. Nor loud or a bully. Harry would defend himself to the fullest if attacked but he was never one to start things. When he saw injustices being done he felt as if it was his responsibility to fix it. Harry looked at the world in ways that was unlike other people. He had a hard life early on but he never mentioned it. Never brought it up or used it as a crutch. Harry took the entire world’s problems as his own and he did so without complaint. Harry was unlike anyone Remus had ever met. How could someone be so humble with all of the injustices done to him? How could someone grow up the way he had and not be angry and bitter? No, it had not taken long for Remus to realize that Harry was nothing like James. Harry was his own unique person. After he had to leave Hogwarts he continued to worry about Harry, how could he not? He had always thought of Harry like his cub. Worrying was just second nature to his wolf. The worry grew over the years as war began to brew over the horizon. After Sirius died the worry grew tenfold. He knew how much Sirius meant to Harry. The worry never really goes away. Distance and lack of communication don’t dim the worry. As silly as it was, Harry was the only family he had left in the world.

            After Dumbledore died and Harry was gone on whatever journey Dumbledore gave him, Remus nearly had a heart attack. He knew that this was a journey that he could not follow but he wanted to be there for him. So when he was having issues with Tonks when she got pregnant, he tried to kill two birds with one stone. He offered to go with them. But Harry being who he is saw right through that. He made Remus realize how much of an idiot he was being. He could never thank Harry enough for that. With the distraction of a pregnant wife and the countless deaths that rocked the papers every day, he didn’t have as much time to worry as before. Oh he still worried but not all the time. During the final battle his worry was off the charts. It nearly distracted him, almost getting him killed a couple times.

            When Tonks died, his worry had gone out the window. Replaced with utter grief and heartache. Right before the battle Remus had begged and pleaded with everything he had for her to stay home with Teddy. He tried every trick in the book to make her see reason. But she wanted to be with him during the battle. The Auror in her couldn’t sit back and do nothing. Remus could understand where she was coming from. If he had been asked to sit out he would have hexed the person who suggested it. But he wished with every fiber of his being that he had tried harder to get her to stay home. Perhaps he should have spelled her home, it would have caused a huge problem in their marriage but at least she would still be alive. As he sat in the Great Hall with the other families who lost people as they piled in the dead, Remus had barely been aware of what was going on. After he heard Voldemort’s message directly to Harry he panicked. He couldn’t find Harry anywhere. The last thing he wanted was for Harry to get a silly notion of sacrificing himself in his head.

            But that was exactly what Harry had done. The beautiful but insanely reckless Gryffindor that he is just walked to his death without a single ounce of fear. The guts it took and the sheer amount of will was mind blowing. When no one could find Harry, he knew that Harry had gone. When Voldemort had Hagrid carry Harry’s lifeless body back to them, Remus had gone numb. Which was odd considering he hadn’t thought anything could shake him after losing Tonks. But seeing Harry dead broke him in ways he hadn’t thought possible. It wasn’t fair. Harry was so young and full of life, he should be alive. Not Remus. He would have traded his life in a heartbeat for Harry. Harry had such a harsh life that this just couldn’t happen like this. Harry dying just didn’t make sense to him.

            When Harry had gotten up and shocked everyone with his presence, Remus had nearly wept in relief. Finally. Something was going right with the bloody war. Remus had never been more proud in his life than as he watched Harry duel with Voldemort. There was no fear, he was calm and collected. He battled to win. And when Voldemort took his last breath, Remus was finally free. He was free of the war and free of wondering if his friend’s murderer would murder him one day. He was just free. Harry hadn’t just saved him he saved the entire world. Harry was hands down the most amazing person he had ever had the pleasure to get to know.

            The coming weeks after the war the worry had come back. Harry had been ignoring his letters. He feared that something had happened to him. He worried that Harry wasn’t okay. Then Remus worried that he had done something to upset Harry. The worry grew with each passing day until finally he just couldn’t stand it. But now… watching as Harry got engaged, watching the love shine through his eyes reminded him of the love he had with Tonks. It reminded him of the love that James had for Lily. It reminded him of the love that Sirius had with… well his motorcycle. But the love that these two had was so powerful and so beautiful it blew him away. Watching how much Draco cared for Harry was humbling. As the party progressed and Remus subtly watched the two lovers, he knew that he wouldn’t ever have to worry about Harry again. Harry was exactly where he needed to be in life. And Remus couldn’t wait to just sit back and watch as Harry lived his life.

            The group talked and partied till the sun came up. They were dead tired and some half asleep. Fred was asleep on Blaise’s lap who wasn’t too far away himself. George and Pansy had already played many pranks on the dozing couple. Some that wouldn’t activate till they woke up. Harry wondered how Fred was going to take to purple hair. At least it made his hair not clash too badly with the pajamas. Teddy had slept through most of the party. Harry smiled as he watched his godson. He was an adorable baby. He looked more like Remus than Tonks but the baby was only three months old and already changing his teeny tiny hairs different colors. It was cute watching Remus be a father. Teddy was a lucky boy to have such a caring and wonderful dad. Harry knew he would always be in Teddy’s life. He would be the godfather that Sirius had been to him… just a little calmer.

            Narcissa somehow still managed to pull off dignified in her sleep. It was adorable that Lucius refused to sleep. As long as there were other people in his house he was going to be the pureblood host that was required of him. He kept hexing himself with stinging jinxes every time he grew tired. Snape just kept drinking pepper up potions from the endless apothecary inside his robes. Merlin, wouldn’t that cause cross contamination if any of them spilled? Well the man was always doing dangerous things.

            Draco had fallen asleep about twenty minutes ago. He was sleeping with his head on Harry’s shoulder. Harry thought that Draco looked so peaceful in his sleep. He was always a beautiful man but in his sleep the angelic look made him even more gorgeous.

            Harry looked up to Lucius. “I am going to take him home.” Lucius smiled softly as he stared at his son. “We shall see you later then.”

            Harry bade the rest of the people who were awake a goodbye. He kissed the sleeping Teddy on the forehead and gave Remus a goodbye hug with a promise to see him later in the week.

            Once Harry had apparated them to their bedroom it was easy to maneuver the dead weight of Draco’s body to the bed. Harry got Draco situated under the blankets after he removed their clothes. He was about to get into the bed when Draco started to stir. “Harry?” Came the groggy question.

            Harry got under the covers and moved to Draco’s side. “I’m right here. I brought us home.” Draco closed his eyes and was drifting back to sleep. Harry smiled and laid his head on Draco’s chest. “Happy Birthday.” Draco mumbled nearly asleep. Harry’s heart jumped at the words. “Thank you, love.” Harry pressed a kiss to Draco’s chest. “M’Love… you.” Slurred Draco and then a light snore let Harry know he was out to the world. Harry chuckled before whispering. “I love you too.”  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Get any cavities from reading it? I know I did writing it. Haha. This is one of my favorite chapters. I liked the last one with all the dark explanations but I do love some sweetness too. The dress attire was my favorite part of the chapter. I had fun imagining the pureblood inside Lucius cringing at his sons engagement party being essentially a pajama party. But I thought the idea was cute in its own way.   
> I also loved adding some more depth to Remus. Some inside to him to show that even though he wasn't Harry's life, he had always wanted to be.   
> Any thoughts on the engagement torque. I find the idea of them being tied together in any life after this one to be terribly romantic. Let me know what you thought of this adorable chapter.   
> In perpetuum simul- forever together  
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	27. Presents and Surprises

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay this chapter will include some smut. If you would like to skip that then go to the section after the break in the page. -XxTheDarkLordxX

            Harry was confused. He had been having the strangest dream about Kreacher starring in a circus as a lion tamer when suddenly he was panting wide awake. Why was he panting? Fuck what was-

            Harry moaned and thrusted his hips up as he stared down into the erotic sight of Draco between his thighs, lips stretched wide around his cock. Was it possible to smirk with a mouthful of dick? If so that is what he would classify the look on Draco’s face.

            Draco released Harry from his mouth with a pop, his hand lazily stroking him. “About time you woke up. I have already prepared myself.” Harry groaned at the mental image of Draco fingering himself while Harry lay sleeping. Fuck that should not be so hot.

            Draco grinned wickedly as he slowly climbed his way up Harry’s body. “I am going to fuck you.” Draco promised as he straddled Harry’s hips and grabbed his cock.

            Harry moaned at the words and the contact with his throbbing arousal. He opened his mouth to say something but his breath had been taken from him when Draco’s tight heat engulfed him completely. Harry clenched his fists into the sheet tightly to curb the instinct to thrust up.

            Draco looked down from his position on top of Harry and grunted at the writhing Gryffindor underneath him. He watched Harry clench and unclench his fists, his eyes were wide and darkened with lust, his face was flushed pink in arousal. Draco couldn’t hold back, not when staring at the perfection that was Harry. Draco picked himself up and slammed down hard.

            Finally. Harry moaned appreciatively when Draco clenched around him letting him know it was okay to move. Harry thrusted up on every downward motion Draco made. Harry used one hand to hold onto one of Draco’s hip and with the other, he gripped the back of the headboard to give him leverage.

            “So good.” Draco moaned loudly when Harry’s cock slammed into his prostate. Harry couldn’t talk if he wanted to. Instead he let his body do the talking. Harry slammed so hard upward that Draco’s arse slapped Harry’s lap when he came back down. Draco nearly screamed as his prostate was brutally rammed into. “Yes.” He chanted over and over loving the way Harry twitched and throbbed inside him.

            “I love your cock.” Draco was thrilled at the way his words caused Harry’s already darkened eyes to go nearly black. “The way it fills me, the way it throbs when I do this.” Draco clenched tightly around the thick member. Harry closed his eyes and let out a whimper.

            “Draco.” It came out as pleading. For what Harry wasn’t even sure. He just needed something.

            “Mmm. I love it when you say my name. I like it even more when you scream it while you come.” Draco leaned forward and placed his hands on either side of Harry’s head. “You like the sound of that? Do you want to come Harry?” Draco whispered as he gyrated his hips harder, riding Harry faster.

            Harry was matching Draco thrust for thrust. The slapping of their skin was loud in the room but nearly as loud as their moans and grunts of pleasure.

            “I am close Harry. So close.” Draco reached down between their bodies and grabbed a hold of his cock, which was leaking precum steadily. Draco’s hand was knocked away by Harry. “Mine.” Harry managed to choke out. Draco shivered at the possessive gleam in Harry’s eyes.

            “Yours.” He agreed. Harry began jerking his shaft repeatedly with a firm and hard grip. When his thumb gently flicked the tip, Draco’s eyes rolled in the back of his head. Draco stilled as he spilled thickly on Harry’s hand and stomach. Harry moaned loudly when Draco’s tight heat started constricting around him. He thrusted a couple more times before bellowing out Draco’s name as he shot his seed into Draco.

            Draco slumped forward and off to the side panting harshly. “Mmm that was good.” Harry chuckled weakly. “Oh I agree. What a way to wake up.”

            Draco rolled over till his head was resting on Harry’s shoulder. “Well it is your birthday. It is my job to ensure that you have the best day possible.” Harry’s heart swelled with affection.

            “Well you are doing a fantastic job already. What is on the agenda?” Harry asked as he rubbed his hands up and down Draco’s back.

            “Since I gave you your gift last night.” Draco paused to smile at the happiness in the bond at the remembrance. “I decided that we could spend the afternoon in bed together.” Harry grinned, sounded like the best birthday he has ever had.

            “And maybe tonight we could have a quiet evening at Fred and George’s flat for a birthday dinner?” Harry sent a wave of love and joy through the bond.

            “That sounds lovely. This has already been the best birthday Draco. I couldn’t ask for anything more than to just be with you.” Draco smiled sweetly at Harry before leaning up to give him a sweet gentle kiss.

            “How about some breakfast and then later you better prepare yourself, because I will be the one fucking you next.” Draco said with a leer. Harry shuddered in delight. Screw breakfast. Harry grabbed Draco and shoved him on top.

            “How about you have me for breakfast instead?” Harry coyly asked with a small blush. “They do say breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” He added with a grin at the way Draco’s nostrils flared in desire.

            Draco looked up and down Harry’s body. “Well you certainly look better than anything Kreacher could cook.” Harry laughed warmly. “But Harry, I think we have a problem.” Harry lifted a brow in question. “I don’t want you for just breakfast. I also want you for lunch, dinner and especially for dessert.” He proved this point by nipping at Harry’s jaw.

            Harry shivered in delight. “Oh yeah?” He breathed out. “Prove it.” The last thing Harry can actively remember is the wicked smirk that lit Draco’s face before he was consumed with pleasure. Oh yeah, this was _definitely_ better than every other birthday he has had.

 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

            “We are so late.” Harry mumbled as they hurried up the stairs leading to the twins’ flat. He was about to knock when Draco laid his hand on his shoulder.

            “Hey what is this ‘we’ shite? Don’t blame me. I was the one who was ready half an hour ago. You were the one that jumped me demanding another go.” Draco reminded him with a leer.

            Harry flushed. “Yeah alright, I’ll give you that. But Draco can you blame me? You had teased me with that whip cream and refused to do anything about it. I wasn’t about to show up here with a hard on!”

            “Mmm that was fun, wasn’t it? Especially when we added the melted Honeydukes chocolate.” Draco purred, causing Harry to grin. “Definitely. But next time get a different flavor than mint.” Harry complained.

            Draco huffed. “It was all they had. And I wasn’t exactly hearing any complaints from you. Actually, if I remember correctly you were screaming your pleasure when I put the chocolate up-” A horrified gasp made them snap their heads up and their eyes widened upon taking in the open door.

            Draco flushed in embarrassment when he caught sight of his parents inside the flat. Oh gods, just kill him now. He was utterly mortified. Blaise was openly snickering at the sight of an embarrassed Draco. Pansy’s eyes were wide and she was covering her mouth, whether in horror or to cover giggles, Draco wasn’t sure. Fred and George had mischievous grins on their faces. Draco couldn’t even look at his parents.

            “Well aren’t you two just-”

            “Kinky little buggers. I guess-”

            “It was a great birthday then huh Harry?” George asked leering.

            “Oh gods.” Harry whimpered covering his face. “Well this was a lovely party. Look at the time, we must be off.” Draco turned around but his mother’s voice stopped him.

            “Draconis Lucius Malfoy.” Draco winced. “You will get in here and shut the door and we will celebrate Harry’s birthday.” She demanded with her hands on her hips.

            Lucius was staring pointedly away from his son and Harry. Salazar, his day was just ruined with that horrid mental image. Nope, better make that his entire year. Or life. Yes let’s go with life. This was Narcissa’s fault for dragging him over here. What was wrong with just sending Harry his gift? Why did he have to subject himself to a Weasley home and then his son’s vulgar ways? He cursed Severus for not being here. If Lucius had to suffer through this than so should he! He wondered what hex Severus would use if he tricked him into watching a pensive memory of this. Most likely an unforgivable. It was always fun trying to figure out which one he would use.

            Harry entwined their fingers and literally dragged Draco through the door. Harry couldn’t believe they overheard their conversation. It was a good thing neither of them had mentioned the dildo or rope that Draco had gifted Harry with. It wouldn’t be nearly as bad if Narcissa and Lucius hadn’t been here. Draco said nothing about his parents showing up! Never in a million years did he think that Lucius Malfoy would willingly be inside the home of any Weasley.

            “I didn’t know you two would be here.” Draco told his parents conversationally as he sat down on the couch, still not meeting his parent’s eyes.

            “Obviously.” Lucius drawled in amusement as his son’s face grew impossibly red. Now that the shock had worn off he was thoroughly enjoying Dracos discomfort.

            “When we heard about the party we wanted to come and celebrate it with Harry.” Narcissa said gently. She smiled at the way Harry’s face lit up. Despite his embarrassment, Draco couldn’t help but grin at the pleasure Harry got from his mother’s words.

            “Where is Severus and Remus?” Draco asked suddenly noticing the lack of two members of the family.

            “The full moon is tonight. Severus is in the final stages of brewing the wolfsbane. And Remus wasn’t feeling very good due to it being so close.” Lucius explained bitterly. He was still upset that his best friend wasn’t even here to suffer with him.

            “Where will Teddy be?” Harry asked concerned for his godson. “With my sister, Andromeda.” Narcissa said with a strained smile. Things were still not okay between them. Narcissa had hoped to reconcile with her but Andromeda took their narrow escape from Azkaban badly. Harry relaxed knowing that Teddy was taken care of.

            “Well let’s get this party started.” Fred and George said at the same time. Pansy with the help of Blaise brought out a surprisingly decent pile of gifts. “That’s all for me?” His voice had a touch of awe in it. Lucius furrowed his brows and opened his mouth to ask but at Draco’s shake of his head he closed his mouth. He gave his son a significant look. He would be getting the full story later.

            “It sure is.” Pansy said smiling at the joy on Harry’s face. Harry grabbed the one on the top which turned out to be from Pansy. He carefully unwrapped the wrapping paper much to the amusement of the others.

            Harry gasped when he realized it was a clock just like the Weasleys had! Except it had hands for Harry, Draco, Pansy, Blaise, Fred, George, Teddy, Remus, Severus, Lucius and Narcissa. The spot where the hour numbers would be were filled with; Home, Work, Partying, Traveling, Hospital, Late, Boredom, Consummating, Sleeping and Trouble.

            “Wow Pansy! Thank you.” Harry gushed. Pansy had a pleased smile on her face. “Your welcome. George told me about how you liked the one his mum has so I made this one for you.” Harry hugged her tightly. She laughed in delight.

            Draco raised an eyebrow. “Consummating?” Blaise and Pansy laughed while the twins shared smug grins. “It was their idea.” She pointed out.

            “Well with the two-”

            “Of you we thought it was perfect.” Fred said smirking at Harry’s blush.

            “I’ll give you that but this doesn’t just include us you wankers. I don’t want to know when my parents are having sex! Let alone you lot.” Draco said crossly.

            The twins winced. “Ah well we didn’t think about that.” George admitted, shooting worried looks at the clock. Harry smiled fondly.

            “Open mine.” Blaise demanded handing him a small box. Harry opened the unwrapped box and frowned in confusion. He held up a key and looked at Blaise curiously.

            “That is the key to my mum’s summer home in Italy. I thought it would be a nice place for your honeymoon.” Blaise said shrugging in embarrassment.

            Harry’s mouth dropped open in shock before launching himself at Blaise. “Thank you. That is so sweet.” Blaise flushed slightly at the praise.

            “Italy Draco.” Harry breathed in wonder. “I’ve never been outside of the country before.” Draco wrapped his arm around Harry’s waist. “Well then we will just have to change that won’t we. You know, if you want we can have an extended honeymoon and travel the world if you would like.”

            Harry snapped is eyes to Draco’s. Draco saw his eyes go a little glassy and he was choked up on the emotions Harry was emitting. Harry hugged Draco tightly. “I would love that. That sounds perfect.” Harry was touched that Draco suggested that for him. Draco hummed in pleasure.

            “Before you two start doing anything, here Harry, open our gift.” George thrusted a package at Harry.

            Harry looked down at the box with suspicion. “Erm… I don’t know.” The twins shared a confused look. Pansy and Blaise however laughed.

            “It’s safe.” Pansy promised. The twins gasped in mock outrage.

            “Why I never!” Fred said dramatically covering his face with the back of his hand.

            Harry shook his head while Draco laughed. Harry opened the box and was surprised to see tickets. He looked up confused.

            “We heard about Draco’s birthday and how you took him to an amusement park.” Said George.

            “So we got you tickets to Disney World.” Harry’s mouth dropped open. “The date isn’t specific. You just tell the ticket when you want to go and it will appear on the ticket and mark your reservation for your hotel.” Fred explained.

            Harry furrowed his brows in thought. “But isn’t Disney World a muggle amusement park?” He asked as he heard a scoff. With a jolt, he realized it came from the tickets! The ticket was looking up at him in disgust. He wondered if Snape was giving lessons on how to properly sneer, because this ticket was doing a fine impression of the man.

            The twins laughed at Harry’s confusion. “Sort of. Muggles are allowed entrance but it is wizard owned. Where do you think the name Magic Kingdom came from?”

            “Walter Disney was a Wizard. He was erm… eccentric. Kind of like the Lovegoods only not as… out there.” Lucius snorted at Draco’s explanation.

            “Most wizards found him very odd so he joined muggle society. The muggles loved his stuff. Once he gained a huge following, the American wizards took notice and helped him make Disneyland and then later Disney World.” Pansy explained.

            Harry was stunned. He hadn’t known that. It was a little mind blowing. He couldn’t wait to go and see all the magic that the muggles just overlooked. He wondered if there was a wizard section of things. Like how Diagon Alley was hidden.

            “Draco, can we go when we go on our tour around the world?” Harry begged with wide eyes. Draco kissed his cheek. “Of course we can.” As if he could have denied Harry anything when he looked at him like that.

            Harry hugged the twins separately. “Thank you.” He gushed. They patted his back and waved off the thanks.

            Narcissa handed over a small box the same size as Blaise’s gift had been. When Harry lifted the lid, Draco let out a gasp. Harry startled at his reaction, he looked closely and realized it was a ring. When he lifted the ring everyone else in the room gasped too.

            The ring looked familiar but he just couldn’t place where he has seen it before. “It’s the Malfoy family crest. That-That’s an heir ring.” Draco breathed in shock as he stared at his parents.

            Both Lucius and Narcissa smiled at the reactions they were receiving. “Heir?” Harry asked confused.

            “Yes. With this ring Harry, we have taken you in as a member of the family. Legally and literally. To Gringotts and the rest of the world you are our second heir.” Narcissa said sniffling a little.

            Harry dropped his mouth open in shock. “You want me as a part of the Malfoy family?” His voice was colored in disbelief.

            “Yes. You are already apart of the family, this is just a public statement. And one that you can always look at and be reminded of. We realize that when you get married Draco will become a Potter, we wanted to give you a reminder so that you will always know that you have a home with us.” Narcissa said kindly, while her husband nodded in approval.

            Harry’s eyes filled with tears as he launched himself at the both of them. “Thank you.” He said thickly. Draco had to fight his own tears. _Never_ had he ever thought that they would do this. This was more than just their approval of Harry. They really thought of Harry as a part of the family.

            Harry stepped back and wiped his eyes. He tilted his head to the side. “Why is Draco becoming a Potter? I wanted to become a Malfoy.” Lucius raised his eyebrows in surprise.

            “Like as in hyphenated?” Narcissa asked. “Potter-Malfoy?” Harry shook his head firmly.

            “No. As in Harry Malfoy.” Lucius and Narcissa’s mouth opened in shock. The quartet just blinked at Harry, unsure of what to think.

            “Harry are you sure?” Draco asked biting his lip. Harry furrowed his brows. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

            Draco shot his father a look. Not exactly sure how to say it. “What my son is trying to say is that the Malfoy name does not mean much right now. Even with all of the help you have given us. Besides, the name Harry Potter is known around the world. If you ever decide to have kids it would get them far in life. Draco becoming a Potter is not a bad thing.” Lucius explained.

            Harry frowned. “That is the exact reason I don’t want it. I am so sick of being Harry bloody Potter. I am tired of seeing people’s expressions when they learn my name. I am sick of being the person they want me to be. I do what I want now. I disagree with you Lucius. The Malfoy name may not mean much to other people. But it means a lot to me. I would be proud to carry the Malfoy name.”

            Lucius closed his eyes. Harry sure was one of a kind. To drop the Potter name was something unheard of. He defeated The Dark Lord with that name. He saved the wizarding world with that name. To give it up was asking a lot. Lucius was thrilled that his son was getting married, he had been a little heartbroken to think that the Malfoy name might die out. They had considered trying for another child so that they may carry out the line. Or adopting, they weren’t exactly getting any younger. But Potter was once again saving their family. Harry wanted to become a Malfoy. He was proud to become a Malfoy. That was more of a gift to Lucius than anything they could have given Harry for his birthday.

            Draco was shocked. He had assumed that he would becoming a Potter. He hadn’t minded giving up the Malfoy name to become Harry’s husband. He had been a little sad but was okay with it. To take on the Potter name would have been an honor. But to hear Harry adamantly demand to be a Malfoy, filled him with so much affection and love for Harry. He had known all along that Harry didn’t care who his family was, that he would be with Draco no matter what. But Harry took it a step further, he not only was considered a part of the family but he actually wanted to be in it. Harry was okay with becoming a Malfoy. Gods he loved this man.

            Harry bit his lip. “I don’t have to give the ring back since I’ll be a Malfoy do I?” Narcissa laughed warmly. “Of course not. You are already our second heir. All the paperwork has been filed.” Harry’s face lit up in excitement as he slipped the ring onto his right middle finger.

            Lucius surprised everyone and wrapped Harry in a hug. “Thank you.” He whispered for Harry’s ears only. Harry clenched his eyes tightly and hugged Lucius for all he was worth.

            Harry stepped away wiping his eyes. “Thank you for making me a part of your family.” Narcissa pulled him in for another hug. “You are most welcome dear.”

            Draco pulled Harry into a hug and buried his head into Harry’s neck. “I love you.” Draco rasped. Harry smiled fondly down at Draco as he hugged him tightly to his chest. “I love you too love.” He whispered, running his fingers through his hair. Draco pushed every ounce of love he held for Harry through the bond.

            Harry was blown away by the onslaught of Draco’s love. It unsteadied him and he gasped as they came tumbling to the ground. Draco squeaked on the way down. Oops. He hadn’t meant to cause that.

            “A little warning next time.” Harry chided Draco with a laugh. Draco grinned sheepishly. “Sorry.” He said ducking his head to cover his blush.

            “What was that about?” Blaise demanded to know impatiently. Harry smiled down at Draco before he got up and offered him his hand.

            “Draco pushed through the love he felt for me through the bond.” Draco flushed when everyone turned to stare at him.

            “You can do that?” Narcissa asked with wide eyes.

            “Mhm. We can send each other any emotion we want.” Draco said once he got over his embarrassment.

            “Does it always knock you over?” Pansy asked curiously. Harry shook his head. “No, this was the first time. It was a powerful push.” Draco cursed when they all looked at him again.

            “How cute.” Pansy and Narcissa gushed. Draco groaned and covered his face with his hands while everyone else laughed.

            Lucius picked up the second to last gift and held it out for Harry. “Is this Remus’s gift?”

            Narcissa shook her head. “No, Remus said he wanted to give you his gift in person once he recovered from the full moon.”

            Lucius cleared his throat. “This is from Severus.” Harry gaped much to the amusement of Lucius. Yes, he imagined that would come as a shock.

            Harry stared at the box with fascination. He knew that they had come to some sort of understanding. The simple thank you he had received in the courtroom served as more than just gratitude. Harry knew he would never receive an apology from the man, the thank you had been said with more than enough emotion to make up for it though. They were on friendlier terms but he didn’t think that the man would give him a birthday gift. That was… odd. But not odd enough that he didn’t want it. It was a present after all.

            Harry took the box from Lucius’s hands and gingerly took off the lid. The gift was a thick tome. Harry could smell the age of the book, he had never been much of a book reader like Hermione. But he knew that this book was something special. This book was ancient, the cover was faded so much that he had no idea what color it had been originally. There were some tears in the spine and it wasn’t very pleasing to look at but Harry thought that it just added character to it.

            “ _Anima Alterum_.” Harry read the title with confusion. He sure hoped the rest of the book wasn’t in Latin because he had no idea what it meant.

            “It means Soulmate.” Draco translated with wide eyes. Lucius breathed out in surprise when he caught sight of the book. “That is a Prince family heirloom. It is their teachings on the subject. It has been in the family for generations.” Lucius said a little startled that his friend had parted with the book so easily.

            Harry clutched to the book to his chest and stared at Draco with a lost expression. He couldn’t figure out why Snape had gone to such lengths for his birthday. This was his legacy, passed down from his mother’s family. Why would he give this to him? Sure, it is a book on soulmates but that didn’t mean he had to give it to him. He could have just let Harry borrow it. An heirloom. Harry couldn’t wrap his mind around the fact that he had been gifted an heirloom from Snape. Should he call the man by his first name? That sounded silly to think about but he could never think of the man as just Snape anymore. You don’t give heirlooms to people you can’t stand.

            “He likes you.” Draco explained hoping that Harry would believe that. Harry looked at him in disbelief. Draco chuckled. “Harry I know my godfather. He would never have given you this if he didn’t. And don’t think it was just a clever way to give it to me either. If he wanted to hand to give it to me, he wouldn’t have needed to wait for your birthday.” Harry smiled sheepishly. He had been thinking that.

            Harry sighed. He supposed Draco was right but things like Sn-Severus liking him didn’t make sense. That did not fit into his perfectly constructed world. But then… he never would have thought that he would be a Malfoy heir either. Alright, so maybe it wasn’t too crazy. Incredibly odd and unreal but not out of this world.

            “If you see him before we do, will you… will you thank him for me.” Harry asked Lucius. Narcissa smiled warmly. “Of course.” She assured him.

            Harry picked up the last box with confusion. That was everyone. Whose else would this gift be from. Harry felt Draco’s nervousness and turned to him in surprise.

            “But you gave me your gifts last night. I don’t want you spending more money on me.” Draco smiled slightly. “Well then it is a good thing this didn’t cost anything. I-I wanted to make sure you got something special that wasn’t related to the proposal.” Harry leaned in and kissed Draco’s nose.

            “Thank you.” Draco laughed warmly. “You haven’t even seen what it is. Don’t thank me yet.”

            Harry shook his head. It wouldn’t matter what was in here. Draco got it for him and that was enough. He was curious about his statement that it hadn’t cost anything.

            Harry lifted the lid and tried not grin at the nervousness from Draco, it really was adorable. Inside was vials of… memories? Harry blinked down at the many vials with confusion. He looked up at Draco silently asking him to explain.

            Draco shifted from foot to foot. “I asked Remus for some memories of your parents.” Harry covered his mouth in shock. “I also wanted some memories of them from other people too. I asked him to see if McGonagall would give any that she might have too. Uncle Severus gave some of your mum.” Harry’s eyes filled with tears. When he didn’t say anything, Draco started to panic. “I just thought that you might want to get to know them from their point of view too. And when you were talking about the Mirror of Erised, I just thought that this could give you a piece of them. It can’t make up for their absence but I thought it could help.”

            Harry wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. “If-if you don’t l-” Draco was cut off by Harry launching himself at his body. Draco was knocked back into the couch by the force of Harry’s body. He landed with an ‘oomph’. Draco’s hands automatically wound around Harry’s waist holding him close.

            Harry was so choked up that he couldn’t think clearly. Yesterday with the sweet proposal and today with the beautiful gifts everyone had given him, Harry thought his birthday was perfection. And then… sweet Draco gave him his parents. Draco was right, nothing could make up for their absence. But Draco was giving him first account memories of his parents. He would be able to see them and hear them talk. It was better than the stories Sirius used to tell him. It was better than imagining them. Draco was giving him a piece of his parents. That was the most amazing thing in the entire world.

            “I love you.” Harry said through sobs. Draco’s heart clenched. He could feel the pain of his gift but also the love he held for Draco. He wasn’t sure if he had done the right thing. “I love you too Harry.” Draco whispered.

            Harry could feel indecision from Draco and he smiled through the tears. “Thank you love. This… means so much to me. I can’t thank you enough.” Harry clenched his eyes tightly as the tears came down. Draco sighed in relief.

            “Well he just blew our gifts out of the water.” George said disgruntled. Harry laughed in surprised delight as the rest of the room broke out in chuckles. Draco grinned at George. “What did you expect?” He said haughtily. George joined in on the laughter.

            Draco looked down at Harry and his breath hitched at the admiration in his eyes. Draco swallowed thickly. “You alright?” Harry smiled brilliantly. “Perfect.” Harry promised. Draco caressed Harry’s cheek lovingly.

            Narcissa sighed as she watched her son. Merlin, when had he grown up? She had been worried about him when he was younger, he had been so spoiled. But her son had grown into a remarkable young man. She was constantly surprised every time she watched him interact with Harry. Draco was an amazing person and she was proud to call him her son.

            Lucius cleared his throat. Emotional moments always made him uncomfortable and he saw the look in Draco’s eyes. He was _not_ going to be here to see any indecent displays of affection. “Narcissa and I need to be heading out. We have a busy day tomorrow.” He said in apology. Harry and Draco immediately gave parting hugs and kisses in Narcissa’s case.

            “Thank you for coming.” Harry gushed as they entered the fireplace. Lucius nodded and Narcissa waved before they were gone in a flash of green.

            Harry checked the time. “We should probably be going too.” The twins adopted identical pouts. Draco laughed. “We have to prepare for dinner with your brother tomorrow.”

            “That makes sense.” Pansy conceded patting George’s knee. The twins scoffed.

            “No it doesn’t! They are having dinner with-”

            “Them not breakfast! Draco just wants-”

            “To go home and bugger Harry.” George said with another pout.

            Harry blushed while Draco laughed out loud. “You got a problem with that?” He countered.

            George lifted a brow. “Not if you give us details.” Fred said wagging his brows suggestively. Pansy ‘oohed’ at the idea.

            Blaise and George traded disgusted looks. “You know I think you are right. It is time for you to go home.” George said quickly. Blaise nodded his agreement.

            Harry and Draco cracked up while Pansy and Fred traded disappointed looks. “We shall see you four later. George and Fred, we will see you at the Weasley dinner in a couple days. Pansy, Blaise owl me.” Draco told them.

            Harry hugged them all one more time and thanked them again for the lovely gifts. Harry looked at George and Blaise. “You two need to lighten up.” Then he looked to Pansy and Fred. “While you two need to keep our sex life out of your minds.” Pansy pouted but Fred grinned unrepentantly.

            “Well maybe we would if you two stopped flaunting it at us.” Pansy said with mock anger. Fred stood up and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “Yeah if you can display your affections so openly then surely you can give us a sneak peek.”

            George and Blaise crossed their arms across their chests and glared. “And why do you need to see a sneak peek of them at all?” George demanded. “Aren’t we good enough?” Blaise demanded to know.

            Draco grabbed Harry and his presents and rushed them to the door. They waited until the door was shut and they were down the stairs before busting out laughing.

            “Merlin that was awkward.” Harry said as he took Draco’s hand and apparated them away. When they landed in the living room Draco wrapped his arms around Harry’s waist.

            “Oh yeah. I definitely don’t want to be either Pansy or Fred.” Draco said before rubbing his stomach with a scowl.

            “What’s with you?” Asked Harry in concern. “The twins were supposed to provide dinner! Cheap arses.” Came the indignant tone from Draco.

            “I am sure Kreacher wouldn’t mind making something.” Harry offered as he made his way towards the kitchen. Draco quickly put the presents down and started to pull Harry towards the stairs. Harry laughed warmly. “Where are you taking me? The kitchen is the other way.” Harry pointed out. Draco looked over his shoulder and gave Harry a positively sinful look that melted his insides. “I am doing just what George suggested. I am going to bugger you senseless. We can eat later.” Harry paused on the stairs causing Draco to stop in confusion.

            “What if I want to bugger you?” Draco raised an eyebrow before a wicked smirk crossed his face. “First one to the bedroom tops.” Draco suggested. Harry grinned. “Okay you are on.” Harry was about to ask what the rules were but Draco apparated away laughing. Harry could hear the laughter reappearing from their bedroom.

            “Fucking Slytherins.” The laughter grew louder. Harry sighed but couldn’t get rid of the smile slowly making its way onto his face if he had tried.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was pretty fluffy and light. Nothing too much was really said. I don't know about you guys but I am similar to Lucius when something bad happens. If it was gross to witness then you better believe I am going to make someone else witness it too. Lol. If I had to suffer through it then so do they!
> 
> Any thoughts on the gifts? I find myself torn between liking the memories and the Disney World tickets the most. The other gifts were sweet too, like the ring and the heirloom. But I think the memories are my favorite. It was kind of spur of the moment making Walt Disney a wizard lol. What about Harry wanting to drop the Potter name? I can see where he is coming from but I can also see why it is sad that he is dropping it. It is his father's legacy. 
> 
> Let me know what you guys think. Tomorrow we kick off with Bill and Fleur. Fingers crossed that it turns out okay. ;P  
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	28. Shell Cottage

            Harry and Draco apparated to the shoreline just outside of the wards of Shell Cottage. “Are you sure I look okay?” Harry asked for the tenth time. Draco rolled his eyes.

            “Yes love. You look simply delicious.” He assured Harry. Honestly you would think they were going on a date with the way Harry was fretting.

            “So I look easy?” Harry demanded angrily. Draco groaned and threw his hands up in the air. Gods could he even win? Why ask if you look okay and then get angry when he receives a compliment? Was there even a correct way to answer that question?

            “No Harry. You look really nice. If I remember correctly, this was the same outfit you wore on my first visit to Grimwald Place. You looked good then and you look good now.” Draco promised.

            Harry smiled chagrinned. He knew he was acting a bit mental but he was just worried about this dinner. He was pleasantly surprised that Draco remembered what he wore. Harry grabbed hold of Draco’s arm as they made their way towards the house.

            “Thank you love.” Draco breathed a sigh of relief. The dinner better be worth all of this trouble. They were almost to the door when Harry stopped Draco. He buried his head into Draco’s chest. “I love you, you know?” Draco smiled fondly at Harry. “Yes I know. The feeling is mutual.” Draco saw a flickering of curtains in one of the windows. Honestly were all Weasleys nosy?

            Harry grinned and kissed Draco quickly on the lips. “Okay let’s go.” The way he said it made it seem like it was Draco’s fault that they stopped in the first place. Draco sighed and prayed for all the patience in the world.

            Harry was about to knock on the door when it was thrown open and a cry of, ‘Arry! Could be heard. Harry stood still in surprise as Fleur hugged him fiercely. Harry felt a stab of jealousy from Draco. Harry hugged her for a brief moment before stepping back smiling at her. Bill was standing behind her with a grin. Harry entwined his fingers with Draco and pushed him love and calming emotions.

            Draco grinned sheepishly at Harry who shook his head in reply. Bill was looking at them curiously. Fleur hadn’t noticed anything, she stood to the side ushering them in.

            “Bill ‘e looks so ‘andsome and all grown up.” Fleur gushed. Draco smirked as Harry’s face went red. Fleur looked towards Draco without an ounce of weariness as she smiled warmly at them both.

            “Bill zold me zat you are zogezher?” She asked in delight. Harry smiled softly and his eyes softened when he looked at Draco. “Yeah we are.” Fleur cooed in delight.

            Bill was amused at his wife’s antics. She always had a soft spot for Harry. Well the whole family did really. Ever since Harry had saved her sister she couldn’t stop singing his praises. He could remember being jealous when they first started talking. Bill had thought that she had a crush on Harry.

            “Fleur. Eet eez nice zoo meet you.” She held her hand out for Draco to shake. “Draco Malfoy.” Bill also held his hand out. “William Weasley. But you can call me Bill.”

            Fleur led them to the kitchen table. “Zat makes me so ‘appy zat you are zogezher. I worried about you after zee breakup with Ginny.” Harry felt another stab of jealousy. His lips twitched and he reached over to squeeze Draco’s hand. Bill watched as Draco relaxed. He lifted an eyebrow.

            “How have you been Harry?” Bill asked as Fleur started laying out the dinner on the table.

            “Really good actually.” Harry said with a small smile. Fleur sighed as she watched Draco pile food onto Harry’s plate before tending to his own. How cute.

            “Erm what about you?” Harry asked feeling a little self-conscious. Draco pushed him calming emotions and Harry smiled gratefully at him.

            Bill was distracted by their dynamics and had to ask Harry to repeat the question. “Oh, pretty good. Still working for Gringotts. They have me doing curse breaking on some of the client’s items when they go inside the vaults. So, it isn’t too much different from Egypt. Just no tombs.” Harry and Draco laughed.

            “And how about you Draco?” Bill asked and then mentally winced when he realized that with the trial, his summer was probably not a good one. He was surprised when Draco smiled.

            “I have been really great.” Bill raised his brows in surprise. Draco shifted uncomfortably. Harry sent a questioning glance to Bill.

            “Sorry, I just realized after I asked it that with the trial it probably was a bad question.”

            Draco relaxed. “Oh. Well I didn’t worry about the trial. I… procrastinated. I didn’t want to think about it you know?” Bill nodded, if he had been facing Azkaban he might have not wanted to think about it either. “I didn’t even tell Harry about it.”

            Bill furrowed his brows in confusion. Harry chuckled. “It’s true. I found out about the trial when Ron and I had the row. I never asked Draco about it since I could tell he didn’t want to tell me about it.” He said a little bitterly.

            Well that was a surprise. Bill had been sure by the way that Ron had been talking that Draco had asked Harry to defend him. He was comforted by the fact that none of the Malfoys had done that. It showed how wrong Ron was.

            Draco sighed. “Harry, you know why I didn’t tell you. If I had told you then you would have gone storming down there defending me. Which you did anyways!” Draco said in exasperation.

            Harry grinned wickedly. “You should have known you couldn’t hide anything from me. Besides, what did you think I was going to do? Of course I was going to defend you, you git.”

            Draco crossed his arms across his chest and mock glared. “Git am I? Here I thought I was being the thoughtful boyfriend by keeping you out of the troubles _I_ caused.” Harry bit his lip to stop from smiling.

            “Not when I had to worry about you and I couldn’t even talk to you about it. Nor anyone else but your incompetent lawyer. Merlin I think you would be stuck in Azkaban without me. And then what would you do?” Draco huffed.

            “You know what?” Harry asked. Draco just lifted a brow. “I hear the dementors don’t allow hair gel.” Draco gasped with a dramatic sigh covering his mouth. “How dare they? I’d have been screwed.”

            Harry nodded gravely. Bill shared an amused glance with Fleur.

            “I know it’s all very tragic. Something about hair gel being a natural deterrent from their soul sucking abilities. Go figure.” Draco coughed to cover up a laugh.

            “And where did you hear that? From the Quibbler?” Draco asked between snickers. Bill laughed quietly. Harry’s lips quivered.

            “Actually yes. How did you know?” Draco burst out laughing. “Well then it must be true!” Harry was quite proud of the fact that he has so far managed to not laugh.

            “Want to test out the theory?” Draco shook his head. “The day I willingly go near a dementor is the day you can convince my father into a tutu.”

            Harry doubled over in laughter at that mental image. “Oh Merlin. I can see it now. Your father in a tutu and I will even get Luna to print an edition claiming that Lucius has given up his career of politics to follow his lifelong dream of becoming a ballerina.” The entire table busted out laughing.

            “You know it might just be worth it.” Draco said with a wicked gleam in his eyes. “If it backfires we could always claim it was Fred and George’s idea. He would believe that.” Harry offered. Bill choked in surprise. He wasn’t sure if it was because of Harry’s easy way of including his brothers or at the attempt to blame them.

            “I love the Slytherin in you. That is perfect. We could always make sure we are conveniently out of town too.”

            Harry shook his head. “No that won’t work. They would suspect us for sure that way. _Slytherin Rule #29: When committing a crime, hide in plain sight_. We will just have to have an alibi. Besides, your father wouldn’t believe sweet little ole me would do that.” Harry’s eyes went wide with innocence and he fluttered his lashes.

            Draco put his hands under his chin and stared besottedly at Harry. “I love it when you speak my language.” Harry tilted his head to the side. “What language?”

            “Slytherin.” Draco breathed out in admiration. Bill and Harry laughed out loud. Fleur hid a smile behind her glass.

            “Zey are so cute!” Fleur exclaimed happily. Draco and Harry both flushed. Bill laughed. “She is right. You two do make a great couple.”

            Bill was actually surprised at how well they fit together. He couldn’t remember Harry being this happy with Ginny. Their relationship had always seemed awkward to him. Bill had known that they wouldn’t last. The hard part had been trying to convince his mum. She was still hung up on the break up. She just thought that they needed space and then Harry would realize that he wanted to get back together with Ginny. Bill snorted internally. His mother would be in for a shock when she found out. But even she wouldn’t be able to deny the obvious love that these two had for each other. He could see the way Harry’s eyes would soften every time he looked at Draco. And the way that Draco’s eyes lit up when he made eye contact with Harry. Bill watched the smile that Harry gave Draco when he thought no one was looking. Oh yeah, his mother sure was in for a shock.

            “This is really good.” Harry moaned as he bit into… whatever the fuck he was eating. It wasn’t something he recognized. “What is it?”

            “Coq au vin.” Fleur and Draco said at the same time. Fleur’s face lit up in delight. “You know French dishes?” Draco nodded. “My father owns property in France. I used to spend my summers there before Hogwarts. _C’est I’un de mes favoris.”_

            Harry jerked in surprise. He hadn’t known that Draco knew French.

            “Vous parlez fancais aussi? C’est merveilleux!” Fleur replied clapping her hands in excitement.

            Harry watched the rapid-fire conversation that they were having with growing lust. He tried to block it from Draco and so far, it had been working. Draco was talking about… something or other with Fleur and they both seemed to be enjoying the conversation. Harry was about to ask Bill a question when a certain pronunciation of some French word got his blood boiling.

            “Avoir une tante”- Draco broke off midsentence with a gasp as Harry’s lust slammed into him. Bill and Fleur looked at him with concern.

            Harry winced. Oops. Draco whipped his head to stare at Harry incredulously. “Seriously?” Harry sighed. “I’m sorry. It was just the French. It sounds amazing coming from your lips.” Harry said unashamed.

            Bill coughed while Fleur was amused. Draco had a light pink blush on his face that Harry found adorable. Bill wondered what had attracted Draco’s attention. Had Harry done something under the table? He hoped not.

            “Eet eez ze language of love.” Fleur pointed out. Bill shook his head. “I don’t think it has anything to do with French itself. Fleur likes it when I speak Arabic.”

            Harry sighed sadly. “The only other language I know is, **_Parseltongue_**.” Harry watched as Bill and Fleur jumped in surprise but he was fascinated with the darkening of Draco’s eyes.

            “I think Bill has a point.” Draco said in a choked voice. Harry grinned, he wondered if Draco was just saying that or maybe he was hiding his lust like Harry had done.

            “ ** _Is that so Draco?_** ” Harry grinned ferally when Draco shuddered. “ ** _Mmm I think you like it when I talk like this._** ” Draco managed to hold in the whimper that wanted to escape. Fuck, this shouldn’t be so hot. He should seriously dislike hearing parseltongue after Voldemort. But those hisses sounded so velvety smooth rolling off of Harry’s tongue. Merlin, he wanted Harry to just talk to him in it, he wondered if he could come with just the sound of parseltongue. It sounded like an experiment he wanted to discover. Draco couldn’t however hold back the lust that sprang up with Harry’s sinful hissing.

            Harry had suspected that Draco would cave but he wasn’t expecting the sheer force of lust. It blew him away… literally. Harry slumped back in his seat in shock. He couldn’t remember Draco ever being so turned on before. Not even when he let Draco tie him up or when Draco wanted to experiment with honey in places that it just shouldn’t go. Harry had liked the way Draco spoke in French but not this much. Harry smirked at Draco. Looks like he just found Draco’s kink. He had wondered if Draco had one. Draco was always experimenting but hadn’t found anything that set his desires on fire.   

             Draco could feel the reciprocating lust and also amusement and determination. He felt his face flame when he remembered where they were at. They could figure out this new discovery later… oh yes they would definitely be coming back to this.

             Bill was again confused. He didn’t like puzzles and that was exactly how these two were behaving. They almost reminded him of the Fred and George with the way they seemed to have conversations with just a single glance. But this seemed to go deeper than that. The twins just knew each other so well but this… this was different. Harry and Draco seemed to know what the other was thinking. He wondered what was going on but he was unsure if it was appropriate to ask. Some things are private when it comes to relationships. If Harry wanted to tell him then he would, Bill decided to leave it alone.

             Fleur was however not of the same mind. “What eez with you zoo?” She asked curiously.

             Harry and Draco furrowed their brows. Was she talking about the whole parseltongue thing? Bill tried giving her a look to stop talking but she wasn’t looking at her husband.

            “Zere eez like a connection you ‘ave.” She tried explaining. “I am quarter Veela and we can sense magic but you zoo ‘ave ze same magic I am zinking.” She tilted her head to the side as if she could see into them.

            Harry and Draco shifted uneasily. Harry turned to Draco and gave him a questioning glance. Draco could feel the weariness from Harry and he agreed with it. If they told them would it stay between the couple? Or would Bill tell the rest of his family? Draco sighed, why did things have to be complicated? By Bills behavior and the letter he had sent Harry it made him think that the man could be trusted. But Harry knew him better than Draco did.

             Draco tilted his head towards Harry indicating it was up to him. Harry huffed. Once, just once he would like it when it would be up to Draco to be the deciding factor. Draco picked up on his frustration and gave him a cheeky grin. Harry shook his head at Draco’s amusement.

            Bill watched the exchange with fascination and frustration. Merlin, what was going on with them?

            Harry turned to Bill. “Draco and I are getting married.” Draco was surprised, he had thought that Harry would mention their bond. Perhaps he didn’t want to discuss it with them just yet.

            Bill and Fleur shared a look. “Zat is wonderful news but zat does not explain ze magic.” Fleur said. Bill laid his hand on Fleur’s shoulder and shook his head. If Harry didn’t want to tell them then he didn’t have to.

            Harry felt a rush of affection for Bill. He sighed in relief and shot Bill a grateful look. “Congratulations.” Bill offered with a smile. Fleur was still put out for not getting her answer explained but she also gave her congratulations.

            “When is the big day?” Bill asked as Fleur went to grab dessert.

            “Erm, we haven’t decided. We only got engaged yesterday. Merlin, was it only yesterday?” Harry asked in wonder.

            Draco hummed his agreement. “Well technically I asked you on the verge of midnight before your birthday. So you can say it was yesterday.” He said with a shrug.

            Fleur cooed. “ ‘ow sweet! Zat eez so romantic.” She said with a dreamy sigh. Bill smiled at the way Harry’s face lit up in remembrance. All the times Bill could remember being in the same room with Harry, he never looked happy. Harry had always been sad, he tried to hide it but Bill was a good judge of character. Harry also had the weight of the world on his shoulders and it always showed. This almost seemed like a different Harry. Bill had never seen him so free before. It was really nice. He didn’t care what the connection that they seemed to have was. If it was responsible for their happiness, then that is all that mattered.

            Harry held out his hand to show Fleur the engagement ring. She was gushing over how the diamonds matched Draco’s eyes and how sweet that was. As Harry moved his hand to lay it back down the motion lifted his sleeve. Bill gasped. “It will also serve as the wedding band too. I told Draco that we didn’t need an engagement ring and a wedding band. We aren’t girls. One ring is fine.”

            Draco kicked Harry under the table to get his attention away from Fleur so that he could pay attention to her gaping husband.

            Harry scowled at the kick. Fuck that hurt. He was about to tell Draco off when he noticed that Draco wasn’t even looking at him. Harry turned and was surprised to see Bill gaping at them like they were fish out of water.

            “You alright Bill?” Harry asked in concern. When Bill continued to stare and not answer, Fleur grew concerned. She placed the back of her hand on his forehead. Nope, no fever. She was about to run a diagnostic spell when he suddenly came to. The gaping was still there but at least the awareness came back to his eyes.

            Bill pointed at Harry’s arm. “I-you… is that real? Tell me I am seeing things.” Harry was confused until he saw that his eyes were trained on his torque. Fleur gasped in shock. Of course Bill would know about it, they were purebloods after all.

            “It’s real.” Inwardly Draco was scoffing. Like he would ever give Harry a fake engagement torque! He’s a Malfoy for fuck sakes. Fake is not in their vocabulary unless it is fake smiles and fake sympathy. “That is the marriage ceremony we are doing.”

            Bill was back to gaping. “Do you know what that is Harry?” He asked in a quiet voice. Harry felt Draco’s anger at the words, which ignited his own.

            “If you are suggesting that Draco would offer it to me without explaining what it was then you are sorely mistaken.” Harry said in a voice that could cut steal. Bill winced. “Draco made sure I knew exactly what I was getting into. He let me decide if it was something I even wanted to do.” Harry narrowed his eyes. He did not take kindly to anyone insulting his fiancé. Despite his anger, he had to marvel at the word. Fiancé, he liked the sound of that.

            Bill held his hands up. “I’m sorry, it’s just that that type of engagement just isn’t done anymore. I was just worried that is all.” Draco huffed and looked away. He could understand where Bill was coming from but it still stung that the first thing he thought would be that he had somehow tricked Harry into it.

            Harry’s eyes narrowed further. “I appreciate that you are worried about me. I really do. But that right there is the type of judgement that Ron would’ve had. You just assumed that Draco had done something nefarious.”

            Bill could see the hurt in Draco’s eyes and felt awful. “I’m sorry Draco. I really am. I just-”

            “It’s alright.” Draco cut him off. “You were protecting Harry. It’s okay, I am used to it.” Draco looked away with a shrug. Bill felt far from okay with his words. If anything, he felt even worse.

            Draco had told the truth. He really was used to it. People would always look at him like he was plotting something evil. Even before he was found to have the Dark mark. Due to who his father was he was always considered to be the next evil Malfoy. When it came to Slytherins that wasn’t so bad. But to the rest of the world it made him a pariah. Everywhere he went accusing eyes would follow him. Especially now that he was with Harry. Any little thing that would go wrong they would automatically assume he had something to do with it. Merlin knows what will happen when the rest of the world finds out.

            Harry rested his chin on Draco’s shoulder. “I love you.” Draco turned his head slightly and looked at Harry through the corner of his eye. He smiled sadly. “I love you too.” Harry could feel the lingering hurt through the bond and it angered him. He wanted to yell at Bill but he knew that wouldn’t accomplish anything.

            “It’s alright.” Draco whispered. Harry lifted his head and turned Draco’s towards him. “No it’s not. You are the most amazing person I have ever encountered. It’s not fair that the rest of the world can’t see that. You don’t deserve their judgement. You Mister Malfoy are a beautiful, beautiful person.”

            Fleur started chastising her husband with quiet whispers. Draco looked over and would have snorted if he hadn’t been so upset. Harry dragged his face back towards him. “I wish everyone could see how wonderful you really are.” Draco did snort at this.

            “Harry you are horribly biased. I assure you that you are the only one who thinks that.” Harry smiled. “Well what about your mother?” To Harry’s delight and the surprise of the others, Draco burst out laughing.

            “Oh yes, I can see it now. Someone insults me and I’ll just tell them ‘well my mummy thinks I’m special’.” Harry grinned. “I see your point.”

            Draco leaned over and kissed Harry quickly on the lips. “Thank you.” He murmured against Harry’s lips. Harry grinned but didn’t say anything. He just leaned his head against Draco’s shoulder.

            Bill cleared his throat. “I really am sorry.” Draco could hear the desperate edge to his tone and had to wonder what Fleur told him.

           “It’s alright.” Draco assured him with a slight smile. Bill looked relieved but Fleur was still glowering at her husband.

            “Do you mind if I ask why you chose that particular ceremony?” Bill asked in curiosity. The last recorded ceremony hadn’t been done in centuries. “A typical marriage is just a bonding ceremony. The one you will be doing won’t bond you.”

            “Right. It will tie us.” Harry said with a smile at the thought of being tied to Draco through every life after this one.

            “Yes, I get that. But why would you want that… unless… you were already bonded?” Harry and Draco shared another look that didn’t go unnoticed by the married couple.

            “You are already married?” Bill asked in wonder. Well this was a plot twist. Harry shook his head. “No but we are bonded.” Bill didn’t like the sound of this. If it wasn’t a marriage bond, then that was a little disconcerting. Why would you want to be bound to someone if it wasn’t a marriage bond? The three most used bonds were, marriage, sexual and then slavery bonds. He prayed that it wasn’t the last two.

            Fleur tilted her head to the side. “Zat would explain zee magic but what kind? I don’t know of a ritual zat makes your magic zee same.”

            While Fleur was busy trying to remember the different types of bonding, Bill was still confused.

            “Why would you want to tie yourself together for the afterlife and any reincarnations? I understand that you love each other in this life but what if in the next life you come across your soulmate?” Harry and Draco shared amusement through the bond. Harry furrowed his brow. How come Bill knew about soulmates but Fred and George didn’t?

             “I know that people don’t really talk about soulmates because of its sad nature. But if you do this ritual, then you will never be able to form a connection with your soulmate. I know that they are rare, so who is to even say that you will find your mate in the next life either. But even the off chance that you might is still better than resigning yourself to be stuck to someone who isn’t your soulmate for all time.” Bill finished a little breathlessly.

            Bill could see the amusement on their faces and he wasn’t sure he liked it. Were they mocking him?

            “So if you found your soulmate would you do the _In Perpetuum Simul_ ceremony?” Draco asked.

            Bill furrowed his brows as Fleur gasped and covered her hand over her mouth.

            “Well yeah but-” Bill stopped talking at the pointed stares Harry and Draco were giving him. His eyes widened with the implications.

            “Pardon?” He asked weakly. Harry laughed warmly. “Yes. We are soulmates.” Bill swallowed thickly at the rush of longing he felt for his own soulmate. Since the attack from Greyback, the longing had gotten stronger. It hadn’t turned him but he was left with some wolfish desires and a strong longing for his mate was one of them.

            Fleur’s eyes widened. “Zat explains zee magic!” She said in awe. Even though she was only quarter Veela she still felt the longing just as much as any other magical creature. That was one thing she loved about Bill was that he understood the extra powerful longing and was okay with it. They loved each other dearly but they still craved for the one they were meant to be with.  

            “When did you find out?” Bill was still in awe but he did wonder if that was why Harry defended the Malfoy family.

            Draco narrowed his eyes but couldn’t detect any implications. “After the trial.” Bill made sure to conceal his surprise. So Harry had defended them before ever knowing. That was interesting.

            “If you told my mother she would probably accept this relationship more once it is known.” Draco hummed in thought that probably would shut up any objections she could have.

            “No.” Came Harry’s firm denial. Bill leaned away in surprise at his tone. Draco lifted his brows. Why wouldn’t he want to tell them? He wasn’t ashamed, was he?

            Harry turned to Draco. “It’s not like that love.” Harry assured him with a loving caress through Draco’s hair. Draco closed his eyes and let the hurt wash away.

            Bill shared a fond look with Fleur. He couldn’t imagine sharing emotions. That would be a lot to get used to. He didn’t like his own emotions most of the time, let alone trying to understand someone else’s.

            “What I meant was that if your mum can’t accept us without knowing about the bond then she doesn’t deserve to know about it at all. Us being soulmates shouldn’t affect her decision. She either accepts us or she doesn’t.” Harry said as he folded his arms across his chest.

            “Alright. That makes sense.” Bill conceded. He disagreed slightly though. He knew the explosion would be huge when his mother found out. But it was up to Harry to decide who to tell. He was still blown away. There hadn’t been a case of soulmate in centuries. He never thought he would know anyone who had found their mate.

           “Hey Bill how come you know what soulmates are? When we told Fred and George they had no idea what that was.” Harry asked the question that had been bugging him.

            To Harry’s surprise Fleur scowled and stormed into the kitchen. Bill winced, damn he would never hear the end of this.

            “Did I say something?” He asked tentatively. Bill shook his head with a sigh.

            “No it’s not you. My mother told me about soulmates right after I got engaged to Fleur. It was her way of discouraging me out of the engagement.” They could hear a cupboard door slam. “It backfired though. I had asked why they were telling me about soulmates now when they had never mentioned it before. By their silence I knew they had never intended to tell me in the first place. I told her that I wasn’t going to wait forever for someone that may not even be alive. I love Fleur and I wanted to marry her. So I did.” Fleur came back out and kissed the side of his head.

            “Bill eez zoo kind. ‘e eez lucky I wasn’t zere zo give ‘er a piece of my mind.” Fleur said angrily. That was something she would never get over. She knew that Molly meant well but to use soulmates as a reason Bill shouldn’t marry her was the last straw. She could have at least had the guts to come out and say they didn’t want him to marry her. They had to hide behind the dream of soulmates.

            Draco was liking Mrs. Weasley less and less. He tried not to. He wanted to keep an open mind for when he met the woman, but it was hard when he had all of this in his head. He would never be able to forgive the woman for hurting Harry with her silence, but he had told himself he would try. But he could understand where Fleur was coming from. That was pretty rude. He wondered if beating around the bush was a light wizard thing? Because all the pureblood mothers he knew would have straight up told Fleur, ‘I don’t like you’. Sounds cruel but you can respect honesty even if you don’t like when it is told. Draco could never trust people too afraid to be honest.

            Harry winced. Ouch. Having found his own soulmate, he didn’t like Molly using the excuse of soulmates as a reason Bill shouldn’t marry. It was underhanded, she should have just told Bill the real reason she was unhappy with the union. He also didn’t approve of her not telling the other children. They had a right to the knowledge.  

            “Are you the only one she told?” Bill nodded. “Yes but I was too mad and ended up telling Charlie about it. He was right ticked off. Mostly on my behalf but also because they hadn’t told him about it. They would have kept him in the dark his whole life. Charlie is a firm believer of knowing the facts. He doesn’t like people sugar coating things or omissions. He would rather know something bad upfront then have to worry about it later. He didn’t agree that it was up to them to teach him about it. It led to a row. The rest of the family thinks it was about Charlie not wanting to come home from Romania to visit.” Bill explained.

            “Well now the only ones who don’t know are Ron and Ginny. We ended up telling the twins.” Draco said with a shrug. “They were pretty mad. They had hoped that your parents didn’t know about soulmates because they didn’t like the idea that they knew and just didn’t want to tell them.” Harry added.

            Bill sighed heavily. “If they bring it up then it will cause a row.” Harry couldn’t bring himself to care. The rest of the family deserved to know. Molly shouldn’t be trying to keep the knowledge from them.

            “So I take it you have always known about soulmates?” Bill asked Draco as he dug into dessert. “No. I was just as surprised as Harry when we found out. My parents were going to tell me when I got older. Knowing my father, probably after I was in an arranged marriage and couldn’t back out.”

            Bill was surprised when Harry grinned. “That does sound like something Lucius would do.” Draco chuckled, it still amazed him how well Harry was assimilating into the family.

            “That doesn’t bother you?” Harry shook his head. “No. To understand Lucius you have to understand the dynamics of being the Lord to a pureblood line. I understand why he does the things he does. I don’t like them but I understand them. And he can’t touch Draco now so it doesn’t matter what he might have done if things had been different.”

            Bill furrowed his brows. “Because you are soulmates?”

            “That is part of it. But no, I had him sign over his rights to control any of Draco’s decisions in life. He can’t ask Draco to do anything.” Bill sat back in his chair in surprise.

            “You took away his rights to dictate his only heir?” He breathed in wonder. Merlin, he was surprised Harry was still alive.

            Draco grinned proudly. “Yes he did. It was the only thing he asked for after he defended my father in court.”

           Bill shared a stunned look with his wife. Wow. He had been wondering since the day of the trial what Harry could have possibly gotten out of getting Lucius Malfoy off. But this was not what he had been thinking. Harry hadn’t asked for money or any material possession. He had asked for Draco to have the right to live his own life. That was… well he wasn’t sure what it was.

           “Lucius has grown on me. Like a wart that you didn’t want but can’t get rid of, so you just tell everyone it is a beauty mark.” Everyone busted out laughing.

            Draco was wiping his eyes. “Oh Salazar, I am so telling him you said that.” Harry just grinned in response.

            “I am sure he feels the same way. He did make me an heir.” At Bill’s choking Harry showed him the heir ring on his right hand.

            “That… That…” Draco was amused. But that had pretty much been his response too. So he couldn’t tease too much.

            “I know.” Harry replied with a giant grin. He loved looking at the Malfoy crest on the ring. He had a family and he wasn’t afraid to show it. They wanted him in their family and made the necessary arrangements to ensure it. He had never felt so wanted before. He loved that he was to be a Malfoy.

            Harry looked up at Draco and smiled softly. “I can’t wait till I am a Malfoy.”

            Bill was sure that the surprises would have stopped coming by now, what else could they say that would shock him. But nope, they kept them coming.

            “You are dropping ze Potter name?” Fleur asked curiously. “Mhm. I really want to become a Malfoy. I am tired of being a Potter. I know that my parents would probably have wanted the name to continue on but they aren’t here to make that decision. I am. So when we get married, I will be Harry James Malfoy.”

            Draco felt a thrill go through Harry at the name. He grinned besottedly. “I like the sound of that.” He breathed out. Harry grinned. “I do too.” He said softly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Harry and Draco's Shell Cottage experience had to be divided into two chapters. I apologize for that but it would have been wayyy too long otherwise. 
> 
> Any thoughts on the visit so far? I did my best to write Fleur how she talks in the books. It was difficult and probably too many Zs but I think it turned out alright. In the books there wasn't really any depth to Fleur at all. So my goal is to change that. The next chapter will showcase more of her personality and some insight into her take on the family. 
> 
> French conversation.   
> Draco- C’est I’un de mes favoris- This is one of my favorites.   
> Fleur- Vous parlez fancais aussi? C’est merveilleux- You speak French too? That's wonderful!  
> Draco partial sentence- Avoir une tante- Having an Aunt-
> 
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	29. Malfoy and Malfoy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smut at the end. That's about all the warning I can give you. ;P

            Fleur smiled warmly at the pair. She adored them. Fleur didn’t get along with Bills family, she pretended as best as she could. There were so many of them and it was hard to keep track of the many different flowing conversations. Not to mention that his relatives didn’t like her much either. She had gained the grudging respect of Molly after Bill was attacked and she proved her love for him. But they weren’t close and Molly never made her feel welcome. Arthur was decent to her but he didn’t welcome her either. Fleur figured it was because he didn’t want to attract Molly’s ire.

           With her family in France she had gotten quite lonely. She didn’t have any friends here other than Bill and Charlie. With Charlie in Romania most of the time, all she had was her husband. She had always found the twins to be funny but they hadn’t ever really warmed up to her. Ginny hated her. That much was obvious. The girl thought she was so clever lowering her voice to ensure that Fleur couldn’t hear her. Didn’t she realize that her sense of hearing was heightened due to that fact that she was part creature? The snide insults and her horrid impressions of Fleur had never hurt her. It made her angry for sure. But she was a firm believer that the only people that could hurt you were the ones that she gave the power to. No one can hurt you unless you let them. Ron… was just weird. He was always hanging on to her every word. When she moved, she could feel his eyes on her tracking her movements. It freaked her out.  

            She wasn’t sure what it was about her that made people weary of her. Was it that she was part Veela? They accepted Remus and he was a werewolf. Were they worried that she had somehow tricked Bill into marrying her? Probably. That was why she was feeling a kindred spirit with Draco. People would always mistrust them and never bother getting to know them. She knew that Draco had done bad things. Everyone has. People were kidding themselves if they think they never did something wrong. Sure, his were worse than your everyday sins but Draco was not bad nor evil. She could see the bigotry that he would have to overcome when he stepped out in the public eye. He would be facing people’s prejudices just as much as she did when she was not with Bill.

            Women hated her on first sight, worried that she would want to steal their husband or boyfriends. Fleur wasn’t stupid, she knew she had beautiful looks and she even at times abused that when she was younger. Some of the women would look at her and hate her based off of envy. They wanted her looks and wanted to be her. But the thing people don’t realize is that yes, she may be beautiful but there will always be someone else who is just as beautiful or even more so. Jealousy is wanting things that you don’t have. They envied her beauty while she envied the way they could walk around without glares. She envied the freedom that they had when just shopping or going out in public. Which is why she never could make female friends.

            But friends that were guys were hard to come by too. Most men can’t ignore the pull of her Veela looks. Trying to have a conversation with someone who can’t keep the dazed admiration off their faces was off putting. Which is why she loved that Harry had never looked at her like that. She could admit that she had not been very friendly with him at first. By all rights, it had looked like a boy wanting fame and fortune, she had assumed that he placed his name in the goblet of fire. But the more she watched him the more she grew confused. He didn’t act like someone who wanted attention. She would watch him take the jeers and taunts of his classmates with a bowed head. She would watch the way he helped others and the way he handled the first task. He didn’t gloat or talk down to others. He had thrown her for a loop back then. She couldn’t figure him out. Even when she _tried_ to use her looks, wanting to see how he would handle it, Harry never once batted a lash. He was different. She liked different.

            Then he had saved her sister during the second task when he didn’t have to. That was not someone who was seeking fame or admiration. She finally believed that he did not put his name in the goblet. She had tried talking to Madame Maxine about it but it didn’t go very far. It wasn’t their responsibility nor their jurisdiction to try. If Harry had been older she might have wanted to be with him but he was too young. She couldn’t help but compare him to her little sister. She knew they weren’t too far apart in age but she had always been drawn to older men. Harry was sweet and brave but not her type.

            When she fell for Bill it was like a dream come true. Here was another man that wasn’t interested in her Veela looks. Bill actually wanted to listen to her when she talked. His attention was on what she was saying and not her body. Bill loved her because of who she is and not what she looked like. Fleur was thrilled to learn that Harry was close with Bill’s family. That would mean she would be able to stay in contact with the boy she considered a younger brother. When Bill had been attacked, she had been heartbroken. Not because of his face but because he would now have to face the prejudices of the world. He wasn’t actually a werewolf so it saved him from most glares but he still had some residual effects. Not to mention that his face just screamed werewolf attack. Bill didn’t have it nearly as bad as Remus but the looks still got to her husband at times. Fleur was nearly immune to them by now. So she would just comfort her husband the best that she could.

            She had hoped that she would be able to fit into the Weasley family. She could see how much love they held for each other and it reminded her of her own family. But when they didn’t welcome her in she had been rather hurt. Bill had tried speaking to his family about it but Fleur didn’t want him to. She wanted them to like her for her own merits not because he had to talk to them about it. Day to day life was a little boring by herself. She loved her life with Bill and wouldn’t trade it for the world but sometimes she got so lonely when Bill was gone. She just wanted friends or even just one friend. Someone to talk to that wasn’t her husband. When Bill told her about Harry and Draco, she asked him to invite them over. Finally, she was going to see Harry again. She didn’t care what the entire world was saying about Draco, she would reserve judgement when she saw him. That was one thing she learned throughout life. Looks can be deceiving. She was the perfect example.

            Fleur had been delighted to find out how caring Draco was. It was the first time meeting him so she didn’t have a whole lot to go on but the way he cared for Harry was obvious. Draco loved Harry, it could be seen with every move he made. Anyone that could love so strongly couldn’t be bad. She didn’t know the details of his crimes or why he did them but she didn’t have to. Harry defended him and that was all that mattered. If the rest of the Weasley’s couldn’t understand that then she would make sure that her home was always open for them. Harry and Draco would always be welcome at Shell Cottage.

            Bill saw the content look on his wife’s face as she watched Harry and Draco. He knew that his family’s dislike of her affected her whether she wanted to admit it or not. It was odd considering how tolerant and warm hearted his family was that they refused to welcome Fleur. She had stopped coming to family get togethers after their wedding. Bill had hoped that his mother would finally accept her after they wed but to his dismay his mother’s attitude hadn’t changed any. He just couldn’t understand it. Was it some weird form of jealousy? Was it Fleur’s looks? Did they think he had been duped? He was a curse breaker for fucks sake! If he could be duped by a witch’s charms, then he deserved to be fired. The idea that his mother would think that he could handle deadly ancient curses but not simple lures of Fleur’s looks, was insulting! Despite Fleur not wanting to go to the burrow she always forced him to. She refused to be the reason he had a falling out with his family. Which always warmed him. How could his mother not accept the beautiful soul that was his wife? So he grudgingly would go to the burrow for dinner every couple months and was disgusted at the way his mother’s eyes would light up when she noticed that Fleur was not with him. It always made him want to turn around and go back home. But the look he knew he would receive from Fleur if he did was enough reason to grit his teeth and stay.

            Every dinner he would be forced to hear his mother complain about how much she missed him and how since he was living in England he really should come home to visit more often. He always wanted to scoff. She couldn’t accept his wife but she wanted him to come by more? It was hard enough coming over at all. Then Percy died and he knew how much his mother needed him. So as much as he wished Fleur would be there with him, he would go to his mother’s more alone. So instead of every couple of months it was once or even twice a month.   Some people would probably grow annoyed that Fleur wasn’t coming by. But Bill didn’t resent it. If it had been reversed, he wouldn’t want to show up either. He knew that if he really wanted her there she would go in a heartbeat, but he wasn’t cruel enough to ask.

            It saddened him to think that the only person in England that she talked to was him. Fleur wasn’t meant to be cooped up. She had so much spunk and life inside her. It should be shared with the world. But the prejudices got to her and it pissed him off. Why did people have to hate what they don’t understand? What did it matter if she was different from them? She had feelings too. She didn’t deserve their treatment.

            But as he watched how much enjoyment she got from having them over, he knew that Harry and Draco would become regular visitors at their home. That was perfectly okay with him. He had always enjoyed Harry’s company and he had no issues with Draco either.

            “So Fleur are you still working at Gringotts?” Harry asked once he realized he had gotten distracted with Draco.

            Fleur looked down at her plate sadly. Harry looked at her concerned. He reached out and gently touched her hand. “Are you okay?”

            She looked up at him gratefully. That was new. She wasn’t used to anyone but Bill caring about her. “Ze customers complained about me. Zey refused zoo come zrough my line.” She looked away uncomfortably.

            Draco leaned in towards her. “Why?” He pressed gently. Fleur stayed quiet. Bill was the one to answer. “Because she is quarter Veela. It makes people uncomfortable.” Fleur folded her hands in her lap and wouldn’t look up at them. It still stung when the goblins let her go. They had said that after the disastrous war they couldn’t afford to lose any more customers.

            “So the goblins let her go?” Harry asked incredulously. “They are creatures too the fucking hypocrites!” Fleur looked up surprised at Harry’s anger.

            Bill sat back in his chair and prepared to see where Harry was going to take this. It was obvious that he was upset. He himself had nearly quit when he found out but Fleur begged him not to.

            Harry turned to Draco. “Are you thinking what I am thinking?” Draco tilted his head as his mind hurled through many laws that his father made him learn.

            “The Equality Act of 1950?” Harry nodded rapidly. “Hmm. Yes, but Harry that only covers full creatures not half or quarter creatures.” The law required employers to not disallow someone with creature blood to work at their establishment based on them being a magical creature. The law was nearly worthless. The only thing it did was force the employers to site a different reason for why they weren’t welcome at their business.

            Harry narrowed his eyes. “Okay but what about The Workers for Payment Act of 1955?” Draco shook his head. “That wouldn’t work either. That one demands equal payment for all persons including magical creatures.” Harry growled.

            Fleur was confused as to what they were doing but Bill was amused and touched that they were talking about ways to get past the goblins decision.

            “Even if we found a legit reason we would still have to get past the Refusal Act of 1860. Any place of business is allowed to choose who or why a person can be terminated from employment.” Draco pointed out. Harry swore and thrust his hands through his hair in frustration.

            Harry’s head shot up. “What about the Prejudice Act of 1975?” Draco looked at him incredulously. Had Harry gone daft? “No think about the wording Draco.”

            Draco’s eyes widened. “That’s brilliant! No one has done anything like this. It would be completely unprecedented.” Harry grinned as excitement shot through the both of them.

            “Salazar, it is so Slytherin of you. Think it will work?” Draco said impressed at his line of thinking.

            “Will what work?” Fleur demanded to know. Bill was scrambling to try and remember his history of magic lessons to understand all the laws they were siting.

            “Isn’t the Prejudice Act of 1975 for muggleborns?” Bill asked a little confused. At least he was pretty sure that was what the law was. History of Magic had never been his forte. He had always used that class to work on homework for his other classes.

            “Yes. But it states that any company, business or place of employment cannot terminate an employee for their blood status.” Draco explained with a smile and his eyes alive.

            Fleur frowned. “But they didn’t. I am a pureblood, they didn’t fire me for blood status.”

            “Fleur where does your creature heritage come from?” Harry asked. Bill’s eyes widened in realization.

            “From blood. Mine eez passed down from my grandmother.” She gasped Draco clapped his hands in excitement. “See? It didn’t state what type of blood status. That is their fault. Harry and I can fight this. We can take this back to the goblins and demand your job back…” Fleur wasn’t sure she wanted to work at a place that was ran by hypocrites.

            “Or we can take this straight to the Wizengamot and sue Gringotts for wrongful termination. You would be entitled to all the money that you would have been making if they hadn’t let you go. Not to mention we could sue for emotional distress too.” Harry added when Draco trailed off.

            Fleur felt a flurry of affection for both of them. “You would do zis for me?” Harry and Draco smiled fondly at her. “Of course we would.” Draco assured her.

            Bill gripped Fleur’s hand in silent support. It would have to be up to her to make the decision.

            “What will sueing zem do? Eet won’t get ze job back.” Fleur wanted to know. It would be nice to have the money that she would have been making but they weren’t hurting for galleons.

            “That’s true. But Draco was right when he said this was unprecedented. No one has done this before. It will make the front pages and possibly go international. Not to mention when Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter personally try your case. This case is going to receive a lot of attention. When the trial is done, I imagine you could get any job that you want.”

            Fleur was unsure if she wanted national attention. It wasn’t that big of a deal what the goblins had done to her. It was nothing she wasn’t used to. “If you could have any job in the world what would it be?” Draco asked Fleur.

            Good question. She hadn’t given that much thought when she had been in school and with the tournament and moving to England, she had settled for working at Gringotts part time. What did she want to do?

            “I zink zat I would like zoo work somewhere zat ‘elps other people with creature blood.” Fleur said finally. That would be her dream job. She didn’t want other people to have to go through what she did. She wanted to protect people with creature blood.

            “You know… my father has a friend in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.” Bill was a little uncomfortable at any friend of Lucius Malfoy.

            “I don’t know if you know this but their department is the second largest department in the Ministry. There are many subdivisions inside it. Including the liaison offices for Centaurs and Goblins. They have been talking about needing a liaison office for Veela and Werewolves too. But they haven’t had the time or the funding to open them. You could always see if you could get on with them if they open a Veela liaison office or you could always just work for the regular department. I can talk to him and see what he thinks.” Draco offered.

            “That way, we can just take the threat of sueing Gringotts to the Goblins and hopefully settle with them without having to go to court. Then you wouldn’t attract any attention but it would still be filed within the Ministry so they would know about it, and they would know that you mean business. That would for sure help you land a job in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. It would show that you mean what you say when trying to help out magical creatures.” Draco told her gently.

            Bill was speechless. Would they really do that for her? Would they really go through all of that trouble?

             “I think if I worded it a certain way, I am sure I could get Kingsley to see about funding the liaison office for Veelas.” Harry said with a wicked grin.

            Fleur walked around the table in a flash and hugged them both to her. “Zank you! I don’t know what zoo say. Are you sure about zis?” She asked through tears.

            Draco smiled at her and gently wiped her tears. “We would love to do this for you Fleur. It means a lot to us that the two of you can accept us for who we are and we would love to be of any assistance.” Fleur clutched them tighter before stepping away and walking to Bill. She needed his support. Bill pulled her to his lap and wrapped his arms around her.

            “Thank you.” Bill rasped with emotion. “We can pay you if you would like.” He offered not really knowing what to offer. He didn’t think Harry and Draco were getting a good deal in this. Bill felt that him and Fleur accepting them didn’t warrant this big of a repayment. Family didn’t expect to be repaid anyways.

            Draco and Harry both put on affronted looks. “We don’t want your money. We want to do this for you guys.” Draco said firmly.

            The tone of his voice let Bill know that arguing would be useless. They made up their mind and they wouldn’t take anything from Bill, so he just nodded at the stern looks.

            “Your guys’ knowledge was impressive. I don’t remember you being so informed in history Harry.” Bill mentioned curiously.

            Harry flushed slightly at the praise. “When I was doing research for Draco’s trial, I poured through the entire legal section of the Black library.” Draco held up a hand.

            “The entire section?” Draco asked in shock and awe. Harry shrugged suddenly feeling self-conscious. “It fascinated me. I liked to learn about all the laws that I didn’t know existed. Besides I figured if I was going to be with a Slytherin for the rest of my life that I ought to know ways around the laws. To do that, I needed to learn them first.” Harry said with a laugh. Draco’s eyes lit up in admiration.

            “That is not a small feat. Fuck, it would take me _ages_ to read through all that.” Bill raised a brow. It must be a lot of books. Harry just shrugged, even being with Draco and his constant praise it was still hard to hear compliments.

            “Well what about you Draco?” Draco snorted. “My father made sure I knew the laws. ‘Laws are meant to be broken. A Malfoy is above the government.’ Draco recited in a perfect drawl of his father.

            Bill decided to not reply to that. Anything he said could be taken as an insult to his father. “Have you two given any thought on becoming lawyers? You would be an impressive duo.”

            Harry and Draco shared a considering look. Draco had felt Harry’s pleasure when he talked about the law books. Harry really had enjoyed them. It was the first thing that Draco has seen that attracted his soulmate in a while.

            “I have thought about it.” Draco turned towards Harry. “You haven’t said anything to me.” He told him sharply.

            Harry grimaced. “I know, it’s just that I know you thought about getting a Masters in potions or something related to potions. And I had this idea that we could open up our own law firm!” Draco raised his brows in surprise.

            “We could call it _Malfoy & Malfoy: Superior Attorneys at Law_. Or something like that. Most attorneys usually specialize in certain things. Like Magical Heir disputes. Galleon Bankruptcy cases. Small claims. Creature injuries. Creature Smuggling. Magical Accidents. Personal Liability. Property and Estates. Business Enterprises. Medical Malpractice. Criminal Defense. Divorce proceedings. Wrongful Bonding. Magical Contracts. Misuse of Potions. The list goes on and on. But I was thinking that our law firm could handle _all_ of it. We could make a name for ourselves by taking on _any_ case. We would definitely have to hire other lawyers too, to help with the case load but I thought it was something we could do together you know?”

            Draco’s mouth had dropped open somewhere during Harry’s speech. He was stunned at the depths that Harry had gone when thinking about this. Harry wasn’t talking about a job that he wanted them to do. He was talking about a career. They would be a force to be reckoned with. Harry wanted to create an empire with his vision. Despite it involving his father’s teachings, a spark of interest flared inside him.

            Harry began to grow nervous. He ignored that gobsmacked faces of Bill and Fleur. “If you don’t want to that’s okay. I can become a lawyer alone, I just thought it-” Harry was cut off by a pair of firm and needy lips. Harry smiled into the kiss.

            “You really want to do this? You want us to become lawyers?” Draco asked when he leaned away to peer into Harry’s face. Harry smiled into Draco’s eyes.

            “I think it would be really cool to share this dream with you. With the entire firm, we wouldn’t have to work the same cases or anything. That way we wouldn’t be smothering each other 24/7. But I only want this if you do too. I know how much potions means to you.” Harry bit his lip nervously.

            Draco hummed in thought. “I do like potions and I do want to become a Potions Master.” Draco smiled at the disappointment he saw in Harry’s eyes. “But I don’t have to get it right away.” Harry was confused. “We can become lawyers and open up our own firm and then when things settle down some, I could study for my Mastery. And depending on how well the firm is doing, I might open up the apothecary that I wanted too. I can be a lawyer part time and also a Potions Master.” Draco grinned at the hope shining in Harry’s eyes.

            “You mean it? We can do this?” Harry asked with rising giddiness. Oh Merlin, he hadn’t been this excited about his future since he knew he would be spending the rest of his life with Draco.

            Draco was only able to manage a nod before he was catching Harry, who had leapt straight at him. Draco laughed as he held Harry to him.

            “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.” Harry gushed between kisses. Draco closed his eyes and drank in the happy emotions that Harry was emitting. This must be what drugs felt like.

            Draco looked over to see Bill and Fleur looking at them with small smiles. “It looks like we are going to be lawyers after Hogwarts.” Bill snorted at the obvious statement.

            “I can see that.” He said dryly with a grin slowly forming. Bill knew just by the way they had talked that they would become amazing lawyers. Besides, Harry had already done the impossible and got Lucius Malfoy off without even paying a fine. Anyone who could do that would definitely be a force to be reckoned with.

            “Are you sure aspiring young lawyers like yourselves don’t want some type of payment? It doesn’t have to be money if you don’t want. But I would feel better if we could repay you for all that you are going to do for Fleur.” Bill hesitantly asked. He wasn’t at all surprised by the twin glares being sent his way.    

            “We didn’t take any money from the twins. We won’t take any from you.” Draco said firmly.

            Bill jerked in surprise. “The twins? Are they alright? Why did they need legal help?”

            Harry smiled at the concern he had for his younger brothers. “They are fine. Draco helped them buy out Zonko’s Joke Shop.” Bill’s mouth dropped open. He had not known that!

            Draco’s face flushed. “I didn’t help out that much.” Harry scoffed. “Draco! They would have paid 15% over the market price without you. With your help you got them only paying for 60% retail price! For a prime location like Hogsmede that was a gift to them.” Harry chided. He loved Draco he really did but Draco should be proud of his accomplishments.

            Bill was impressed. “I’ll say. Merlin, that is incredible. They are going to dominate the joke shop industry.” Draco snorted. “Definitely now that they have Pansy and Blaise with them too.”

            Bill furrowed his brows. “Who?” Harry smiled. “They are friends of ours. Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zabini.” Harry explained. Bills eyebrows rose to his hair line. He did not know who they were but he sure knew their family name.

            “And they went into business with the twins?” He asked doubtfully. He didn’t see the twins as wanting to have business partners.

            They shook their heads in unison. “No. Pansy is dating George and Blaise is dating Fred.” Bill’s mouth dropped back open. He blinked into the amused faces of Draco and Harry.

            Bill felt a pang of regret that he hadn’t known any of this. His brothers were in relationships and also expanding their business but hadn’t mentioned it at all. “I wonder why they didn’t tell me.”

            Draco shifted uncomfortably. He hadn’t wanted to upset Bill. “Maybe they were worried about how their relationship would be taken considering everyone’s reaction to Harry just being friends with me.”

            Bill thought about it and it made sense… sort of. But he wished that his baby brothers had told him. That would have been nice.

            “You could ask them about it tomorrow at the Weasley dinner we have been invited to.” Harry said nervously. Whether for Bill of for himself. Merlin, he so did not want to go.

            Fleur jerked in surprise. “You both are going?” Harry glared at Draco. “Only because Draco says I have to.” Harry didn’t care that he sounded like a petulant child.

            Draco rolled his eyes. “Love I already told you, I will not be the reason you have a fall out with them. We will go and I will be on my best behavior. And when she asks why you saved the spawn of Satan from Azkaban, I won’t even grimace. Pureblood honor.” Draco held up his hand in salute. Harry tried to keep glaring but Draco’s easy admittance of what was to come made his mouth twitch.

            “Are you referring to yourself or your father with that reference?” Draco snorted. “That is a good question.”

            Bill twitched in his seat. Draco wasn’t far off. He knew his mother was going to say some things. He almost wished Harry and Draco weren’t going to go.

            “Eef you zoo are going zen so will I.” Fleur declared. Bill turned to gape at his wife. She was volunteering to go?

            “Oh that would be lovely to have a welcoming face there.” Draco sighed in relief. Plus, it didn’t hurt that Fleur was essentially in his same position. The Weasley family didn’t like her either. He felt a kinship with the woman.

            Bill wasn’t too sure about that but it would divide the attention away from them somewhat. He couldn’t help but be proud of his wife. She knew exactly what she was getting herself into and she was doing it anyways.

            Fleur beamed at Draco. There was no way she was going to let Molly harass sweet Draco tomorrow without her there to protect him. She would make sure Bill will too. Harry and Draco didn’t deserve the things she knew Molly was going to say.

            Harry felt a rush of affection for Fleur. He knew how much the rest of the family didn’t like her. That was always something he didn’t understand. He couldn’t figure out why Ginny hated her so strongly. Fleur was a lovely person once you got to know her. He wondered if it was a girl thing. Did girls hate other pretty girls in spite? ‘You are pretty, so therefore I must hate you’ Is that how they thought? Because that is the only thing he could think of why she would dislike Fleur. Harry was beyond grateful that she would be showing up. Bill and the twins being there was nice too but it meant a lot for Fleur to come despite her not being wanted there.

            “Thank you.” Harry told her with feeling. Fleur’s eyes softened at the thanks. It was a sad day when a simple act like going to the in-laws could react such gratitude from Harry. It showed how worried and scared he was. Fleur had been there. She faced the same thing every single time she goes over there. The only friendly face she had seen over there besides her husbands, had been Charlie and the occasional times Harry was over. Fleur was determined to be there for the both of them.

            They enjoyed the rest of a pleasant night. Harry enjoyed spending time getting to know the both of them better. Fleur had a surprisingly dry sense of humor once she understood what you were trying to say. The language barrier still didn’t all the way translate sometimes. Bill was warm and caring, he was so different from Fred and George, Harry had to wonder if they were really related. Not that the twins weren’t warm or caring because they were, just not like this. Some people wear their emotions and their hearts on their sleeves. Draco was always telling Harry that he fit into that category. But Bill wore it all in his eyes. Harry could see the genuine joy Bill had at them being in their home. Harry could see that Bill really did accept him and by extension Draco. Harry could see that it wasn’t just him that Bill liked too. When he looked at Draco, Harry could see the same warmth in his chocolate brown eyes.

            His earlier nervousness outside seemed silly. He had been worried for nothing. Harry knew that they would become frequent visitors of Shell Cottage. And perhaps Bill and Fleur would want to come to Grimwald Place. When Fleur began hiding yawns behind her hand, Harry declared it was time to go.

            “So we will see you tomorrow?” Harry asked as he tried to smile but it came out as a grimace. Bill chuckled and clasped his shoulder briefly.

            “It will be fine.” He tried to assure Harry. Which Harry didn’t believe for a second. Even Bill had said it with weariness!

            “ ‘arry?” Harry turned towards Fleur and was surprised to see her looking bashful and not meeting his eyes. He looked towards Bill but he was no help, he shook his head and shot his wife a curious look.

            “Yeah?” Fleur fidgeted slightly which concerned him. “Would you mind eef I firecalled you and Draco sometime?” She looked up to see his wide eyes and hurried for an explanation. “Eet ez just zat eet gets lonely when Bill is gone. I don’t know any other people in England.”

            Harry’s heart clenched at the sweet request. He opened his mouth to answer but Draco beat him to the punch. “Of course you can. Actually, later this week Harry and I are supposed to do some shopping with Pansy and Blaise. The twins might go too. Would you like to come?” Harry grinned at Draco and sent him a rush of affection. Bill also flashed him a giant grin.

            “I would like zat, zank you. I want to meet zee people who caught ze zwins attention.” She said with a slight smirk. Draco and Harry grinned conspiratorially. “We aren’t even going to tell them you are coming.” Harry said smirking. Fleur was confused. Why would he want to do that?

            “We want to enjoy the panic on their faces when they realize that you are part of the Weasley family.” Draco finished with a cackle.

            “Zat eez mean. I like eet.” Fleur said with a grin. She would have been grateful for just being able to firecall them but them wanting her to go with them meant a lot to her. Fleur hugged them both to her. “Zank you.” She said with feeling. Harry and Draco just hugged her tighter in response.

            After they stepped into the floo and announced their destination, Harry and Draco could hear Fleur.

            “Did you ‘ear zat Bill? Oh what will I wear?” Fleur gushed in excitement. “Babe it is days away.” Came Bills amused response. They couldn’t hear her response as they were whisked away and landed in their living room. Well Harry landed, Draco walked out calmly.

            “She is so sweet. I really liked them.” Draco said with affection. “That is great and all but a little help would be nice.” Harry grumbled from his position on the floor. Draco valiantly kept his laughter at bay but he could not stop his amusement from flowing through.

            “I’m not even going to ask how I managed to fall but you didn’t. The fates hate me. Or karma does. One of the two just keeps fucking with me.” Harry said rather put out as Draco helped him up. Draco wisely said nothing. He just helped Harry wipe all the soot off of him.

            “Don’t even say anything.” Harry warned. Draco raised his hands and brows in surrender.

            To distract Harry from his irritation, Draco wrapped his arms around Harry’s waist. “I really enjoyed tonight. I can see why you like them.” Harry grinned despite himself. “Yeah and they took us being soulmates really well.” Harry pointed out with a smile.

            “Fleur is a sweetheart.” Harry hummed in agreement. “You know who else is a sweetheart?” Harry asked as he nipped Draco’s neck. Draco tilted his head to the side to give Harry more room. “Tell me.”

            Harry sucked a dark ring into Draco’s neck that he would most likely regret tomorrow when they were sitting uncomfortably at the burrow. “You are.” Harry rasped in desire as he admired his finished work.

           “You know what might make me even more sweet?” Draco breathed as he took in Harry’s lust. Harry grinned wickedly. “That bottle of honey?” Draco moaned as images of Harry drizzling it all over his body came rushing into his mind.   

            “I like the sound of that. We can also experiment with **_parseltongue_**.” Draco shuddered as the hiss went straight to his cock.

            “Fuck.” Draco moaned. “You better take me to the bedroom or I am going to beg you to bend me over the couch.” Draco warned.

            Harry chuckled darkly. “I like the sound of you bent over the couch.” Draco moaned at that.

            “Do you think Kreacher is asleep?” Draco worried. “Who cares? He should know by now to check the room before entering it. Especially after he went to make breakfast and walked in on you fucking me on the table.” Harry retorted. Draco’s cock jumped at the memory. Mmm, despite being walked in on that had been one of the hottest fucks of their relationship.

            “He has been hinting that we need a new table since then.” Harry laughed out loud. “He probably disinfected the shite out of it. And you weren’t any help either. You pulled out of me and came all over the dinner plates just to spite him!”

            Draco shrugged sheepishly. “Yeah well he walked in on us! I had to make up for that. I used a charm to clean it up so that he wouldn’t have to clean our body fluids. That has to count for something, right?”

            “Hmm no, I don’t think so.” Harry said smiling at Dracos’ expression. Draco narrowed his eyes. “Are you going to fuck me or not? I mean I might have to finish myself off if you are going to take all day.”

            Harry’s eyes widened at the arousal that image brought. Fuck. “We are coming back to that at a later date. Fuck that was hot. But yes I am going to fuck you.” Draco could see the promise in those lust filled green eyes.

            In their haste to get lost in one another’s bodies as they ripped off each other’s clothes, they forgot about the honey. But as Draco took in the lithe sexy form of Harry’s body it didn’t seem important. Harry summoned the lube and thrilled at Draco’s spike of arousal at the wandless magic. They both could do it but Draco loved watching him do it more.

            Harry urged Draco onto the couch until he was clutching the arm of the couch with his arse in the air. Harry had to close his eyes for a moment. Merlin, Draco was a walking wet dream.

 ** _“So beautiful.”_** Draco gasped at the hissed words spoken so lovingly. He had no idea what Harry was saying but he liked it. A lot. **_“Look at you all spread out for me. You are so desperate for me. For my hand. My mouth. My cock.”_**

            “Harry.” Draco moaned desperately. Gods he needed Harry to do something. “Touch me please. Do something, anything.”

            Harry grinned ferally down at the pleading mass of blonde. **_“You want me to touch you?”_** Harry slowly caressed the Draco’s back and then slowly kneaded the plump flesh of his arse. **_“I’ll do more than touch you.”_**

            Draco was trembling and Harry hadn’t even done anything yet. Draco clenched his hands, gripping the couch tightly.

            Harry spread Draco’s cheeks and watched fascinated at the twitching pink hole. Harry leaned forward and licked a long stripe of his tongue against the crease of his arse. Draco let out a loose guttural cry at the contact.

 ** _“You like that?”_** Draco shuddered. “Please Harry. I need more.” Harry loved it when Draco begged. It got his blood boiling. **_“As you wish.”_**

            Harry spread Draco’s cheeks wider and swirled his tongue along the puckered hole, relishing the sharp tang of Draco’s taste.

            Draco moaned as the feel of Harry digging his fingers into his hips, causing his cock to brush up against the couch, providing friction for his aching member.

            Harry pressed the flat of his tongue against Draco before the tip of his tongue teased the tight rim, prodding the tight muscles before pushing inside. Harry listened to Draco’s desperate cries as his tongue twisted and caressed the velvet walls.

            “Fuck. Oh Merlin, please. I-I want… need… ugh… yes. Oh yes. _Please_ -”

            Harry moaned as Draco’s babbling reached him. Draco screamed at the vibrations.

            “H-Harry… can’t wait… oh Merlin… need you… _fuck_ … fuck me… need you now...”

            Harry ignored the pleading. He blindly reached for the lube he had summoned earlier. He continued to thrust his tongue as deep as possible into the writhing blonde as he coated his fingers.

            Draco jumped slightly when a finger joined Harry’s tongue. “Harry.” Draco moaned. Soon a second finger met the first. Fuck that felt good. But it wasn’t enough.

            “More… need… yes… oh yes… Harry… I need you… fuck me… ungh!” Draco screamed when his prostate was hit by those lovely twisting fingers.

            Harry pulled away and ignored Draco’s disappointed noise at the loss of contact. He quickly lubed himself up before lining his throbbing cock up to the well oiled hole.

            “Harry.” At the pleading tone Harry couldn’t wait. He slammed into Draco and relished the loud scream. Draco panted. Yes, this is exactly what he wanted. He eagerly thrusted his arse backwards groaning when his prostate was hit.

            “You feel so good. So tight.” Harry praised as he thrusted harshly. Draco wanted to say something but it came out as a loud wail that he would later deny making.

            “Fuck.” Harry moaned into Draco’s ear as his hands began caressing up and down Draco’s thighs before grabbing his hips, pulling out slowly just to thrust back in harshly.

            Draco’s eyes rolled back into his head as Harry set up a brutal pace that took his breath away. The panting and low grunts from Harry sent shivers down Draco’s spine. “Yours.” Draco managed to get out.

            Harry snapped his hips hard in response, his nostrils flaring up in desire. “Damn right you are. Mine, all mine.” Harry leaned forward to give hot open mouthed kisses to Draco’s shoulder and back.

            Draco cried out when one of Harry’s hands left his hip to palm and tug his dick. “Mmm. You like that Draco?” Draco moaned and nodded his head.

            Harry slowed down when Draco didn’t answer him. Draco whimpered at the slow pace. “Yes.” He choked out. _“J’aime ca.”_ Draco was barely aware that he was speaking French. He just wanted Harry to move faster.

            Harry had no idea what Draco just said but it didn’t matter. Fuck. He couldn’t go slow if he tried. Harry picked up the pace and was pounding as fast as he could inside of Draco.

            _“Oui.”_ Draco moaned. Harry groaned, fuck Draco needed to stop that or this was going to be over. **_“Do you know how hot you are when you speak French?”_**

            Draco’s whole body started twitching in response to the parseltongue. “Oh god.” Harry smirked in response and moved his hand on top of Draco faster and harder. Draco was meeting each of Harry’s thrusts as best as he could. It was difficult with the fast pace but it worked. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to thrust back onto Harry’s cock or thrust into Harry’s hand that was wrapped around him.

            “So close.” Draco panted. “Mmm.” Harry moaned as he rammed into Draco’s prostate and then groaning when Draco clenched around him in response.

            “Harry!” Draco screamed as his orgasm ripped through him, his shaft pulsing and twitching in Harry’s grasp. Harry continued to pump him until every last drop of come had been milked out.

            The sound of Draco’s scream was ringing in Harry’s ear. It should be illegal to sound that good. The feel of Draco’s warm fluids on his hand and the velvet walls clenching around him was enough for his own orgasm to come too. Harry stilled and groaned Draco’s name as every last bit of his energy left him through his cock and into Draco’s still quivering arse.

            Draco groaned as Harry slumped forward onto him. He twisted around until he was on his back and pulled Harry to his chest. They were sweaty and Draco’s come was sticky between them but they couldn’t be bothered to care. Draco grinned boneless and sated as he combed through Harry’s messier than normal hair. “Mmm” Harry purred reminding Draco of a cat.

            “I’m not moving.” Harry warned. “Is that so? We have a perfectly capable bed upstairs.” Came the amused reply.

            Harry shook his head and settled deeper into Draco’s chest. “I don’t care. I don’t have to energy to move. Let’s sleep here.” It was not a question but a demand. Draco’s lips twitched, he couldn’t deny Harry anything. “Alright.” Draco kissed the top of Harry’s head and settled down for the night. “Anything you want.” Draco mumbled as his eyes began to droop. Harry grinned smugly before he too was pulled into sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So now that the visit at Shell Cottage is over what are your thoughts? Did you like Bill and Fleur? Like I said yesterday, I liked giving more depth to Fleur. I think she is a very underrated character, there hadn't been much on her in the books.
> 
> Thoughts on Harry's dream for the future? I think they will make lovely lawyers. Shoot if I was in trouble, I would want their help. ;P
> 
> French; J’aime ca- I love it. - Oui- Yes
> 
> I am warning you now, tomorrow's chapter is going to be very dramatic. Not in ways that you are thinking. I wont say too much but just prepare yourselves and don't kill me!  
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	30. The Ache of Longing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you might have guessed from the title, this chapter will not be how you thought it would go. I warn you that this is a major chapter for my story line and to prepare yourself. Despite the way it turns out, I still hope you enjoy it.

            Harry was pacing up and down in front of the fireplace repeatedly. His emotions were a mess. He knew that he should probably try shielding them from Draco but he couldn’t. Draco had business to do at the Ministry and Harry didn’t want to step foot into that hell hole unless absolutely required. So he had stayed home, he was beginning to regret that decision. Without Draco here to distract him, his mind began playing scenario after scenario of the disaster they were supposed to attend tonight.

            The burrow. That used to make him happy to hear when he was younger but now all it did was fill him up with a queasy stomach. He didn’t want to go to the burrow. He didn’t want to see Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, he didn’t want to see Ron, Hermione nor Ginny. The thought of them filled with him with despair but also gut wrenching anger. How could they have cut him off like that. He had been a part of their family since the summer before second year. Harry had never been a part of something like that before. The Dursley’s could never be considered a family by anyone’s perspective. So when they welcomed him in with open arms it had been a surreal experience. Something he had treasured.

            But now… he was just done. So much has happened in his life and he only wanted people in his life who actually wanted to be there. He wanted people who could accept every part of him, respect his decisions whether they agreed with them or not. He may not have had a family before but he knew damn well that the way they had treated him was not a family. They accepted him only as long as he did what they wanted. Family doesn’t do that.

            No matter how it happened the Malfoy’s took him in as a part of their family. They weren’t a typical family. The love they held for each other was like a secret. They didn’t show it but Harry could see it in their eyes and their movements. Silly purebloods. It didn’t matter that Lucius could be a right bastard and believed that muggleborns were the bugs of the world, because political beliefs held no value when it came to the love he held for his family. It didn’t matter that Narcissa could be frigid or cold, because she so obviously cared for her husband and son. It didn’t matter that Draco could be stuck up or emotionless towards everyone else, because he showed his loved ones the real him. Despite everything wrong that the rest of the world sees when they look at the Malfoy family, Harry sees the real them. The Malfoys may not be pure or even nice people but they are so much more than meets the eye.

            Draco was the first one to allow Harry in. He gave Harry the gift of himself and Harry isn’t sure that Draco realizes how precious of a gift that is. Draco let down the walls and misconceptions he held and allowed Harry to see the real him. Draco became vulnerable and fragile that night in the quidditch pitch. He had been nervous and unsure of himself as he sat there and poured his soul out to Harry, looking back Harry was amazed at the bravery. It would have been brave of him to say all that even to Pansy and Blaise let alone his rival. That show of courage had made it possible for Harry to return the favor. That night had changed everything Harry was made to believe when it came to Draco Malfoy. He had never felt so connected with someone before.

            Harry had been worried about Draco’s parents. He had only seen Narcissa three times before the woman was saving his life. Each time had not been pleasant. Harry hadn’t given her much thought. She was stuck up and always had the most unpleasant expression on her face. He had been positive that there was nothing charming about the woman. But he had been so wrong. She had saved his life. To some people that might not be something amazing. Most everyone on the light side would have done the same thing. To save him would have been second nature, so they don’t see what she did as something miraculous. But Harry knew better. Narcissa wasn’t on the light side of the war. She had no obligation or reason to save Harry. She could have easily told Voldemort that he was still alive. Her sister would have in a heartbeat. Along with every other deatheater there. They wouldn’t have thought twice about doing so.

            The gall it had taken to lie to Voldemort still flummoxed him. It wasn’t the fact that she lied but more that she believed Harry would win. If he had lost the war, she would have been the first to die. She put all her eggs on him winning. Voldemort would not have taken kindly to knowing that she was the one who made it possible for Harry to be able to fight him. He would have killed her and probably the rest of her family in his anger. She was risking herself and her entire family by saving him. That alone blew him away. When he found out about the trial his first concern had been Draco but then when the panic had cleared, he began thinking of Narcissa as well. He couldn’t allow someone who had risked so much for him to go to Azkaban.

            Narcissa was alike Mrs. Weasley in so many ways. They both cared for their family more than anything, they just showed it in different ways. Narcissa was more of the type to watch from the background. She didn’t give her son the love and attention that he needed growing up. That was something he would never be okay with. Draco grew up without knowing what love felt like. Harry wasn’t sure if it was the pureblood in her that made her want to love her son from the sidelines but he didn’t like it. But the love in her eyes was undeniable when she looked at Draco. Draco was at an age where it didn’t matter anymore if she told him, he just knew he was loved.

            Lucius Malfoy is a bastard. There is no sugar coating it or denying it. Harry wasn’t sure if it was a byproduct of how he was raised or if it was just the man’s personality. The first time he had seen Lucius in flourish and Blotts, he knew that this is where Draco got his attitude from. Draco not only looked like a carbon copy of his father he acted like him too. The contempt the man held for the Weasleys irked him. Was it because they had money and the Weasleys didn’t, that the man felt like he was better? They were both pureblood families so it couldn’t be blood status. Or was it because they weren’t dark wizards like other purebloods? Whatever the man’s problem with them, Harry hadn’t like it.

            Lucius relied too heavily on money. He didn’t do things on his own merit, he let his money do the taking. He could do so much more with his money than intimidating people and bullying to get what he wants. People with the kind of money they have could change the way things are ran. If he just used his sharp wit and intellectual mind for others instead of just himself. When Lucius was threatening him after he freed Dobby, there was something about the man that screamed dark. Not in a way that frightened him but more in a way that demanded attention. He knew that this man was not someone to mess with. This was a man who has done bad things in his past and would do them again if he had to. The power he radiated wasn’t a small thing either. Harry knew he would have to keep a watch on the man.   

           Harry had never been needed to be told that Lucius used to be a deatheater. That was just obvious. What else would the man have been? During the rebirth of Voldemort in the graveyard, Lucius had stood out even then. It made no sense to him why someone with the brains and wealth that Lucius possessed would willingly follow someone so mad. There was nothing about Voldemort that could be considered enticing. He was a deranged, psychotic megalomaniac. If he really was for purebloods like he claimed than why did he treat his followers so bad? Weren’t they supposed to be the founding blocks of his dystopian world? He was spilling the precious pureblood blood every time he did that. Why would they want to follow a tyrant dictator? The man ruled by force and demolished anyone that didn’t fit his beliefs. As Harry watched Lucius degrade himself on his knees kissing Voldemorts’ feet, he couldn’t help but wonder if this was another thing that Draco would be following his father’s footsteps in.   

           After the debacle at the Ministry Harry hated Lucius. Maybe it was because he was the one who was in charge that night. Maybe because he was Voldemort’s right hand man. Or maybe it was just because he was related to Bellatrix. Whatever the reason, Harry hated him something fierce. He had found it justice that the man had been placed inside Azkaban. At least someone was paying for their crimes. It was discouraging that it wasn’t Bellatrix but he would take what he could get. He wasn’t even surprised when during the next year there had been an escape. Harry knew that Voldemort wouldn’t have allowed his followers to sit in Azkaban when he needed to lord over them. Harry had never considered Lucius was anything but prim and polished, until they had been taken to Malfoy Manor. The man looked like death was on his doorstep. Literally. It had been a shock to his system. Obviously Voldemort’s presence in their home was not a good thing. Harry had been tempted to ask Lucius how life in Azkaban had been but considering where they were, that probably wouldn’t have been a smart idea. If Harry had paid attention he might have noticed the desperation that the man possessed. But he had been busy with trying to come up with ways to save his life.

            When Harry had been researching ways to save the Malfoy family, Harry had wondered if he was doing the right thing in saving Lucius. The man certainly didn’t deserve it. Harry was always a forgiving person. But to overlook the things the man had done was asking a lot. But the beautiful thing was that no one was actually asking him to. It was his choice if he wanted to do it. And isn’t that a miraculous thing? Harry had choices for once in his life! He could have easily walked into that courtroom and just defended Narcissa and Draco. He would not have lost any sleep over letting the man rot in Azkaban. The biggest part of his decision was Draco. He knew Draco loved his father, Draco might not say it but he did. Draco wouldn’t have resented Harry for not saving him, Draco knew exactly what his father deserved. But again, this was Harry’s choice. He saved the entire bloody world from Voldemort, if he wanted to get off one man then he was damn well going to. Besides, he needed Lucius to sign his contract. Was it selfish? Yes. Was it immoral? Eh. Was it wrong? Probably. Should he have let him go to Azkaban? Certainly. But did he care? No. This was something he was going to do whether anyone approved or not. In doing so was he forgiving the man? No. Harry would never forget the things the man had done but it wasn’t his place to be Lucius’s judge. Lucius would answer to someone else’s higher power one day. It wasn’t Harry’s place to judge him.

            Once Harry made peace with that, it wasn’t hard to let go of his hatred. Instead of despising the way Lucius did things, Harry found them silly and endearing. Lucius was an interesting guy once you understood him. He would never be warm and loving. He didn’t know how nor would he want to. It wasn’t in his nature. So once you stop expecting that from him it was easy to see through him. Lucius cared for his wife and son. He was such a bastard in the way he did things to ensure that they would always be taken care of. He pushed Draco hard because he wanted a good heir but also because he believed in him. Once Lucius had let Harry in, the care he held for his family bled over to him too. And wasn’t that surprising?

            This cold and bitter family took Harry in and welcomed him. They may not have welcomed him in with open arms like the Weasleys once did but they did it in their own way. They did it in the Malfoy way. They did the one thing that the Weasleys wouldn’t, they accepted him. Lucius could have raised all kinds of hell once he realized who exactly it was that his son was dating. But he didn’t. Out of anyone Draco could have chosen he chose Harry Potter. The enemy of his former Master. Harry had been expecting to have to fight Draco’s family for approval. He had been expecting the worst but he had thoroughly surprised when that did not happen. They had accepted him and approved of their relationship. That would have been enough for him but they took it further and treated him like family. They made him a part of their family legally and figuratively.

             If the Malfoys could accept him then why couldn’t the Weasleys? Why could a family who had caused him so much pain take him in but yet his chosen family ignore him for his choices? That is what made him so angry. That is why he was pacing relentlessly. But the anger was scaring him. He was so furious and so out of control that it made him anxious. Something wasn’t right. Something was about to come to fruition and he knew it wouldn’t be good.   

            Kreacher was watching Master Harry with worried eyes. He would be needing to replace the rug if Master kept this up. Kreacher couldn’t figure out what could be upsetting Master Harry but it wasn’t his place to ask. Master Draco was to return shortly, perhaps Master was worried about him?

            When the Masters told him about the engagement he was thrilled. Masters were getting married! Kreacher couldn’t help but tell Mistress Walburga right away. Mistress was still worried about Master Harry being the Lord of the Black family but she couldn’t deny that Master Draco would be a good edition to the family. Malfoys have always done right by the Blacks.

            Kreacher had known almost three years ago, that Master Draco was Master Harry’s mate for life. The bond between Master and house elf had thrummed every time Master Draco was near. It was subtle and neither boy would have picked up on it because the bond had not been ignited. But elf magic works differently and Kreacher knew this. He did not tell Master Harry because it was not his place to interfere in his Master’s private life. At the time Kreacher had been worried that Master Harry was not right for Master Draco. Even though he belonged to Master Harry, Kreacher had not liked him very much. Master Harry had been Master Sirius’s whole world. Which did not sit well with Kreacher. Anyone Master Sirius liked would not be up to Mistress Walburgas standards.

            But as the war moved on and Master Harry proved himself to be a kind Master, Kreacher didn’t mind that he was his Master. Master Harry’s mate for life bond was still there but it was dimming. Kreacher couldn’t feel it, that could be distance but Kreacher thought it was something to do with Master Harry. Something inside Master Harry was dimming it. Something dark, darker than anything that should be in a wizard. Kreacher had always thought that there was a connection between Master Harry and Master Regulus’s locket but he never could figure it out. It wasn’t his place to ask.

            Whatever it was that was inside Master Harry unnerved him. Kreacher didn’t like it. If given a chance the darkness inside Master Harry would take over in a heartbeat. The bond between Master and elf was still alive and brighter than any he had before but Kreacher couldn’t help but wonder why. There had never been anything this dark in Mistress Walburga or Master Sirius. So why was the bond with the other Masters darker than with Master Harry? What was so special about Master Harry? What made Master Harry so bright despite the pure evil lurking inside him?

            After Master Harry never came back from the Ministry Kreacher had been worried that something happened. But if something really bad was happening then Master Harry hadn’t asked him for help. The longer Master Harry was gone the more concerned Kreacher became. The darkness was growing, Kreacher could feel it seeping into the bond. Kreacher didn’t like it. Mistress Walburga had no explanations for the bond. She told him not to worry about a half-blood Master. Kreacher agreed with her but that didn’t help his worry. Mistress Walburga just couldn’t understand the wonders of the lightness inside Master Harry. The lightness overpowered any amount of darkness tenfold but the darkness just kept growing. Kreacher knew that Master Harry was working against The Dark Lord and he feared that the darkness was connected to the man.

            Then suddenly the evil substance inside Master Harry was gone. It had been there with its powerful aura leaching on the goodness of Master Harry, and then in a flash it was gone. Kreacher had panicked for a moment. Was Master Harry still alive? Why would it be there and then gone so quickly? The bond between Master and elf was not acting normally. It was pulsing in a mad array, Kreacher had never been more confused. The bond was supposed to tell him the state of his Masters wellbeing but Kreacher couldn’t even tell what was happening. He was at a loss, he was about to break one of the cardinal rules of a house elf. Kreacher was going to apparate uncalled to his Masters side. He fretted about doing so, it was punishable by the elf council if word had gotten out. Kreacher could be removed from the Black household. But the haywire of the bond was messing with him. It was causing pain and a lack of concentration.

            With the decision to go to Master Harry made, he had been about to apparate way just to be utterly surprised when the bond settled and started thrumming again only this time without the darkness. There was still some darkness inside him. It was just as dark and just as nasty but this was different. This darkness wasn’t causing any harm. It wasn’t doing anything to the bond and it just didn’t worry Kreacher as much as it should. Oh he could feel the sick and twisted aura of this darkness but it wasn’t leaching off of Master Harry like the other one had been. This darkness wasn’t new. The way it was integrated into his Master’s magic showed that it had been there either his whole life or for many years. With the old darkness gone Kreacher could feel his Master’s life mate again! It was still quiet indicating that the bond wasn’t formed yet. Kreacher longed to tell Master Harry that his soulmate was Master Draco but it just wasn’t allowed. Then came the day that Master Harry invited Master Draco over, their mate bond was alive and thrumming! It wasn’t quiet anymore. The bond was forming! Oh Kreacher had been so excited he could hardly contain himself. The bond grew more and more steady until it completely formed. Kreacher breathed a sigh of relief. His Masters had found each other and nothing could separate them now.

            The whoosh of the fireplace signaled Master Draco’s return. Master Harry had not taken any notice, Kreacher was still concerned. Master Draco appeared to be fine, so why would Master Harry be so nervous?

            Draco exited the fireplace and stood still as he watched Harry pace back and forth. The nerves coming from him had been bothering him all day. He had tried sending Harry calming emotions while he had been out but it hadn’t worked at all.

            Draco walked sideways till he was close to Kreacher. “How long has he been like this?”

            “An hour.” Kreacher croaked. Harry looked over in confusion at Kreacher’s voice and then did a double take when he saw Draco.

            “Draco.” Harry hurried to him and buried his head in Draco’s chest. Draco ran a hand up and down Harry’s back as he breathed in the spicy scent that was his fiancé. Draco nodded to Kreacher letting him know it was okay to leave. The pop of his departure had Harry looking around.

            “Why have you been a nervous wreck all day? Is it about tonight?” Draco knew Harry was scared to go to the burrow but he hadn’t thought it would be this bad. It was like Harry had pushed away all his nerves till today. Goodness it had set Draco on edge all day. It was hard to concentrate when he could feel second hand nerves that weren’t his. It made him want to bite his nails, and wasn’t that just a crime! Harry was lucky it hadn’t gotten that bad.

            Harry nodded into Draco’s chest. He didn’t want to talk about it. He didn’t even want to go. He just wanted to stay home and not even think about the burrow. Maybe if he ignored his problems they would go away on their own. He could dream, right?

            Draco walked backwards with his arms still around Harry until he came to the couch. He sank down pulling Harry with him. “I know you are nervous love. I know you don’t want to go. But this is something that you need to do. Not for me, not for the twins but for yourself. You can’t leave things like this. They need to know exactly how hurt and upset you are at them. They need to understand the emotional ache their silence has done to you. You need to hear their explanations and their apologies and depending on what they say, you might accept them. But if you stay here then none of that is going to happen. How can you forgive them without ever seeing them? Or if you choose not to forgive them then how can you have closure, if you don’t see them?” Harry looked up at Draco biting his lip.

            “If we don’t go tonight then you are just putting off the inevitable. The confrontation will happen today or sometime in the future whether you want to or not. Why not control when? Why not take advantage? You were given a prime reason to see what they have to say, why not take it? We can leave whenever you want to. Fred, George, Bill and Fleur will be there to support us. That is the six of us to the five of them. We can do this. If they say something rude you know the other four of them will have your back. What are you so worried about?”

            Harry closed his eyes, he understood what Draco was talking about but that wasn’t really what was bothering him. “I am so angry Draco.” Draco lifted his brows in surprise. He could feel no anger. Only the nerves. He looked down in confusion.

            “I am nervous yes. But I am right pissed off. I can feel it Draco. I can feel the anger just bubbling beneath my skin. I have never been so angry in my entire life. I feel like a ticking time bomb. Something is wrong with me. I am angry at the Weasley’s for their treatment of me but not this angry. I feel like a thousand fires are fueling the stove that represents my anger. I don’t know what it is cooking but it isn’t good. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to contain it. I am scared Draco.”

            Draco’s eyes widened at Harry in panic. “But I don’t feel any anger Harry.” Harry shoved aside the nerves he had been feeling and Draco gasped.

            “Merlin’s hairy ball sack!” Draco wheezed out. The sheer width of Harry’s anger took his breath away and shocked him to his core. _Never_ had he ever experienced this before. The occasional anger that Harry sometimes had was normal, it was comparable to his own anger. There had many instances in Draco’s life where he had been downright furious, the rage of his displeasure so volatile that he feared if he were a dragon he would have caught his parents on fire. But this… this couldn’t even hold a candle in comparison. Draco had never had this much fury boiling inside him before. Even at Draco’s angriest, Harry’s anger still ranked many many levels above him. It was as if Draco used a kettle to hold his anger and when it erupted so did the whistle. But Harry wasn’t using a kettle, oh no, Harry was using making tea inside a volcano.

            This much anger should scare the trousers right off of him. Someone who could hold this much unstable rage couldn’t be healthy. But the rage didn’t frighten him, it didn’t make him question Harry’s mental health. This rage acted as a fuel source for his body. It ignited so many synapses of energy in his veins. It was like a jolt of caffeine straight into his bloodstream. Merlin, the fire of his rage briefly made Draco worry that he would scorch in its wake when it finally exploded.

            “Are you okay?” Draco could barely make out the words. Was that Harry talking? It was getting hot in here. And not in a good way. Okay now he was scared. The heat of Harry’s anger was seeping out, it was no longer just emotional it was tangible. Draco felt like it was burning him from the inside, charring everything it touched. He tried to tell Harry to stop and reel it back in but it came out as a strangled gasp. The heat was evaporating his body fluids, his blood easing away. The fire of rage needed the oxygen Draco was breathing in to fuel the fire, leaving only carbon dioxide behind. Even though he was breathing, his lungs couldn’t take the carbon dioxide, they were screaming at the loss of oxygen. His organs were surely shriveling up at the lack of blood circulating in his body.

            Screaming could be dimly heard over the crackle of the fire. Draco felt his eyes roll in the back of his head and then nothing.

            Harry looked up at Draco’s gasp. Draco was staring into space not moving. “Draco?” Nothing. Harry was starting to panic. He held his hand to his forehead and was immediately burned. Harry gasped in pain and looked at his hand to see third degree burns on his skin. “Draco answer me!” Harry could see Draco’s lungs moving but there was no out take of breath. Draco wasn’t breathing properly. Something was horribly wrong.

            “Kreacher.” Harry screamed desperately. Sobs were wracking his frame. Fuck. What could be wrong with Draco? Kreacher popped into the room and his eyes widened at Master Draco on the floor.

            “I need you to get Severus Snape and Lucius Malfoy immediately. Then gather everyone else please.” Harry begged through his watery vision. Harry held onto Draco’s clothes and laid him on the floor. “Draco.” Harry croaked out. When no answer came, Harry cried harder. Draco’s lips were turning blue as his eyes rolled to the back of his head. Harry covered his mouth with his hands and sobbed.

            “Unhand me elf!” Lucius demanded as soon as he was able. Severus had been over at the Manor and they were having a pleasant conversation when the most hideous house elf apparated them both out of there without an explanation!

            “Draco! No. Please.” Harry’s sobs made both men freeze in terror. They turned as one and then let out surprised cries. Draco was on the ground undergoing a seizure, his skin was red and foam coming out of his mouth. They both ran over to him.

            Severus knelt down and reached out his fingers to check for a pulse when Harry shot out a hand to stop him. “Don’t touch him.” Severus was about to snarl a response but Harry turned over his hand and showed him his burned hand.

            “I tried touching him and this happened.” Severus swore and started running every diagnostic spell that he could.

            Harry could hear the popping return of Kreacher and horrified gasps but he paid them no mind.

            “What happened?” Lucius demanded thickly. This was single handedly the worst moment of his life. His son was dying right before his eyes and he was at a loss at what to do.

            “I-I don’t know. One minute we were talking about emotions and he said he couldn’t feel one of mine so I pushed it into him and then this happened! I don’t know what I did.” Harry choked out.

            Even in his emotional state of mind, Lucius highly doubted it was Harry’s fault. Severus was panicking. All of his tests were showing that Draco was suffocating. Something was preventing him from gaining any air but he couldn’t find a blockage. His organs were shutting down and his blood was literally boiling.

            “I don’t know what to do.” Severus choked out. He knew no potion or spell to counteract the blood heating up, that alone was something he had never heard of. Any potion that would help Draco’s organs needed a way in but with Draco suffocating that was impossible. He tried getting air into his body but it wasn’t working. The air was going somewhere other than his lungs. It was a phenomenon.

Lucius clenched his eyes and a sob broke out. No. This can’t be happening. Draco was going to get married. He had found his soulmate. He was free to live his life how he had wanted. Draco couldn’t die! His baby boy had too much life to live. Parents weren’t supposed to outlive their children. Couldn’t he trade? Lucius would trade his life in a heartbeat so that his son could live. This can’t be happening. Lucius clutched his chest and tried to force oxygen into his lungs.

            Harry felt their bond flutter rapidly and then it slowly fizzled out. Harry let out a ear-piercing scream as the bond disappeared and an aching hollow hole was left behind. “No! Draco please don’t leave me. Please. I need you Draco!”

            Severus cast the spell one more time and had let out a shuddering breath when it announced him dead. He looked up and shook his head at Lucius, who had tears streaming down his face.

            “D-Draco… please don’t go… please… I’ll do anything… please… Draco.” Severus squeezed his eyes as the sheer heartache of Harry’s words. Severus had seen many deaths in his time as a death eater… but the pure agony of Harry’s hurt pierced his nonexistent heart. He didn’t want to hear anymore. He wanted Harry to stop talking.

            Harry ignored everyone and flung himself on top of Draco and sobbed his heart out. Harry had never known the ache of not having his soulmate until now. It was screaming for its other half. Before they bonded Harry had thought he was whole and complete but it wasn’t until this moment that he realized how wrong he had been. He could never be complete without Draco. Never. “I can’t live without you… please Draco… come back to me… _please_!”   

            Harry didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t just accept this, Draco dying was not a part of his reality. This couldn’t be real. It didn’t make sense. It had to be a lie. Draco had been fine minutes ago! But the lack of their bond was screaming the reality of the situation. Harry sobbed as the grief manifested deep inside his soul. The soul that had once been alive and happy was now dead. His soul was crying out for Draco. Harry could hear it. He could hear the tempo of his grief, the chaos of his utter despair.

            “Oh gods.” Lucius choked out as the noise coming from Harry was registering around the room. Lucius realized it was Harry’s soul and magical core weeping. The beautiful color that he had once seen was no longer magenta. Harry’s soul was darkening to a murky grey without Draco. He looked around and was startled to see a mass of people staring down at Draco and crying. Where did they come from?

            “Harry.” Severus tried to get his attention. He tried to pull him away from Draco.

            “No!” Harry screamed. “No! He’s not dead! He can’t be. He promised he would never leave me. He promised…” Harry’s voice cracked and Severus couldn’t hold back the tears.

            “Harry he is g-gone.” Severus stuttered trying to gain control of his emotions.

            “No!” Harry argued. “I c-can’t accept that. I need him… so much... I can’t-”

            Harry couldn’t take the silence of the bond. He couldn’t handle the loneliness that Draco’s absence ignited. So Harry did the only thing he could think of. He closed his eyes and pushed every ounce of love and magic that he possibly could into Draco. His eyes were closed so he missed the bright blinding light that was surrounding his body.

            “What-” Severus was cut off by Lucius’s hand stopping him from moving towards them. Severus cast the diagnostic spell on Harry and started panicking when he saw Harry’s magic reserves draining. He followed the path of magic and was startled to see it going inside of Draco. He ran the spell on Draco and gasped out loud startling everyone.

            “What is it?” Lucius’s voice came out harshly. He couldn’t lose Harry too. Not so soon after losing his son. Grief shot through him as that thought registered. He would never see his son again. Never see him grow old. Never seem him marry Harry. He had to force his mind blank to be able to concentrate. He could break down later. What was he going to tell Narcissa?

            Before Severus could explain a deep shuddering gasp of air came from Draco. Everyone froze in shock as the previously dead boy coughed into existence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I know this chapter is not what any of you were expecting. Sorry! I don't know about you but this one killed me writing it. So I can't imagine reading it. Maybe I am just a big baby. Whoo I was emotional throughout the whole thing. Yeah definitely a big baby. 
> 
> This happening was necessary and more detail will be happening tomorrow. I know a lot of you were expecting this to be dinner at the burrow, don't worry that will still be happening. 
> 
> Thoughts on Draco dying? I would love to hear some of your theories. If you didn't register the last sentence, yes Draco is alive again. So don't panic. And don't kill me! :)
> 
> How about any thoughts on Kreacher and the Master bond. I mentioned an Elf Council, that will go into more detail tomorrow. But it shows that having an elf is more than just a servant. Kreacher is privy to so much and isn't allowed to share it. 
> 
> And the big question, what are your thoughts on this darkness that Kreacher can sense? Any ideas?


	31. Alive

            Draco snapped his eyes open. The ache was Harry. What was wrong with Harry? Draco used every ounce of his pathetic energy to force himself up. His body was burning with every move of his muscles. It was like he was swimming with weights. It was a battle just to move. He could still hear crying and loud voices. He wanted them to shut the fuck up. They were so loud. Draco’s legs were going numb, he tried shifting them but something was weighing them down. He looked down and was startled to see Harry passed out on him.

            Draco gritted his teeth and forced his body to move. Draco reached out a shaky hand to touch Harry’s cheek. Harry’s eyes opened at the contact and widened upon seeing Draco which confused him. Why was Harry surprised to see him? Draco opened his mouth to say something but the bond reawakened with such force it took his breath away. What had caused it to disappear in the first place? What had happened?

            They both closed their eyes when their souls started singing their joy at being reunited again. The pitch was almost too high, Draco wondered if it could break glass. But the sheer joy made up for the loud wailing of it. Draco could feel Harry’s soul caressing every single part of him. Inside and out. Harry’s soul felt beautiful, it was one of the most intimate touches of his life. Harry’s soul didn’t want to leave him but Draco needed his soul back. The contact was beautiful but it was too much. He needed his soul to himself back. He reached out with his feelings and gave the biggest mental hug he could muster, hoping that Harry’s magic and soul would retract back into his fiancés body.

            With one last caress that made Draco shiver, Harry’s soul and magic slowly left him and joined back with its owner. Draco smiled when all he could feel was his own core and the bond. 

            Harry gasped when the bond reopened. He had felt the brief loss of his soul as it reached out to Draco. That had been an odd feeling. There was an emptiness that his souls absence had left but the knowledge that it had gone to Draco made up for the weird experience. His core was singing in joy to be reunited with Draco. The pure euephoria that the souls were releasing made Harry want to smile but he couldn’t shake what had just happened.

Harry could feel so much confusion from Draco and a lot of physical pain. He wondered what Draco was thinking about this. Did he know that he died? Draco closed his eyes at the depths of sorrow that Harry was feeling. Merlin, he could drown in it. It was so strong and so deep. What was wrong? What could have happened to Harry for this much grief to overwhelm him?

            “Why are you sad?” Draco’s throat was raspy and it cracked. He wrinkled his nose. What the hell happened to him? He felt like he had been trampled by a rampaging hippogriff. He tied to remember what had happened before this but everything was a little fuzzy. He could remember coming home to Harry being nervous and then Harry said he was angry but Draco couldn’t remember much after that. There was some pain but from where he couldn’t remember.

            More sorrow wafted through the bond and tears came streaming down Harry’s face. Draco didn’t like this one bit. He pulled Harry up and till they were wrapped around each other.

            Draco wiped Harry’s tears with gentle fingers. Harry shuddered at the touch. He had thought that he would never feel those hands again. Never see the grey eyes that he loved so much. Never hear Draco’s sweet drawl. Never hear his awful humor. Never again feel the love that Draco held for him.

            “Hey what’s the matter love? I can feel such sadness.” Harry clenched Draco to him and sobbed. Draco ran his fingers through Harry’s hair. “Whatever it is we will figure it out. Okay? I love you.” Harry let out a wail at Draco’s words. Fuck. To hear the words after thinking he would never hear them again was too much.

            “Oh gods, I love you too! So much. Please don’t do that again. Please, I can’t take anymore.” Draco leaned away and blinked into the glassy eyes of Harry’s.

            “Harry what are you talking about?” Draco demanded. Harry opened his mouth to say the words but he couldn’t do it. Admitting what happened would make it more real. He couldn’t face it, Harry shook his head whimpering.

            “Draco, you died.” Severus said thickly. Salazar, he wasn’t sure what was going on. One minute Draco had been dead and the next he was alive. He wanted to check to see if he was even awake. Was this some horrible nightmare? This didn’t make sense. What had Harry done? How did he bring him back? Draco had been dead, of that he was positive.

            Draco jumped at Severus’s voice and then jerked in shock when his words registered. He looked up and again was shocked. He could see both his father and Severus standing near them with tear streaks. Woah. He had never known that either of them could cry. He swallowed heavily. Was Severus right? Did he really die?

            Draco looked down at Harry who was still crying. Draco kissed the tears away. “Is that true?” Draco whispered. Harry jerked in Draco’s arms and nodded once as more tears came tumbling down.

            Draco wasn’t sure how that happened or why he was alive if he had died but he couldn’t stand to see Harry crying. “I’m right here Harry. I am with you. I won’t leave you. I promised you that. Remember?” Harry shuddered, he let out a whimper.

            Draco closed his eyes and tried with all his might to force his mind to work properly, he wanted to remember what had happened.

            “Fire.” Draco breathed out. Harry looked at him in confusion. “Huh?” Draco snapped his eyes open. “There was a fire.” Harry shook his head. “Draco there was no fire” Draco held up a finger. “We were talking on the couch, I remember you telling me that you were angry and that something was wrong with you.” Harry nodded his head. Yes he remembered that.

            Severus furrowed his brows. What would have made Harry think that something was wrong with him? Anger isn’t always a problem.

            “But I told you that I could only feel nerves from you. No anger. Then all of a sudden you pushed your anger through the bond. I could feel it all. It was like nothing I have ever felt before. You were so angry Harry. So angry. The anger stopped being emotional. It was no longer just in the bond. But in my body. I could feel it burning me up. And then I couldn’t breathe and then that is all I can remember.”

            Harry jerked in Draco’s arms hard. On instinct Draco clutched him tighter. “I killed you.” Harry breathed in horror. “Oh gods I killed you. I don’t know how but you died because of me!” Harry started crying again as he struggled for Draco to let him go.

            “Don’t touch me. I am a murderer. Let me go!” Draco’s heart broke at the emotions that were storming inside Harry. His words were warring with his emotions. Harry didn’t really want Draco to let him go but the panic of the situation was causing a tornado of feelings inside him.

            “Harry you didn’t kill me. I don’t know what happened but I know it wasn’t your fault.” Harry was still struggling. “Stop!” Draco demanded harshly. Harry stopped moving in shock. Draco had never talked to him like that before.

            “Something was wrong with you and you were just trying to show me what was happening. This wasn’t something that you did on purpose. I know you would never hurt me. And to be honest I am glad it happened.” Harry gasped in pain. Why would Draco be happy that he died? Was he so miserable with Harry that death was a preferable option?

            Draco shushed him when he felt Harry’s pain. “Hey stop that. I didn’t mean it like that Harry. You know I love you. But that is what I meant. If what happened to me was about to happen to you then I am glad it came to me. I would die a thousand times over it meant that you lived.” Draco promised him.

            “Draco.” Harry whispered. “Don’t say that. I don’t want you to ever die on my behalf. That should have happened to me. I am so sorry!” Harry cried out. “I am so sorry.” Draco hugged Harry to him as tightly as possible.

            “Baby stop. I am alive. I am right here with you. Whatever happened is over and done with.” He tried to reassure.

            “What if it happens again? I am dangerous. I killed you once, it could happen again. You shouldn’t be near me. You should get as far away as possible. If it is going to save you, I could leave.” Harry said with determination.

            The bond screamed out in pain at Harry’s words. Draco and Harry gasped in pain. “Don’t ever say that again.” Draco snarled. “The only reason you should ever leave me is if you don’t love me. Or if you don’t want to marry me. Has either of these things happened?”

            Harry shook his head. “No but-”

            “But nothing Harry. Leaving will only hurt us both. Please don’t do that. Don’t leave me.” Draco begged as tears prickled his eyes.

            Harry watched the tears fall down Draco’s face and he felt gutted. “I won’t. I promise. I won’t ever leave you.” Harry said with such emphasis that magic surrounded Draco briefly.

            “What was that?” Draco asked but he wasn’t really concerned with the answer. All he could feel was relief at Harry’s promise. Harry had been telling the truth. Thank Merlin. His heart couldn’t handle it if Harry left him. That had been one of the worst things he had ever experienced.

            “A verbal magical contract.” Lucius said in wonder. He still hadn’t come to grips with everything. He felt like his emotions had just been put through the ringer. He was so drained. His son was alive. He kept chanting that over and over hoping that the memory of his lifeless son would forever be scrubbed away. He knew he would never forget this. This would be in his nightmares for the rest of his life. But the miracle of whatever Harry had done was in the forefront of his mind. What had Harry done? How had he saved his son? Was it some form of Necromancy? That didn’t sit well with him if it was true but at the same time, his son was alive. It didn’t matter how it had happened.

            Lucius was worried for Harry. Was what happened to Draco really meant for Harry? Was something wrong with Harry? He agreed wholeheartedly with Draco. Whatever happened was not Harry’s fault. He nudged Severus and nodded his approval when the man started running tests on them.

            Harry’s eyes widened. He hadn’t meant to do that but he wasn’t upset that it had happened. He would never lie to Draco. He wouldn’t leave him. Draco had been right, the only thing leaving would have accomplished would have been making the both of them miserable. They weren’t meant to be separated.

            “I love you. So much. I couldn’t bear the thought of living without you. Y-you weren’t breathing and the bond had disappeared.” Harry choked out in despair at the reminder. Draco clutched him tighter. To know what his death, Merlin did that sound weird, did to Harry was heartbreaking. Harry’s grief nearly broke him, he had to breathe slowly to get a hold of his emotions. He couldn’t even imagine what he would have done if it had been Harry that died. Gods, the thought crippled him.  

            “It was a giant gaping hole! You took everything that I am with you. I don’t know how to exist without you. Draco you are my whole world and you took it with you when you d-died.” Harry tried to keep the tears at bay but it was all still so fresh in his mind.

            “Everything good in me is you. I don’t know who I am without you. That probably sounds unhealthy but it is true. You are the other half of my soul. You couldn’t be dead. It didn’t make any sense. So I pretended the bond was still there and I pushed every bit of love and magic that I could into you. I would have given you everything if it made you live. I would have traded my life to gain yours back. Which is what I was trying to do.” Harry was startled by the anger coming from Draco.

            “Harry if I am dead then then that means you are alive. I can die peacefully in this world knowing that you are alive and healthy. What if that hadn’t worked? You would have died trying to bring me back!” Draco yelled.

            Harry clenched his fists. “I don’t care! Don’t you get it? If you aren’t alive then I don’t want to be either! Do you think I would be able to just get over you? Live a happy life without you? Then you are high as a kite! I would never be able to live a life with you gone. Which is why we are doing the In Perpetuum Simul bond in the first place!” Harry yelled right back. Grr… Draco was seriously frustrating Harry. Couldn’t he understand?

            Draco sighed and thrusted his hands in his hair. “Alright I get it.” The fight went out of Harry and Draco hugged him to his chest. “Just explain one thing to me?” Harry lifted his head and looked at him wearily.

            “What the fuck is a kite and why is it high?” Harry blinked and then blinked again before letting out a hysterical sob that quickly changed into laughter. Harry wasn’t sure if it was the fucked up day but he couldn’t stop laughing. He knew it wasn’t that funny but he couldn’t control himself.

            “He is going into shock.” Severus said rapidly. He pulled out a vial and handed it over to Draco, who quickly uncorked it and forced it down Harry’s throat.

            As the potion took affect Harry began to slowly come back to reality. He felt unnaturally calm. “What was that?” He wondered.

            “Calming drought.” Draco said to the surprise of Severus. “I could smell the lavender and root of aconite.” Draco told Harry oblivious to the impressed glances his godfather was giving him.

            “But that could also be in a wit-sharpening potion too.” Harry pointed out. Draco and Severus’s brows went up in surprise.

            “That is true. But there was also a small smell of rose oil too. That isn’t in a wit-sharpening potion.” Draco countered.

            “It could be.” Draco shared a look with his godfather. “The rose oil could counter balance the high amount of ginger that is involved in the potion. Which is why people should only take wit-sharpening potions sparingly. Too much ginger harms the stomach lining. But the rose oil acts like peppermint would in other potions, except the peppermint should never be added with ingredients like aconite. So when brewed, the rose oil would have a natural calming to the irritated stomach lining. Which is why it is placed in calming draughts in the first place.” Harry said breathlessly.

            The silence that his speech gave wasn’t very telling. Harry looked at Draco confused. “Where have you been my entire lessons?” Severus demanded in surprise. Draco nodded weakly. He tilted his head to the side. Harry was right, he had never thought of trying rose oil. Usually peppermint was the go to when adding extra things to potions. But with the volatile reactions that it would cause in a wit-sharpening potion he chalked it up as a lost cause. To think of rose oil was genius.

            Harry chuckled. “I am pants at potions. Don’t get me wrong. But the theories behind them aren’t hard to grasp. I could tell you what is in a potion and how to change it for the better but when I go to actually make it, that is where the problem lies. I can’t brew to save my life. It irritates me.”

            Severus was intrigued. He could work with this. He could tutor Harry. Brewing wasn’t as difficult as he was thinking. Most people like Longbottom don’t know the first thing about the ingredients being added. They just chuck whatever they think will work into the potion.

            “If you know the theory behind the potion then how come you can’t make it?” Draco asked, this made no sense. Harry obviously had some impressive knowledge on the subject.

            “Draco what are the ingredients to make a cake?” Draco was confused at the question. “Uh flour, sugar, milk, eggs… stuff like that.” He answered with a shrug.

            “And if I asked you what might be added to make the cake taste better?” Harry questioned. Draco scratched his head in thought. “Maybe vanilla? Or some nutmeg?” Harry hummed in agreement. “Now would you be able to make the cake?” 

Draco snorted. “Gods no, I think I would burn the shite out of the pan, myself and even Kreacher when he comes to check on why the kitchen is on fire.”

            Harry started laughing warmly. “Exactly. You know the ingredients to make a cake but you have trouble actually baking. Same thing with me. I know the ingredients to make the potion and even how to improve it but it turns into a bloody disaster when I attempt to make it.” Draco hummed in thought. It made sense. He highly doubted anything would ever make him capable of cooking correctly so he wasn’t sure if Harry could overcome his potion skills.

            “Besides, even if I was good at brewing it wouldn’t matter with all the sabotage.” Harry said wryly. Draco looked up at the ceiling. “I wonder who would do such an awful thing.” Draco said with a straight face and wincing internally at the truth of Harry’s words. Harry snorted. “Yes because the options are so vast.” He replied sarcastically.

            With the calming draught fully in effect Draco was able to detect lingering pain from Harry. He frowned and turned over Harry’s hand and then gasped. “Did I do this?” He asked biting his lip. Severus looked down and scowled when he realized he had forgotten about Harry’s hand. He took out a salve from the inside of his robes and applied it to Harry’s hand.

            Harry sighed in relief when the numbing cool of the salve started working. How many potions did the man carry with him? Harry looked up and smiled sadly at Draco. “No, your body was just really hot and it did this. But it wasn’t your fault. If you won’t let me blame myself for what I did to you then you can’t blame yourself for the actions of my accident.” Harry warned when he felt Draco’s guilt. When Draco sighed but agreed, Harry leaned in and squeezed him.

            “So what other potions are in there?” Harry asked curiously.  

            “Can you talk about potions some other time?! Because I am an emotional wreck and I have no idea what the fuck just happened here!” Harry and Draco turned quickly at Pansy’s hysterical voice.

            They were surprised to see… well everyone. Pansy, Blaise, Fred, George, Remus and Narcissa. Everyone had tear tracks on their faces, Narcissa was still crying. Lucius stepped forward and she ran into his arms.

            “Calm down Pans.” Pansy crossed her arms across her chest. “Calm down?” Draco winced at the hysterical edge it had to it. “How can you tell me to calm down? You died Draco! You bloody died! Right before my eyes. I can’t calm down!” Draco could feel the renewed pain her words brought Harry.

            Severus handed her a calming draught. Draco narrowed his eyes when she refused to take it. “You will take that potion.” She raised a challenging eyebrow. “You will take it and calm the fuck down. I will not have you upsetting Harry further.”

            Pansy took one look at Harry’s crushed face and caved. She unstopped it and downed the potion. She grimaced in disgust. “You couldn’t have made it taste better?” She complained.

            Severus glared at her. Ungrateful whelp. “Root of aconite is too volatile when mixed with things to counteract with the bitter flavor.” Harry pointed out. Pansy just blinked at him while Severus was giving her a look that said, ‘see?’.

            “That was polite speak for get the fuck over it.” Draco said dryly. Pansy huffed and glared at Harry, who opened his mouth. That was not what he was trying to say!

            Remus cleared his throat. Harry looked at him and was relieved to see that he was here. Remus was looking a little tired, he must still be experiencing the after effects of the full moon. Remus was about to speak but was handed a potion from Severus.

            Remus looked down at it in bemusement. “I am calm.” He said, however he still picked it up. Severus rolled his eyes. “It’s not a calming draught. It is a muscle relaxant with some pepper up ingredients added as well.” Severus said not looking at him. Remus was surprised and awfully touched. Draco tilted his head to the side as he watched his godfather. What was with him?

            “Thank you.” Remus said gratefully as he took the potion. He was surprised that it didn’t taste bitter. He had been expecting it too, it tasted like raspberries. He loved raspberries.  

            “How did you manage that?” Harry asked curiously. “Muscle relaxants and pepper up potions aren’t usually combined. They are opposites. How did you stop the pepper up ingredients from delaying the muscle relaxants?”

            “Oo that is a good point. Wouldn’t the knotgrass in the pepper up potion have overridden the foxglove in the muscle relaxant?” Draco asked as he ran through tying to imagine how his godfather had combined the two.

            Severus was torn from being excited that he had two very interested teens in his potions but he just wished it wasn’t _this_ potion. “It would have if I had used knotgrass. I substituted hemlock instead.” Draco and Harry shared confused looks.

            “I can maybe see substituting Goosegrass instead of Knotgrass because they are so closely related. But Hemlock? I am confused as to why that. It wouldn’t do much at all.” Harry said in confusion. Draco furrowed his brows.

            “No but Hemlock would help the deeper irritated knots that the wolfsbane potion leaves behind. I didn’t need the potion to act as a normal pepper up potion would. I just needed it to boost the muscle relaxant by acting _after_ the muscles were relaxed.” Severus explained looking at his nails.

            Draco and Remus’s brows raised high into their hair line. Draco thought the changed potion was brilliant. It would help a lot of werewolves if taken right after the full moon. Remus was surprised that Severus had gone to so much trouble figuring out a way to improve the potion. He was again touched at the notion. “Oh so you made this potion specifically for Remus?” Harry asked without thinking. Harry yelped when Draco elbowed him hard into the ribs. He turned his head sharply to see why he had done that. Draco was giving not so subtle jerks of his head towards Severus. Draco rolled his eyes, honestly sometimes Harry could be so thick. It was a good thing that he was the brains of the relationship.

            Severus closed his eyes briefly. “No. I just like the challenge of making new potions. That is all. I assure you I wouldn’t have bothered otherwise.” Severus said dryly. Remus hid his amused smile.

            “Well thank you anyways.” Remus said smiling at the jerky nod Severus gave in reply. Lucius was looking at his friend oddly. What was with him?

            Harry wanted to say something but another jab from Draco changed his mind. Merlin was their glass in those elbows? He was pretty sure he would have bruises on his ribs come tomorrow.

            “Harry do you know if you thought of any spell while you were trying to fix Draco?” Remus asked the question he had been about to before they got sidetracked. Harry was saddened at the turn in the conversation but he supposed they needed to talk about it. He just didn’t want to think about Draco dying. He wished someone would obliviate that part of today.

            “No. I just kept wishing and praying that it would work, even if it would have taken all of my magic I just kept trying. Do you think that was wish magic?” Lucius shared a startled look with Severus.

            “No. If you were willing to trade your magic and energy to get him back then that could be considered sacrificial magic. You were offering a trade.” Lucius said a little awed. It always surprised him with the depths of love that the two of them had for one another. He loved Narcissa a hell of a lot… but to sacrifice his life to bring her back? Not very likely. Was that wrong?

            Harry gaped at the man. That was not his intention but he really would have given his life if it meant that Draco survived. Draco was uneasy. He did not like the idea that Harry would have done that for him. But that was a little hypocritical considering that he would have done the same thing if things had been reversed. Merlin weren’t they just a lovely pair?

            “Isn’t that dark magic?” The twins said at the same time. Harry looked at them closely, they were being very subdued. Fred gave Harry a small smile but Harry was still concerned. The smile hadn’t quite reached his eyes. George was grimacing and couldn’t meet Harry’s eyes. Were they weary with him now that he had performed dark magic? His gut clenched at the thought of losing them. They were his best friends.

            “Yes.” Severus said a little worried. “I don’t know why it wouldn’t have been an even trade. I ran tests and Harry’s magic was leaving his body and flowing into Draco’s body. A normal sacrifice would have just taken everything from Harry’s body and given it to Draco. But you both are alive and your magic is back to what it used to be, both your reserves are normal.”

            Harry was uncomfortable knowing that he performed dark magic. He hadn’t meant to. He had just been so desperate to save Draco. To distract himself from this morbid conversation he attempted to change the subject. “What are all of you guys doing here?” Draco shot him a knowing look, letting him know he knew exactly what Harry was doing.

            “Your house elf brought us.” Blaise said looking a little nauseous at the day’s turn of events. Harry couldn’t blame him. He wasn’t even sure his own mind had caught up to everything.

            Harry looked around and spotted Kreacher. He lifted an eyebrow at the concerned elf. “Master Harry said bring everyone else. Has Kreacher left someone out?”

            Draco smiled warmly at him. “No. You did great Kreacher.” The twins shared surprised looks. It would appear that Pansy and Blaise weren’t kidding when they said that Draco liked Kreacher.

            Kreacher relaxed slightly but he still had concern on his face. “Master Draco is okay?” Kreacher asked hesitantly. Draco’s smile softened, which melted Harry’s heart. “I am okay Kreacher, thank you.” Remus was staring at Draco in surprise. As was his father. Lucius didn’t know what to make of this, he didn’t mind Draco being nice to house elves but this seemed like an odd friendship. Malfoys being friends with house elves? That was certainly a new one.

            Kreacher nodded and then turned around to leave. “That’s good. Master Harry’s darkness didn’t succeed.” Kreacher mumbled to himself. Harry sat dumbfounded for a moment. Everyone was shooting him puzzled looks.

           “Kreacher.” Draco called out. Kreacher turned around and walked back into the room. “Yes Master Draco?” He croaked out.

“What did you mean about Harry’s darkness?” Draco asked calmly, inside he was freaking out. Darkness? That did not sound good. 

Kreacher’s ears drooped. “Kreacher can’t say.” This confused Draco, was it because he wasn’t Kreachers actual Master? Kreacher never had a problem following orders before. Severus opened his mouth to snarl at the ugly little thing but Lucius stopped him.

“House elves aren’t allowed to give out personal information on their Masters.” Kreacher nodded in agreement. “House elf we will not tell the council. You can trust us.” Lucius promised. Harry wished Lucius was making sense. Council? What the fuck is that? 

“Council?” Remus asked just as confused. Narcissa spoke for the first time since arriving. Her throat was scratchy and her eyes puffy. “We have the Ministry that makes the laws and rules for us, house elves have the Elven Council. There are a set of laws that they cannot break or they can be removed from the family that they serve. The council will offer up a replacement and apologize for the bad elf.” 

Kreacher moaned in despair at the thought of being removed from Master Harry. Kreacher had been a part of the Noble house of Black for so long, just as his parents had been before him. Tis would be a great dishonor. What would Mistress Walburga say?

“Kreacher we won’t tell them. I won’t let anyone take you from me.” Harry promised him. Kreacher closed his eyes tightly. They were asking too much of poor creature but Master Harry had never let him down. Master Harry was offering his protection. Master Harry was too kind!

“There is a darkness inside Master Harry. I can feels it through the bond.” Harry furrowed his brows. Bond? “The Master to elf bond.” Draco explained. Harry hadn’t been aware there was one. He knew Kreacher was bound to him but he didn’t think there was an actual bond. 

“Has it always been there?” Severus asked wondering if this was something residual left over from the Horcrux. With Harry being the only live Horcrux besides Nagini in history, it was hard to say what could have happened. It was entirely possible that there could be something left behind. 

“Kreacher is not knowing sir. Kreacher didn’t notice the darkness until after the first darkness left.” 

Harry felt like his brain cells were evaporating in his confusion. What? “I had more than one darkness?” He asked desperately. Draco hugged Harry to him tightly. 

Kreacher nodded his head causing his ears to twitch. “Yes Master Harry. The first one was just like Master Regulus’s necklace.” Harry and Draco gasped. Severus’s eyes widened. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't like ending chapters in the middle of a conversation. I apologize for that. It was just there is a lot for them to discuss and the chapter would have been way too long. There will still be more explanations in the next chapter, along with some emotional depth that the other characters had been feeling during Draco's death. 
> 
> I know that Harry is awful at potions in the original books. I think that is a lack of interest and just his hatred of Snape and the Slytherins that played a part too. But he had been really interested in the changes The Half-Blood Prince had done to all the potions. So in my story, I had him interested in that. 
> 
> In many ways I am like Draco when it comes to cooking. I know exactly what belongs in the dish but suck at making it. I have burned myself boiling water... that explains how awful I am. If it is a dessert than I have no problem with it. But anything else... no. I figured that the same issue could affect people when they brew. Knowing what goes in something doesn't always mean you are going to be able to actually do it. Plus I liked the idea of making it so that Draco could bounce ideas off of Harry when he gets stuck. Not to mention that Severus would like someone else to talk to about potions. 
> 
> Any thoughts on this chapter? So most of you already knew that the first darkness was the Horcrux. No one has guessed the second one yet. I have seen some close-ish responses but not quite right. But that will be answered tomorrow!  
>  I again apologize for it being so short.   
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	32. Dormant Darkness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously on I Do What I Want... hehe...
> 
>      Harry felt like his brain cells were evaporating in his confusion. What? “I had more than one darkness?” He asked desperately. Draco hugged Harry to him tightly.   
>             Kreacher nodded his head causing his ears to twitch. “Yes Master Harry. The first one was just like Master Regulus’s necklace.” Harry and Draco gasped. Severus’s eyes widened.

            “You were able to sense it?” Harry asked in wonder. Kreacher nodded.

            “Regulus Black?” Narcissa asked curiously. She had always wondered what happened to her cousin. Everyone used to say that The Dark Lord had been the one to kill him but she remembered Lucius saying that The Dark Lord had been curious about the man’s disappearance. If he had been the one to kill Regulus he would have made an example out of his death. “He tried destroying one of the… er items.” Harry explained. At Lucius and Narcissa’s confused look he pointed to his scar. Her mouth dropped open. Narcissa had never been close with her cousin, he had been younger than her and she just never took the time to get to know him. Sirius had been the one everyone talked about, never anything good mind you. So Regulus often got overlooked. The way Aunt Walburga spoke of him though made her wonder if he really had tried getting rid of a Horcrux. Maybe after discovering what The Dark Lord was up to he changed his mind about following him? She wouldn’t be surprised.  

            “Oh. Is that how he died?” She wondered. “Sort of. I will tell you about it later.” He said reminding her that there were curious listeners that had no idea what they were talking about.

            “I hate that we can’t know.” Fred said disgruntled. George just nodded his agreement, still not saying anything. Harry ignored them and turned his attention back to Kreacher.

            “And is the darkness that was like Regulus’s locket gone?” Harry asked. Draco sent him a sharp look. They have been over this already. Harry was not a Horcrux anymore.

            “Yes Master Harry. It disappeared the same day as the battle.” Harry sighed in relief.

            “I know. I just wanted to be sure.” Harry told the glaring Draco. Draco huffed but had to admit that if it had been him he probably would have asked too. He couldn’t even imagine what it would have been like to be a Horcrux, let alone being one for someone like Voldemort.

            “Is that when you noticed the other darkness?” Lucius asked. “Yes Lord Malfoy. Kreacher noticed that it was different.” Lucius raised a brow.

            “Different how?” Severus wondered. “The first darkness was vile and disturbed sir. Kreacher didn’t likes it. It was attached to Master Harry and it was leaching off of him. It was too dark. But Master Harry was still brighter than it! Kreacher doesn’t gets it. It should have been too much but Master Harry was still so bright!” The awe in his voice caused Harry to blush.

            “Leaching?” Draco said in horror. “The connection.” Harry mused out loud. That was the only explanation.

            “What does he mean by bright?” Blaise wondered. “The type of wizard he is. It must be that Harry’s magic was brighter than the… darkness inside him.” Lucius had almost slipped and said Horcrux.

            “What is this darkness like?” Harry felt violated. What was in him and how in the world did he get it out? He shuddered trying to understand where it came from. Being a Horcrux had been bad enough. Obviously someone had been having a right laugh when the fates were deciding his future.

            “It is just as dark and cruel but it is not leaching off of your magic. It is angry…” Kreacher said frightened. “Today it took control. Kreacher felts it! It has been a part of you for a long time and it does not like the life mate bond. But you used the darkness to give Master Draco life! You used to darkness and it is pleased. The darkness has been dormant for too long. It wants you to use it!”

            Harry leaned away in surprise. Something inside him doesn’t like the bond he shares with Draco and it attacked him? And Harry had somehow tapped into it to give Draco life? It wants him to keep using it? Well it could fuck off. Draco thanked Kreacher and the elf apparated out of the room.  

            “But what inside of me could have given life? I don’t know of anything that can give life.” Harry breathed. Draco jerked in shock so violently that Harry was jostled off of him. Harry grumbled as he picked himself up off the floor.

            “Sorry love.” Draco apologized. “Harry you don’t think that you have some of the darkness inside you from the Sorcerer’s Stone do you?”

            Gasps could be heard all around. Lucius took a step away from Harry before realizing what he was doing. The flash of pain in Harry’s eyes made him step forward. Draco glared at his father. “He isn’t contagious.” He said with narrowed eyes.

            “I’m sorry Harry it’s just that it surprised me is all.” Harry nodded, it had surprised him too. Could it be true? Was there something inside him that was from the stone? His heart sank horribly. The stone was just as bad as being a Horcrux. At least with the Horcrux it was only one piece of Voldemort’s soul, who knew how many lives had been used for the bloody stone.

            “It makes sense. What else do we know of that has life in it?” Severus asked. Remus cleared his throat. “But didn’t you say it keeps you alive if you drink it? Not bring the dead back to life?” He questioned.

            “That’s a good point.” Lucius said when Severus scowled. “But you have to take in account of Harry’s willingness to trade his life. If it is a small bit of the Elixir of life, that combined with sacrificial magic might have brought Draco back. But I have never heard of bringing someone back from the dead unless it was necromancy.” Severus added.

            Harry bit his lip worried that perhaps he had used some type of Necromancy. Lucius shook his head at Harry. “I have seen Necromancy on several occasions. What you did was not even close.” Lucius promised. Harry was more startled by the realization that Lucius had witnessed Necromancy than at the thought that he may have accidentally performed it.

            “When did you witness that?” Harry asked while Draco nodded along. Draco did not like the idea that his father had been into that sort of magic.

            Lucius gave him a pointed look while Severus’s expression clearly said that Harry was stupid. Harry’s stomach churned. “Voldemort was into Necromancy?” Harry said in disgust.

            “Where do you think inferi come from? They are a lesser form of Necromancy. Their bodies are being used but they have no consciousness and their looks fade away after death. They are mindless to everything but their masters wishes. They are in a sense puppets.” Severus explained with a pinched expression. Inferi were not something he liked to think about. The rituals The Dark Lord had them watch had been an experience he would like to forget about.

            “He performed them himself?” Harry wondered. Severus shot him a look of disdain. “Of course not. Only a Necromancer can do that. The Dark Lord had found one but the man had been dreadful. He could only do inferi. It is the lowest form of that type of magic. But it was all he had at the time. It is not like people actively advocate they have studied such dark arts. Luckily The Dark Lord didn’t find much use for inferi so he didn’t make that many.”

            Harry made an outraged noise. “Didn’t make that many?” He said faintly. “Didn’t make that many the man says.” Severus and Lucius shared looks of concern, Harry was repeating himself. Did he know something that they didn’t?

            “What is your definition of not many? Because I had to fight off _hundreds_ of them! I would call that a lot.” It was a good thing he was sitting on top of Draco or he would have buckled. Not that many. Pssh. Just how many would be considered a lot to them.

            Everyone turned to gape at Harry. Draco swallowed. “You fought them? That many?” He whispered in horror. Severus just kept staring at Harry, which he didn’t like. Maybe if the man had emotions in those black eyes of his it would be better. But it wasn’t like he could read anything in them. The stare was unnerving him. It was like he could read his soul when he did that. Harry looked to Lucius and groaned internally. The look of horror on the blonde’s face was enough to take back his last thought. He preferred Severus’s stare to Lucius’s.

            “I tried to. But I had never come across anything like them before. I was about to be overrun by them but Dumbledore used fire against them and they retreated.”

            Lucius’s eyebrows rose. “You were still in school?” He asked weakly. Salazar, what kind of school had he sent his son to? Things were obviously ran very differently than when he had been in Hogwarts.

            Harry snorted. When did anything bad happen to him when he wasn’t in school? “Yes. It was the end of my sixth year.” Severus jerked a little. “What had you been doing when you and Dumbledore came across so many inferi?”

            Harry didn’t like talking about that night. “Dumbledore had found where one of the… items were being held and he took me along.”

            Remus growled. He may not know what exactly these dark artifacts were but to take a 16 year old boy to one was the stupidest thing he had ever heard. Obviously Dumbledore knew who how dangerous it could be. Inferi. Harry came across inferi. He was having a hard time coming to terms with this. It was even harder knowing that Dumbledore had taken him with him. He didn’t care if it had anything to do with winning the war, Harry had been a boy! Dumbledore didn’t need Harry for that. He was an accomplished wizard, he would have fared just fine without him.

            “He took you along?” Severus said in disbelief. Dumbledore had been his mentor in many things but honestly this just made him want to strangle the man. Severus knew that the Horcruxes had played a huge part in bringing down The Dark Lord but to bring Harry to the location? That was just mental.

            “Yes the inferi were an added protection. They were in the water surrounding us. Not that I knew that at the time. I think Dumbledore did because he told me to stay away from the water. I made the mistake of trying to get some of the water later and that is when they started swarming out of it.” Harry shuddered at the memory and was very thankful for Draco’s arms around him. They were comforting and everything he needed. As if reading his mind, Draco squeezed Harry and kissed his temple.

            “That makes no sense.” Lucius stated with a frown. Harry furrowed his brows. Was he trying to say Harry was lying? Draco narrowed his eyes. Lucius rolled his eyes at his son’s overprotectiveness.

            “I am not trying to imply that you are lying. I am just saying to have that many inferi it would require a lot dead bodies and it would have required a lot of magic to complete. Not to mention that they wouldn’t have been able to stay alive for long. Inferi aren’t actually being fully brought back to life. Their time is borrowed. Which is why it such a low form of Necromancy.”

            Harry huffed. “Well now you are the one who isn’t making sense.” Lucius arched a brow. “They would’ve been there since before my birth. Didn’t you say that he had a Necromancer? That is where the power must have come from if Voldemort couldn’t perform that type of magic.”

            “There is no way they were there before your birth.” Lucius argued. Draco growled at the implication. Lucius sighed and reminded himself that he needed more patience. His son did die today, surely that warranted him to be aggravating. Patience. Mm… nope no matter how many times he said the word it still didn’t register.

            “I am not saying Harry is lying Draco.” Lucius said with only a touch of annoyance. “This just isn’t making sense. The Dark Lord only ever had one Necromancer and that was before his first downfall.” At their blank looks he elaborated. “One that he killed for not being able to perform more Necromancy rituals.” When their faces registered what he was saying he sighed in relief.

            “Do you see what I am getting at? With the death of his _only_ Necromancer, there wouldn’t have been anyone to keep the ritual going. You said that it was there before your birth? The inferi would eventually have died when the ritual ended and the Necromancer wasn’t alive to keep it going.”

            “You are sure he died?” Draco asked. Lucius pinched the bridge of his nose. His son was really going to make him do the murdering this time.

            “I watched The Dark Lord slit his throat.” Harry wrinkled his nose. Voldemort used a weapon instead of his wand. It didn’t sound like the Voldemort he knew.

            “He wasn’t dead.” Severus breathed out. Lucius turned to look at his friend with a startled look. Severus had been there, what did he mean the man hadn’t been dead? They watched as his blood was spilled.

            “Think about Luc, if Harry said they had been there for that long then the only explanation would be that he hadn’t died fully at that time.” Lucius furrowed his brows in confusion and annoyance, Severus knew he didn’t like it when he called him that.

            “Explain.” Lucius demanded. He did not like not knowing things. “What if he performed _exhaurire?”_ Severus asked

            Lucius and Narcissa gasped. Lucius shook his head in disbelief. “What is that?” Harry asked not liking their reaction.

            “It is a sacrificial magic. It means to drain. The Dark Lord would have drained the Necromancers blood and magic in a sacrifice to keep the inferi alive. Because he sacrificed his life for the ritual, his magic would be honored bound to ensure their survival. Similar to the sacrifice your mother made for you Harry.” Severus explained with a grimace. Very dark magic. It honestly wouldn’t surprise him if Voldemort had done it.

            Harry jerked. “My mother performed dark magic?” Severus shot him an unimpressed look. “She sacrificed her life to ensure that you would be safe. She didn’t perform a ritual but it doesn’t make it any less dark. Lily had the best intentions when doing it so I guess it is up to you how you want to take it. But keep in mind that there is no light magic that deals in sacrifice. She was essentially doing what you did with Draco. Only he was already dead. You both willingly gave up your lives. It was a sacrificial exchange.”

            Harry exhaled heavily. He had always known she had sacrificed herself for him but he had never thought that she was doing dark magic. Had she known that was what she was doing? He honestly had no idea. He himself hadn’t known what he was doing when he brought Draco back. He was only thinking about the love he held for him. His mother must have been thinking about the love she had for him too. It was a lot to take in.

            “Which is why you had to stay at the Dursleys.” Harry looked at Severus dumbfounded. “You lost me.” Severus sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Harry had to cover his amused smile. He had always loved to get under the man’s skin.           

            “The blood wards. That is also dark magic. To keep her sacrifice alive, you needed to be placed where her blood was. Which unfortunately was with her sister. The wards would have been more impressive if there had been actual blood of Lilys there but familial blood will still work.”

            Harry’s mind was spinning. Dumbledore had always said that the wards were the reason he needed to keep going back. Harry didn’t know that it had been dark magic though. How mindless had he been? He just accepted everyone’s reasoning and didn’t bother thinking about it. When Harry lapsed into silence, Lucius picked off where their argument ended.  

            “There would be no way to distribute the blood and magic to _all_ of the inferi though.” Lucius pointed out. “Plus, they only do the biding of their Master. That would mean the Necromancer would have been privy to the knowledge of why they were needed there in the first place.” Lucius highly doubted The Dark Lord would have informed the man of his Horcrux and the Necromancer would be required to be there during the time of creation.

            “Another reason to have killed the man.” Severus argued. Harry watched the two men argue with amusement. It wasn’t often that he got to see their friendship in action. Despite the seriousness of the conversation it seemed like they were enjoying the debate.

            “I can see that. But what about the distribution. How do you fancy the blood getting to all of them?” Lucius shot back.

            “The water.” Severus replied simply. Lucius considered this, depending on how big the area was that the water was being contained in it might be plausible. Damn Severus and his logic.  

            Harry tilted his head to the side. “The water was darker than it should be and it had this presence about it.” Harry shivered thinking about it. “Which brings us back to where we started. How could you think he didn’t create that many?”

            Severus rolled his eyes. “Well obviously we were not aware of that. He only ever had the Necromancer perform the rituals a couple times.”

            “And that is why we know that you didn’t perform any Necromancy. It would have to have been just dark magic.” Lucius said kindly. Harry appreciated the gesture, he really did but knowing he did dark magic was still hard to grasp.

            “This can’t get out. Think of what the Ministry would do once they realized that Harry can bring the dead back.” Remus said worriedly.

            “I don’t think he can. I think it was his connection that with Draco that allowed him to use it.” Lucius reasoned. “Maybe if he tried it on someone else we would know but I don’t think that is a wise plan.”

            “I am not using anything that killed Draco!” Harry declared hotly. He was still stuck on the fact that something inside him killed Draco. He wasn’t sure if it really was the stone or if it was something else but he was not going to use it.

            “I agree with Harry.” Draco said calmly. Lucius rolled his eyes, big shocker there. When didn’t he agree with Harry?

            Draco shook his head at the thought of Harry using the magic again. Kreacher had said that the darkness wanted Harry to keep using it, that didn’t sound like something they should keep doing. Harry’s life was too important to gamble with. Besides, were they going to stalk St. Mungos hoping to find someone close to death? Yeah that sounded like a sure fire way to not get the Ministries attention.  

            “What will I do if I start feeling the anger again?” Harry bit his lip in worry. That was his major concern. He didn’t want anything like this happening again. It had nearly killed him when Draco died. No way was he strong enough to go through with that again.  

            “You could always channel it.” Blaise suggested. Everyone turned to look at him. “That’s what my mother does when she gets the urge.” At the confused looks he was getting he sighed.

             “My thrice great grandmother was part succubus. My mother only has a sliver of it inside her but it is enough to cause desperate sexual urges on occasion. When that fades, she is left with rage at her chosen mate and well I am sure you can guess why she has so many husbands.” He said uncomfortably, Blaise didn’t really like talking about his mother. Fred shifted closer and placed his arm around his boyfriend. Blaise smiled gratefully at him.

            “Wouldn’t that mean you are part succubus too?” Harry questioned. Blaise rolled his eyes seemingly over his discomfort. “A succubus can only be a female. Incubus are males but that has to be passed down from father to son. Since I am not a girl, I didn’t catch any part of it. Thank Merlin.” He added the last part in relief.

            “She channels the rage?” Draco asked. Blaise rolled his eyes. “Yeah to murder. No, what I meant is she channels the sexual urges. If she already has a husband at the time of the urge, then she channels it into something she can attack. The pent-up frustration in her magic will lash out at the chosen object. So if that same anger comes back then I was saying that you can channel it. Find something for your magic to lash out at instead of it going to Draco.”

            Draco looked to Severus, he was resident expert on magical theories. “It makes sense. I don’t know how different the urges between sexual and anger are. Your anger due to the stone might need something drastically bigger than what Miss Zabini uses.” Severus said thinking over the possible things that Harry could use as a conduit.

            “I wish I didn’t need to do this in the first place.” Grumbled Harry. Life wasn’t fair! He knew his mentality was probably registering as a child but he didn’t care. Hadn’t he had enough of fighting off dark things by now? When was it his time to just relax and enjoy life? He wanted to spend his days with his family and with Draco. He didn’t want to have to worry about not keeping control of his emotions so that he didn’t accidentally kill his fiancé. Draco ran his fingers through Harry’s hair. “I know love.”

            Harry folded his arms across his chest and pouted. Narcissa thought it was the cutest thing she had ever seen. Harry was trying to come up with ways that might help other than just channeling the anger. There had to be someone he could talk to about this. Someone who knew about this kind of thing.

            A sudden thought occurred to Harry, he sat up straighter. “I need to talk to the Flamels.” Silence. Dead silence greeted Harry before all hell broke loose.

            “Are you out of your insane Gryffindor ever-loving mind?” Draco bellowed.

            “No way!” Pansy and Blaise shouted.

            “Harry!” Remus stated biting his lip.

            “We want to go!” The twins said in unison.

            “Oh Harry no.” Narcissa cried out.

            “Why the bloody hell would you want to do that?” Lucius asked questioning his second son.

            “It makes sense.” Severus said.

            The rapid-fire sentences at the same time had Harry looking at everyone back and forth trying to figure out who said what. It was like an odd match of tennis with many different opponents than the normal two. The previous looks of disbelief that had been sent at Harry were now being targeted to Severus.

            “Uncle Sev!” Draco cried out in disbelief. Lucius was staring at his longtime friend in horror. Severus was always the voice of reason. Why would he be spewing insanity now? What could possibly come good out of finding them?

            Severus held his hands up. “All of you settle down before I start forcing calming draughts down your throats.” He threatened darkly. “Look at this logically. They are the ones who _created_ the stone. Out of anybody they would be the ones to know how to help.”

            Remus scoffed. “Because they were the ones to cause the darkness in the first place! If they had never killed off innocent people, then Harry wouldn’t be in this mess.”

            “Severus, they have been missing for years for a good reason. They are vile. Who is to say they will even help Harry? What if they don’t know? What if they make it worse?” Lucius argued.

            “Those are what ifs. I can’t live life off of what ifs. If they can help me figure out what to do, then it will be worth it. I can’t just sit back and do nothing, I won’t risk Draco again. I can’t. Please don’t ask me to do that.” Harry pleaded with fresh tears in his eyes.

            Oh that is just not fair, Lucius thought as he stared down into those expressive emerald eyes. He sighed. “Alright.” The rest of the room gaped in disbelief. “But how are you expecting to find them?”

            “Fuck if I know! I was hoping out of the ten of us we could all brainstorm some ideas.” Harry said a little sheepishly. He didn’t even know where to begin to look for them. They could be anywhere. Were they even in England? They had been living for 700 years, they were probably masters at hiding. Suddenly finding them seemed impossible.

            “Wait. There has to be other options than going to them.” Draco said a little desperately. Harry had had enough dark wizards in his lifetime, who knows what would happen if they found the Flamels. Draco scrambled his brain to come up with an alternative.

            “What about a cleansing?” Pansy asked. Draco turned to her in delight. “Yes. What about that?” He asked Severus.

            Severus shared a considering look with Lucius. “A cleansing would help in normal circumstances. Do you remember the conversation we had about dark resonating with dark when you touch dark artifacts?” Severus waited till he saw nods of agreement. “Think back to when we talked about the charmed mirror that was spelled to spy on unsuspecting victims. If someone was to touch that mirror they would be able to do a cleansing no problem. But that mirror didn’t even have a fraction of the dark magic that the stone has. That stone is so deep into dark magic that I don’t believe there is a single cleansing that would help. Maybe it would take the edge off but that is it.”

            Draco’s face fell in defeat. Fuck. “Fine but I am going with you Harry.” He warned darkly. Harry kissed the tip of his nose. “I wouldn’t dream of going without you.”

            “Why are we still on the floor?” Harry shrugged in reply as he got up and cracked his muscles in his back. Draco groaned in pain when he stood up. “Ow.” Severus handed him the same potion that he gave to Remus. “This should help. You weren’t dead long enough for rigor mortis to set in but it still would have affected you muscles.”

            “What a lovely thought. I wasn’t dead long enough for rigor mortis.” Draco had to pause at the peculiar turn of events. Dead. He had actually died. He couldn’t wrap his mind around that. 

            Draco thanked him and downed the potion. Draco smiled and shot his godfather a look when he realized Severus had fixed the potion to not taste bad. Severus narrowed his eyes dangerously. Draco held his hands up. “I wasn’t going to say anything.” Harry furrowed his brows until Draco whispered in his ear.

            “Oh…” Harry grinned wickedly. Severus scowled. “How is that not saying anything?” He demanded to know.

            “You can’t expect me to keep it from Harry. We are one.” He said pointing back and forth between their bodies, his tone had suggested that it was obvious. “You should have specified that you meant Harry too. Then I would have waited till you weren’t here to tell him.” Chuckles could be heard around the room. Severus pinched the bridge of his nose. What did he do in life to deserve Dracos company?

            “Oh that potion hit the spot. I am already feeling better. Good enough to go the burrow tonight.” Harry’s mouth dropped open.

            “You can’t be serious?” He demanded. Draco smiled fondly. “Oh I am dead serious… get it? Dead?” At the looks he was receiving Draco sighed. “It’s too soon isn’t it?”

            Harry smacked him upside the head. “You twat. It will _always_ be too soon.” Draco scowled and rubbed his head. “Mother did you see that? Harry hit me. I think that is spousal abuse.”

            Narcissa chuckled warmly. “You aren’t married yet. You are lucky he was the one to do it. I wouldn’t have hit so soft. What are you thinking cracking jokes about this? It is serious Draco. Well done Harry.”

            Harry stuck his tongue out at Draco like the mature 18 year old that he is. “You are condoning abuse?” Draco gasped in shock. “To your own son too.” Draco pretended to wipe the corner of his eyes as he gave an exaggerated sniffle.

            “I swear sometimes I am dating a child.” Draco scoffed. “I would sure hope not. That is a serious offense. Do you know what they do to people like that in Azkaban?” Draco asked seriously. Fred and George snorted.

            Harry shook his head. “What is with you today? Things you should be taking seriously you aren’t. And things that shouldn’t be taken seriously, like going to the burrow, you are.” Harry puffed.

            “Harry we are going.” Draco stated, he wasn’t asking he was telling. “But Draco! Why? You died for fucks sake. Doesn’t that warrant time, to I don’t know recover?!”

            Draco pulled Harry over to the couch and sat them both down. “Harry, yes I died. We have established this. I am okay and with Severus’s potion I feel fine. To be honest I would rather sit at the burrow then ponder my death and try and find the Flamels. Besides you are just stalling. I know you love, you would come up with any excuse to not go. If you don’t want to go then fine don’t go.”

            Harry narrowed his eyes. That was too easy. There was a catch in there somewhere, he just knew it. “I am going to go with or without you.” Draco stated. Harry’s jaw dropped open. “You would face the Weasleys without me?” He asked a little awestruck.

            “Of course I would. They were or are your family. That still hasn’t been decided by you and until it is then I need to get to know them. I told you already that it doesn’t matter what they say to me, I won’t snap or argue back. I will take their harsh words and misguided judgements. I will not be the reason you have a falling out with them. I refuse. So, if you don’t want to go then you can firecall them right now and say that you won’t be coming but that I will. Do you know what they are going to think if we just didn’t show up? They are going to blame me not you. They are going to think that I convinced you not to show up. That is not fair to me Harry. So again, if you want to stay home then do so but don’t make this harder than it already is for me.” Draco pleaded.

            Harry bit his lip and looked down into his lap. Draco was right, they would blame him if they didn’t show up. Harry had only been thinking about protecting Draco from the dinner. He hadn’t stopped to think about what their absence would cause. Draco going over there was awfully brave and Harry acting like this made the whole thing a mockery. “I’m sorry.” Harry whispered.

            Draco lifted his chin so that he could stare into Harry’s eyes. “It’s alright. I know you just want to protect me but Harry I promise you that I have heard far worse than anything they can say to me. I have lived through more than just name calling.” The whole room knew that he was talking about Voldemort.

            Harry sighed. “Well when you put it like that.” Harry conceded in defeat. Draco hugged him tightly. “Thank you.” Draco whispered. Harry had to marvel at how backwards this was. Shouldn’t Draco be the worried one here? Shouldn’t Harry be the one begging Draco to come along?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright my lovelies what do you think? Thoughts on the darkness being the stone? 
> 
> With the Horcrux inside Harry it had been there since the death of his parents. So when he touched the stone it made the connection between the Horcrux and Harry stronger but it mainly laid dormant inside of him. The Horcrux had been a part of Harry for so long that it was more dominant than the stones darkness causing it to take a step back. But when the Horcrux left Harry that let the darkness to be released. Keep in mind that Harry and Draco talked on the quidditch pitch only three days after the battle. The Darkness hadn't really been able to do much with being dormant for so long. Then just mere days later the bond started to form when they began sharing emotions. With how strong a soulmate bond is the darkness was once again being over dominated. But because it did have the three days to form it began to go stronger over time. The darkness resented being pushed to the side once again and lashed out at Draco. 
> 
> What about Voldemort having a Necromancer? I had always wondered more about the inferi. There wasn't much information on them. With Voldemort gone, I had wondered how they were still there. Was it not magic that needed to be maintained? What really was involved in the process? So I did the only thing I could when I don't know something... use my imagination. ;)
> 
> I know that Lily sacrificed herself out of love but that to me has never been something that I can think of as a light wizard doing. The love part of the sacrifice is what could be considered light and redeemable about it but trading one life for another just screams dark in my mind. So I made any sacrificial magic dark. Whether it was intentional or not. Now adding in the intent behind the ritual is where the blurred grey lines come in. Yes it is dark magic but the morality behind it is what makes the difference. 
> 
> Do you agree with Draco in thinking they shouldn't look for the Flamels? No one can find them for a reason after all.   
> I thought it was rather sweet how dedicated Draco is on going to the Weasleys. 
> 
> I apologize for ending it in the middle of a conversation... again. But I had to! Sorry. *smiles sheepishly*  
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	33. Secondhand Sorrow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously on I Do What I Want...
> 
> Harry sighed. “Well when you put it like that.” Harry conceded in defeat. Draco hugged him tightly. “Thank you.” Draco whispered. Harry had to marvel at how backwards this was. Shouldn’t Draco be the worried one here? Shouldn’t Harry be the one begging Draco to come along?

           “Are you sure about this?” Fred worried his bottom lip with his teeth. Gods, after the emotional tornado they just went through he was not feeling up to dinner. When Kreacher had showed up at their flat, it scared the freckles right off of him. Luckily Pansy and Blaise had been over and they came along too. Fred had witnessed a lot of families crying over their dead loved ones after the final battle. Even his own family after Percy died. But… watching Harry lose it over Draco’s body had crushed him in ways he hadn’t known was possible. He finally saw Harry’s soul but in the most awful way possible. To see how broken Harry was without Draco had been heartbreaking. The sound his soul made as Draco took his last breath had crushed him completely. He never wanted to see something like that again. If this is what happened to soulmates than he never ever wanted to find his. No thanks. He was perfectly happy with Blaise. No souls to get in the way. No sheer destruction if one of them was lost.

            Harry had always done the impossible. Ever since he was a baby he was doing miracles. Then again at eleven with the stone. Twelve with the Chamber of Secrets. Thirteen in saving Sirius. Fourteen with surviving Voldemort. Fifteen with surviving Voldemort again and being possessed by him. Finally, at seventeen in finally destroying Voldemort once and for all. Harry was a walking miracle, if it was impossible for others than they obviously had never met Harry Potter. But… bringing back the dead? That was on a whole new scale that freaked Fred out. Was it only Draco that it could work on? Or could he do this with other dead people too? The dead shouldn’t come back to life. Hypocritical of him considering he was more than happy that Draco was alive. Draco and Harry belonged together. In life or in death. They shouldn’t be separated they just belonged together.

            George was at a loss. That didn’t happen to him often. He was always ready with a quick laugh and a good joke but he could barely form the words to talk. Something died inside of him as he watched Draco die. Something he didn’t think he would ever get back. He considered Draco a part of the family. He considered Draco to be another brother to him just like Harry was. After losing Percy he couldn’t stomach losing anyone else. His own grief had been bad enough but to watch Harry’s grief nearly killed him. For a moment, he wondered if he was going to die too. Surely that was what this pain in his heart meant. He couldn’t imagine losing his soulmate. The thought of losing Pansy to death was a crushing thought. But to lose the one that has been fated to you? Not to mention your bonded and intended. He couldn’t even fathom the pain that Harry had gone through.

            When he had finally gained some control of his spiraling emotions it had all gone to hell again when Harry’ soul started weeping in its music. George knew that he would never forget this moment. That song gave him chills and not the good kind. That song alone would give him nightmares but add in the death of Draco and he knew he would be having issues with falling asleep. He had not been prepared for this. No amount of preparing would have been enough. Every time he tried to take a step back emotionally so that he could be strong, Harry would release those heart wrenching sobs and the awful words of his grief. Hearing Harry beg Draco not to leave him was the single worst thing he had ever seen. The idea of being able to talk normally still hadn’t come back to him. For once he couldn’t believe Draco was able to joke about this. He sure the fuck couldn’t. He doubted he would ever be able to. Harry was right. It would always be too soon. Maybe it was a coping mechanism? George could understand that since he also used jokes to cope with life. Perhaps it was because Draco hadn’t witnessed what they did. If he had seen what Harry had gone through, then he doubted Draco would be able to crack jokes.

            George didn’t care how Harry had brought Draco back. To him it wouldn’t have mattered if it was the darkest magic known to man. As long as he would never have to witness Harry go through something like this again then he was fine.

            “I am not even sure about this.” George added weakly. Fuck he wanted to curl up in bed with Pansy and a stuffed animal and never think about this again. Dinner was the absolute last thing he wanted to endure. Hell, he wasn’t even ready for it before all of this happened.

            “I am sure.” Draco reassured them. Fred and George shared a long helpless look. So much was exchanged in that look. They knew neither one wanted to go through with dinner. They could tell their mom that they were sick or that they needed to keep the shop open past dinner time. But if Draco and Harry were going to go to the burrow than they needed to put on their big boy britches and go to dinner. There was no way that they would allow either one of them to be subjected to that without them. The twins had not been informed of how dinner at Shell Cottage had gone. They figured it would go well based off of what Harry said in Bills letter but they had still been worried. Fleur was a difficult person to get along with. Not that they really tried, they had been too busy to really get to know her. If everything turned out great, then hopefully Harry and Draco would be having another duo to protect them.

            Fred checked the time. “Well we have a couple hours still till dinner.” Harry and Draco shared a look.

            “I think Harry and I need some time to ourselves. We have a lot to talk about.” The rest of the room silently agreed.

            Narcissa couldn’t take her eyes of her son. She had been confused when Kreacher brought her over here. She had wondered if Draco had planned something last minute but her heart shattered at the scene she walked into. Her baby boy lying on the ground dying. She will never be able to wipe the image of her seizing son, red faced with foam coming out of his mouth. His eyes were glassy and unseeing. She knew looking at him that nothing was going to be able to save him. As she watched her son dying all she could feel was regret. She knew she had never been the best mother. She hadn’t given Draco the love that he needed when growing up. She could have saved him a lot of heartache if she had just let her son in but it had been so hard. As she watched the light leave her son’s eyes she wished she could do it all over again. She wished she could go back and just tell her son how much she loved him but to also show him as well.

            After hearing Harry’s explanation to Severus about the emotions he was trying to show Draco she wanted to be angry at him. She wanted to blame him, wanted to curse him for this. But she couldn’t, Harry was like a son to her as well. As she watched his breakdown over Draco’s body her heart broke even further. To lose a child was the worst thing that could ever happen. It is normal to lose a parent, it is awful and can be unexpected but it is inevitable that it will happen. Children are meant to outlive their parents. But watching her barely adult son die had been a sense of pure wrong. He shouldn’t be the one to die, if anything it should have been her. She would have gladly given up her life for her son. She had already lived her life, sure she was still technically too ‘young’ to die but that would have been fine with her. Letting her son live was more important than any life she could have.

            The best and worst moments of her life revolved around Draco and Harry. The best moment had been watching Harry and Draco’s souls combine and find each other. That had been a magical moment that would always stick with her. This… was the worst moment. It was magical in its own way but nothing good. She would be having nightmares for the rest of her life. Seeing Harry’s soul literally break without Draco was almost as heartbreaking as seeing her son die. She had never known utter despair before. Never heard such sadness. Gods it had been awful.

            When Harry brought him back to life she had been blown away. She hadn’t even come to grips of the reality of her son dying and yet she was thrown a new angle in life and her son was alive again. The emotional back and forth had drained her in so many ways. She wasn’t even sure if she really had an understanding of everything that had happened today. To know that Harry was subconsciously trying to sacrifice himself to bring back Draco had been gut wrenching. The type of love they held for each other was something she would never be able to fully understand.

            She was worried about the darkness inside Harry. She had known from the moment Harry said that he had touched the stone that there would have to be some kind of residual effect. It hadn’t made any sense that there wouldn’t be. You can’t touch something so dark and so evil without there being consequences. She knew it wasn’t his fault. Harry had been a child then when it happened. She blamed Flamel for making the blasted thing. The Dark Lord for going after it and Dumbledore for placing it inside a school. Narcissa was worried that whatever happened today could happen again. Would Harry be okay? Would the darkness inside him turn on him? She just wanted to protect both her sons.

            Narcissa didn’t want to leave. She wanted to keep an eye on her son. She wanted to make sure he was okay. If she left then all she would do is worry. He had been fine just a couple days ago, and then bam he had died. In her mind staying meant that Draco would be okay. Nothing bad could happen to him on her watch.

            “It’s alright dear. We can see him tomorrow.” Lucius whispered into her ear. She let out a little whimper. Draco looked up at his mother a little confused. He got up and gave her a hug which she returned too harshly. Draco was sure she was squeezing his lungs out of his body.

            “I’m okay mum.” Draco told her quietly. “Now. But you weren’t Draco. I lost you. I lost my baby boy.” Draco pinked up. She hadn’t called him that since he was three.

            “I know.” He whispered. “But you have to let me go mum. I will be okay. I will firecall you after the dinner and tell you how awful it was. I will rant and rage and tell you how much I prefer the Manor. I will let you tell me how I need to be more understanding and I will let you scold me. Then I will tell you that I will see you tomorrow and everything will be alright. But to do this, I need you to let me go. Okay?”

            Narcissa hugged him tightly for just a little longer before letting him go and taking a step back. “When did you get so wise?” Draco smiled ruefully. “I have always been this level of perfection that you see before you.” Narcissa smiled a little watery and ruffled up his hair, much to the indignation of Draco. “I suppose you have.” She told him a little teary eyed.

            “We will see you tomorrow.” Lucius said in a tone that booked no argument. Draco nodded his agreement and watched his parents walk to the floo. Right before his mother walked in she turned around to look at her son. “I love you Draco.” Draco’s brows lifted and he blinked rapidly in shock. It took a jolt through the bond from Harry to make him come back to his senses. “I love you too mother.” She smiled warmly at him before following her husband home.

            Draco stood staring at the spot his mother just left with wonder. Goodness he couldn’t remember the last time she had said that to him. Looks like all needed to happen was for him to die for her to change her ways. Go figure.

            Severus paused to give Draco a quick pat on the back and Harry a nod of the head. “I will also see you tomorrow. I am going to try and do some research to see if there has ever been a case of sacrificial magic that has brought back the dead.”

            “Would you like some help?” Remus offered with a genuine small smile. Severus stared at him longer than was necessary. That was most unexpected. “If you can keep up. I will not have you slowing down my research.” Severus snidely said. Remus pressed his mouth together firmly to stop the smile that was threatening to come out. By the narrowing of Severus’s eyes, he knew he failed. Remus raised his hands. “I promise you I won’t slow you down.” Severus nodded and marched over to the floo and stood impatiently waiting for Remus.

            Remus stepped up to Harry and engulfed him in a tight bear hug. “I will be at the Manor tomorrow okay? I want to know what happens at the burrow and I also want to make sure that you are okay.” Harry gripped Remus tightly.

            “I’ll be there.” Harry promised. “Bye Severus.” Harry had to bite the inside of his cheek when he saw the man jerk in response to his first name being said by him. Severus obviously didn’t think Harry needed a response since he dragged Remus through the fire and sent them to Hogwarts.  

            Pansy and Blaise stepped up to swarm Draco in a hug. “Oi! Get off me.” Draco yelled through their bodies. He could feel the amusement from Harry and it did not please him. Harry was not the one being smothered by eager Slytherins. It was unfair for him to find amusement in his suffering.

            “You better be careful.” Pansy warned. “I don’t just mean at the Weasleys. I mean in general okay? I can’t lose you like that again. You are my best friend.” She told him through watery eyes.

            “I will kick your arse if anything like this happens again. Merlin that was the worst thing that I have ever experienced. You are my best friend too Draco so please watch out for yourself.” Blaise demanded thickly.

            Draco felt a rush of affection for his best friends. He had gotten lucky the day he met them. He wouldn’t have been able to survive his childhood without them. “I’ll be careful. I promise.” He said gruffly.

            “You better tell us tomorrow what it was like to be at the Weasleys. We want to know all the details.” Pansy said a little worried for her friend but also worried about herself when the time would come to be introduced to them.

            “Well then you better be at the Manor because I am not repeating the same story a million times over just to please you lot.” Draco warned.

            Blaise shook his head. “Harry how do you put up with him?” Harry laughed out loud. “Most of the time I can’t figure it out myself.” Harry teased. The quartet started laughing while Draco shot them all looks.    

            While Pansy and Blaise turned to give hugs to Harry, the twins embraced Draco. “You scared us mate-” Fred began.

            “We don’t want to see that-”

            “Ever again. You are like a-”

            “Brother to us.” George said with emotion.

            Draco had to blink back the tears that had threatened to come. It was really nice having other people besides Pansy and Blaise there for him. He had thought that he would just tolerate the two of them for Harry’s benefit. Draco had never considered that they would come to mean something to him. That was unexpected. But Fred and George were a part of his family now. Even if they hadn’t been dating his best friends, he still would feel the same way.

            “You guys are my family too.” Draco whispered. Fred and George shared a fond look before squeezing him tighter. “Oi! I can’t breathe!” The twins stepped back laughing.

            Harry got up and hugged them both. “I shall see you both in a couple hours.” He promised. Fred and George gripped Harry tightly. “That was some impressive magic. But we never want to see you so crushed again.” Fred warned. George nodded vehemently. “I think something died inside me watching you Harry.” George looked away trying to control himself. He wasn’t the one who usually got emotional but that had touched him in awful ways.

            Draco frowned at their words. Had it really been that bad? He bit his lip as his mind wandered.

            “I’m sorry.” Apologized Harry. “Don’t be daft.” They said in unison. “That wasn’t your fault. It was understandable how upset you would be.” Fred chided. Harry wasn’t too sure but he nodded anyways.

            After the quartet left in pairs, Harry and Draco were finally alone. Harry sat down on the couch and watched in interest as Draco seemed to be contemplating the world. Draco took no notice of this. He was still standing there looking at the ground lost in thought.

            Harry got up and wrapped his arms around Draco’s neck. “What are thinking about?” Draco looked down into Harry’s face and grimaced.

            Draco took a deep breath as he wrapped his arms around Harry’s waist. “I want to watch a pensive of what you went through today.” Harry dropped his arms in shock.

            Harry shook his head. “I can’t relive that Draco.” Harry begged. Draco ran his hands up and down Harry’s sides. “I am not asking you to love. I will go alone.”

            “Why? Why do you want to see it? I promise you it isn’t good.” Draco sighed. “I know that but I am worried about the things that everyone was saying. I need to see this for myself. Please.” Draco begged.

            Harry looked into his silver eyes that were filled with pleading intensity. Harry placed himself in Draco’s shoes. If it had been reversed would he want to know? Eh. Probably not. But Harry wondered if Draco really understood what he had gone through. Harry nodded slowly and held his hand up summoning the pensive.

            “How long have we had that?” Draco wondered. He had thought that they would have to buy one and it would be a couple days before he would be seeing the memory. He wasn’t sure which one was preferable at the moment.

            “I nicked it after the final battle. It was Dumbledores. He saw me taking it and he smiled so I figure that was his approval.” Draco stared at his fiancé a little dumbfounded. Stealing from a dead man? How had he ever thought that Harry was a Gryffindor?

            Draco looked down at the pensive a little wearily. Did he really want to do this? The remembrance of Harry’s pain when he first woke up was still fresh in his mind. Not to mention George’s statement was still ringing in his ears. He needed to do this. He needed to understand what had happened.

            Draco looked to Harry and braced himself. “I am ready.” Harry used his wand to pull out his memory and dropped it into the pensive. Harry leaned forward and pressed a chaste kiss to Draco’s lips. Draco wanted nothing more than to deepen the kiss but he knew he had to see the memory now or he never would. So he kissed Harry one last time and then leaned over into the pensive.

            Draco landed and looked around. He watched as the two of them were sitting on the couch. It was surreal to see himself from this point of view, it was like there was two of them.

            **_Draco let out a gasp causing Harry to look up at him in confusion. “Draco?” Panic could be seen on Harry’s face when no response came. Harry reached out to touch Draco’s forehead but was immediately withdrawn as his hand became burned. Harry gasped in pain as he stared down at the blisters marking his skin. “Draco answer me!” There was a hysterical edge to his voice. Draco chest was moving from the intake of breath but not exhaling. He wasn’t breathing normally, indicating that something was wrong._**

**_“Kreacher!” Harry screamed in desperation as sobs wracked throughout his body. Kreacher popped into the room and his eyes widened immediately. “I need you to get Severus Snape and Lucius Malfoy immediately. Then gather everyone else please.” Harry’s eyes were watering as he begged Kreacher._ **

Draco had to force his eyes to stay open as he watched Harry begin to lose himself. He had known he died but watching it was a whole different thing.

            **_“Draco.” Harry said after laying Draco on the floor. When no response came, Harry’s tears flowed more freely. Draco’s lips were turning blue from the lack of oxygen and his eyes rolled into the back of his head before he started seizing. Harry covered his mouth with his hands and let out a shuddering sob._**

**_“Unhand me elf.” Lucius demanded angrily._ **

Draco looked up at the sound of his father appearing in the room before he saw Kreacher apparate back out.

            **_“Draco! No. Please.” The sound of Harry’s sobs caused both men to stiffen and turn around quickly. They let out surprised noises as they witnessed Draco on the floor in the middle of seizure with red skin and foam frothing out of his mouth._**

**_Severus quickly knelt down on the ground next to Draco, reaching out to touch Draco’s neck. Harry’s hand came up to grip Severus’ as he said, “Don’t touch him.” Severus had an outraged expression on his face but it cleared when Harry showed him his burned hands. “I tried touching him and this happened.” Severus swore and began running diagnostic tests on Draco._ **

**_“What happened?” Lucius asked thickly as he stared down at his son._ **

**_“I-I don’t know. One minute we were talking about emotions and he said he couldn’t feel one of mine so I pushed it into him and then this happened! I don’t know what I did.” Harry choked out in despair._ **

Draco had to squeeze his nails into his fist to control his emotions. Fuck. Why had he done this? All he wanted to do was comfort Harry and hold him close. Draco watched panic form on his godfather’s face. That was not something he has really witnessed before. Severus was always in control. He wondered exactly what were the results of the tests he was running. Was it already showing that he would die? Is that why he was panicking?

            **_“I don’t know what to do.” Severus choked out. Lucius clenched his eyes shut as a sob broke out._**

This was awful. To see his father lose it was something he never wanted to witness again. Draco watched as his father clutched his chest trying to breathe deeper. Was he about to have a panic attack? Gods, he hoped not. Suddenly Harry let out an ear-piercing scream that made Draco’s blood run cold.

            **_“No! Draco please don’t leave me. Please. I need you Draco!”_**

            Draco whimpered and he couldn’t hold back the tears. He wanted to close his eyes and get the hell out of here but he couldn’t move. He was rooted to the spot doomed to watch the memory play out.

            **_Severus ran one last test before letting out a shuddering breath and shook his head at Lucius indicating that Draco had died. Lucius had tears streaming down his face._**

Draco had never witnessed his father cry. He hadn’t thought the man even knew how to. When he had been younger he wanted to see his father lose it just once. To see his human side just one time. But as he watched his father cry he regretted ever wishing such a thing.

            **_“D-Draco… please don’t go… please… I’ll do anything… please… Draco.”_**

Tears streamed down Draco’s cheeks as he listened to Harry begging his dead body not to leave him. Draco watched Harry lurch forward onto his body and cry his eyes out. Draco’s heart was breaking in two.

            **_“I can’t live without you… please Draco… come back to me… please!” The longer Harry cried the more pronounced the lack of the bond became. Harry’s soul was seeping out and crying in its own despair. “Oh gods.” Lucius choked out when the noise of Harry’ soul reached them._**

Draco’s knees buckled and he covered his face in his hands. He may be able to block out the horrid image in front of him but it didn’t prevent him from hearing the music of Harry’s grief. Draco sobbed as the tempo quivered. He knew how much Harry loved him, could feel it with everything Harry did but to see what the absence of him would cause Harry was an eye opener. This was the absolute worst thing he had ever experienced in his entire life. He never wanted to be the cause of Harry’s suffering. To know how badly his death had affected him was awful. Draco knew it wasn’t his fault but he couldn’t help but feel guilty. He was the reason Harry was sobbing. Draco looked up only to clench his eyes again in pain. Harry’s soul was darkening and turning a muddy dark grey. Something so beautiful should never be that color.

            **_“Harry.” Severus said as he tried to get Harry off of Draco’s body. “No!” Harry screamed. “He’s not dead! He can’t be. He promised he would never leave me. He promised…” Harry’s voice cracked and Severus began to cry at Harry’s words._**

Draco whimpered at Harry’s words. Now he understood why Harry had reacted so sadly when he said that earlier. Draco didn’t like to see Severus cry either. This wasn’t something he wanted to see. He never wanted to see them cry. They were strong men who never let emotions get in the way of things and he didn’t like knowing that his death is what finally cracked that inside them.

            **_“Harry he is g-gone.” Severus stuttered. “No!” Harry argued angrily. “I c-can’t accept that. I need him… so much… I can’t-” Harry trailed off as he closed his eyes and when doing so a blinding white light engulfed his body._**

**_“What-” Severus’s objection was cut off by Lucius’s hand. Severus cast a diagnostic spell on Harry to try and figure out what was going on. Severus let out a gasp. “What is it?” Lucius asked harshly. Before he could respond Draco let out a deep shuddering gasp of air._ **

Draco wasn’t even aware that he had left the memory. When he came out of the pensive he was kept on his knees. Draco had his face in his hands still crying. His ears were ringing with the sad song that Harry’s soul released. With his eyes closed all he could see was Harry’s crying desperation. He didn’t realize where he was until a pair of strong arms wrapped around him.

            “Harry.” Draco sobbed and turned so that he could bury his face into Harry’s neck. Harry didn’t care that the odd position was cramping his legs, Draco needed him. “Shh.” Harry whispered as he rocked them back and forth.

            “I’m so sorry. So sorry.” Draco choked out. He couldn’t clear his head. The memory was just playing on repeat and it was affecting his concentration. Harry leaned away so that he could fully sit on the ground and pulled Draco into his lap. Harry lifted Draco’s face with his hand. “What are you apologizing for love?”

            Draco tried to look away but Harry had an iron grip on his chin. He closed his eyes and tears streamed down. Harry gently wiped them away and rested his forehead against Draco’s. “I didn’t think that was what my death would do to you. I am sorry that I-”

            “You better not apologize for dying.” Harry warned as his eyes narrowed. Draco bit his lip and Harry sighed when he realized that that was exactly what Draco had been about to do.

            “It wasn’t your fault.” Harry whispered as he tried to quash the guilt that was rumbling inside him. Draco snapped his eyes opened and glared. “It isn’t your fault either so stop.” Harry chuckled at the demand. Typical Draco.

            “Yes my Lord.” Draco’s lips twitched. “I love it when you follow my orders great consort.” Harry snorted and kissed Draco’s cheek.

            “You would my Liege, because no one else would be stupid enough listen to you.” Draco scoffed in mock anger. “I will have you know that my word is law. Everyone listens to me. And why wouldn’t they? I am the greatest ruler to date. Charming, Daring, Handsome, Powerful, I mean what else could you want?”

            Harry tried to keep a straight face but was failing. “You left out humble my Lord.” Draco rolled his eyes. “We have been over this my dear. The people don’t want a humble ruler. Why must I repeat myself. It is so hard to find good help.”          

            Harry dropped his mouth open in shock before tackling Draco till his back met the ground. Draco let out an oomph of surprise that quickly turned into shout when Harry started tickling him.

            “ _Harry_!” Draco cried through peals of laughter. “Are you going to take that back?” Draco tried to respond but he couldn’t, the pure torture of being tickled was too much.

            “No? Okay then.” Harry said before speeding up and tickling Draco at a merciless speed. Draco screamed in response. “Harry.” Draco begged through his laughter. “I take it back! I take it back!” Harry stopped immediately, looming over Draco and smiling down into his beautiful grey eyes.

            Harry thought Draco was beautiful as he lay panting and flushed with his hair messed up and his eyes shining in happiness. “You are gorgeous.” Draco flushed at the compliment. With the way Harry was looking at him, Draco couldn’t help but believe his words. He felt so loved and safe underneath Harry.

            Draco reached up to cup Harry’s face. “I love you.” Harry grinned down to plant a sweet but gentle kiss against Draco’s lips. Draco mewled at the contact and moved his lips eagerly against Harry’s.

            “I love you too.” Harry told him after they broke apart. Harry laid down and rested his head on Draco’s chest. He closed his eyes and listened contently to Draco’s heartbeat.

            The pureblood inside Draco cringed at the thought of them laying on the ground. The dirty ground. But as he felt Harry’s happiness through the bond, Draco couldn’t bother to care about the floor. Besides, Kreacher wouldn’t let the floor get too dirty. Nothing, not even visible dirt would be enough to move him. Draco wrapped his arms around Harry and breathed in the smell of Harry’s shampoo.

            “Moments like this are what I live for.” Draco breathed out with a small smile. Harry grinned and burrowed deeper.

            “You live for moments where you lie on the disgusting dirty floor?” A disapproving voice said in disdain startling them both.

            They sat up quickly and were surprised to see Severus and Remus standing near the floo. Severus was sneering down at them in disgust but Remus was staring down at them with fondness and a hint of envy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter wasn't really filled with a whole lot but I like it anyways. :)
> 
> I like that Draco wanted to see the memory. I don't think he would ever fully understand what Harry had gone through unless he saw it for himself.
> 
> I love Severus's snarky behavior. Honestly he is one of my favorite characters. Sometimes I feel like I am not portraying him as good as he should be but oh well. He is a little difficult to write. 
> 
> Tomorrow will be a tad bit of Drama. Not what you will be expecting, I am struggling with how that chapter is coming along. It shows some emotions of other people that I am just not sure are believable. Ah well. You will understand when you see it tomorrow. Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter. :)  
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	34. Godfathers?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am not so sure about this chapter. It didn't go exactly how I had planned. There is some bashing in here. Hopefully you still like it.

            They sat up quickly and were surprised to see Severus and Remus standing near the floo. Severus was sneering down at them in disgust but Remus was staring down at them with fondness and a hint of envy.

            “What are you two doing here? I thought that you left to do some research.” Harry asked.

            Severus scowled at Remus. “Lupin remembered that he still needed to give you your birthday gift. So here we are. Why he couldn’t just owl it to you is beyond me. By the way, you should really close down your floo when you are home alone. Anybody could just waltz in here.” Severus said arching a brow.

            “Obviously.” Draco drawled looking pointedly at his godfather. Severus huffed but didn’t respond. Remus’s mouth was twitching as he stepped forward and handed Harry a package.

            “I would have liked to have given this to you on your birthday but this is fine too.” Harry waved away the apology. Honestly it had been the full moon, like he would have expected Remus to be there. Silly werewolf. He made to open the gift but Remus interrupted.

            “I found this a couple days before I came to see you after the Skeeter article. This didn’t cost me anything and it really isn’t something you should thank me for.” Harry was confused but waited patiently. “I don’t know if you are aware of this but Sirius left me some gold in his will. After the reading of the will they moved what Sirius had left me into my vault and I don’t know if this was supposed to be in my stuff or if it was an accident. Either way it belongs to you.”

            Harry felt a pang of loss at his godfather’s name but he was also curious. Draco wrapped his arms around Harry in a show of support as Harry ripped the wrapping off.

            Harry let out a cry of disbelief and dropped the present. Luckily Draco had the sense to catch it.

            “Oi! Be careful with me pup!” Harry covered his mouth in shock as he stared at a painting of his godfather.

            “Wow you grew up some Harry. Less scrawny and I hate to tell you this but your hair seems to have gotten worse.” Harry’s eyes filled with tears and he buried his head into Draco’s neck. Draco tore his eyes away from his dead cousin and ran the hand not holding the painting through Harry’s hair. With his attention focused on Harry, Draco missed the calculating look Sirius was sending him.

            “It’s alright love. I got you.” Draco said quietly kissing the side of Harry’s head.

            Harry didn’t know what to think. He could remember the brief hope that Sirius would come back as a ghost but that had been dashed when Nearly Headless Nick told him otherwise. Harry had resigned himself from never being able to see Sirius again. Harry had never even considered the possibility that Sirius would have a painting somewhere. The thought of holding a conversation with him was amazing… but Harry couldn’t face him. Couldn’t face the knowledge that he had been the one responsible for his godfather’s death.

            “Harry.” Draco said sternly. Harry shook his head and hid his face further. Draco sighed and looked at Sirius’s painting. “Do you mind if I have Remus hold you for a minute cousin Sirius?” Sirius’s eyes widened at the respectful tone. Remus had been singing the boys praise since he came back from seeing Harry but Sirius could still remember everything Harry used to say about his cousin. Maybe Remus had been right when he said that the Malfoy heir had changed.

            Remus stepped up and grabbed the painting without waiting to see if Sirius would agree. Remus made sure that Sirius could still see what was going on though.

            Sirius watched as his cousin stepped away slightly and forced Harry to meet his eyes. Love. That was all he could see as he watched his cousin look at Harry. That and concern.  

            “Harry we have been over this repeatedly. It wasn’t your fault. He doesn’t blame you for his death.” Draco told him quietly. Sirius startled. Harry blamed himself? He opened his mouth to say something but Harry let out a sob that tore his painted on heart out.

            “But I am the reason he is d-dead.” Harry argued. Draco shook his head. “No Harry. You did not make him go to the department of Mysteries that night. You did not force Bellatrix to kill him. You were there because Voldemort tricked you into going. The deatheaters were there on Voldemort’s orders. If you want to blame someone then blame Voldemort and Bellatrix. But do not blame yourself. Please Harry.” Draco squeezed Harry tightly to him and then relaxed when Harry’s guilt was ebbing away.

            “I get what you are saying. I knew that but it’s just so hard to accept.” Harry mumbled into Draco’s chest. Draco smiled fondly down at him. “You wouldn’t be you if you didn’t blame yourself for everything that goes wrong.” Harry chuckled warmly. Draco was right. It was easy to just blame himself. Self-hatred was simple compared to facing the fact that sometimes there is nothing you can do to change things.

            “Thank you.” Harry said as he wrapped his arms around Draco’s neck. “Anytime.” Draco promised leaning down to kiss Harry on the top of his head.

            Sirius was surprised at the way Draco handled Harry. It was odd watching his godson react so openly with someone. He had never seen Harry be so open with his feelings before. Harry usually kept things locked up tightly. He heard Remus sigh in longing and he looked up as much as the painting allowed but Remus was staring at Harry and Draco. Well that was odd.

            Harry dropped his arms and mentally braced himself. He turned slowly and smiled shyly at his godfather’s painting. Harry sent Draco his appreciation through the bond when Draco wrapped his arms around him from behind.

            “Hi Sirius.” Harry said through watery eyes. Merlin, seeing him was a dream come true. He looked much healthier now than Harry could ever remember him being when alive. Sirius looked years younger.

            “Harry.” Sirius said blinking rapidly. Sirius considered telling Harry that it was silly for him to blame himself for his death but he figured his cousin did a good enough job. Better than he would have done.

            “I didn’t know you had a painting or I would have gotten you out of there sooner!” Harry rushed out. Sirius chuckled. “I know that pup. I wasn’t even aware that I was going to have a painting of me done but afterwards I remembered that after each Lord Black dies the magic of the Noble House of Black kicks in and it automatically goes through.” Harry raised an eyebrow at the heavy sarcasm when he spoke of his family.

            “Kreacher is not going to like this.” Draco mumbled quietly. Sirius was surprised when Harry let out a laugh. “No he won’t” Harry said fondly. Sirius looked at the pair in disbelief. Who in their right mind could hold fondness for that thing?

            “I take it he is still alive then?” Sirius said wrinkling his nose. Harry and Draco stiffened which intrigued Sirius.

            “Kreacher is a part of our family Sirius.” Harry warned through narrowed eyes. He loved his godfather and he always would but Kreacher was the one alive. Kreacher was the one who had approved of their relationship from the beginning. Kreacher was the one who took care of them and looked after their wellbeing. Kreacher was just as much a part of their family as Sirius was.

            Sirius gaped at his godson. What could have happened for Harry to take a liking to Kreacher? The elf was the epidemy of everything wrong with his family. The vile little cretin.  

            And speak of the devil. *Pop* Kreacher apparated a couple feet away from Harry and Draco.

            “Master Draco they are ready.” Kreacher croaked as he handed over two sets of clothing on a rack. Draco grinned down at Kreacher and took the clothes.

            Harry tried peeking to see what kind of clothes they were but Draco held them away. “These are the clothes I asked Kreacher to get for tonights dinner.” Harry raised a brow but smiled sweetly. “You really do want to do this.” He noted.

            Draco set the clothes down and turned to gather Harry in his arms. “I do. I want tonight to go perfectly for you. They Weasleys are your family just as you are a part of mine.” Harry kissed the side of Draco’s neck.

            Sirius wondered what the dinner was about. Was it the first time the Weasleys would be having Draco over as Harry’s boyfriend? He would love to be a painting on the wall for that conversation.

            Kreacher started walking away mumbling as he went. “Blood traitor red heads don’t deserve Master Harry.”

            “Don’t talk about them like that!” Sirius bellowed causing Kreacher to freeze in his tracks.

            Kreacher turned around and narrowed his eyes. “Master Sirius.” His tone was as sarcastic as an elf could get.

            “Kreacher.” Sirius sneered. “I see you are still darkening the house with your presence.” Remus sighed, would Sirius never learn? Severus was actually enjoying himself. He couldn’t wait till the mutt was put in his place.

            “Sirius.” Harry warned dangerously. “I told you that Kreacher is a part of the family. Do not talk to him like that.” Kreacher’s eyes widened in shock. Master Harry was defending him! And to Master Sirius too!

            “Master Harry is too kind.” Kreacher croaked with emotion. “Kind like Master Regulus.” Kreacher mumbled.

            Sirius scoffed. “My brother-” He was cut off.

            “Was a great man.” Harry interrupted firmly. Sirius blinked at Harry rapidly. “Harry you didn’t even know him. Regulus was as evil as-” Harry raised a hand holding Kreacher back.

            “Master Regulus was a kind Master. A great heir of the Noble House of Black! You broke Mistresses heart.” Kreacher croaked out angrily. Draco was impressed with the spirit Kreacher was showing. Who knew the little guy had it in him?

            “My mother.” Sirius sneered.

            “Enough Sirius!” Harry yelled angrily. Sirius snapped his mouth shut with an audible click. He turned bewildered eyes on Harry.

            “Why do you have to goad him? Why can’t you leave Kreacher alone? Honestly not even death could make you grow up.” Harry said harshly. He knew he was being hard on him but Sirius needed to hear this. If he couldn’t stop behaving this way then he was going to have to stay with Remus or go back to the vaults. He couldn’t function with Sirius starting arguments with Kreacher every time they caught sight of each other.

            Severus raised his brows in surprise. That was a beautiful insult. Finally the mutt was getting a talking to. It was many years too late, but beggars can’t be choosers.  

            “Harry…” Sirius trailed off in a hurt tone. Harry closed his eyes and pushed away the guilt. No, this had to be said. “I was defending the Weasleys. He had no right to insult them.” Sirius said bitterly. Honestly what was going on around here? Was this some weird afterlife or alternate universe?

            “Yes he did.” Sirius gaped at Harry stunned. “Kreacher is allowed to have his own opinion on people. Whether I agree with him or not that doesn’t change anything. If he doesn’t like them then that is his prerogative. Besides, he is only saying that because they have been ignoring me for nearly two months.” Sirius furrowed his brows. That didn’t sound like the Weasleys he knew. Well… Molly would have cut him out if he had still been alive. They never could get along.

            “Master Harry doesn’t deserve their scorn. Master Draco is a lovely edition to the Black family. Blood traitors don’t know what they be talking about.” Kreacher glared at the floor. Sirius frowned. Edition to the Black family? Draco was already a part of the Black family due to Narcissa.

            Harry’s lip twitched and Draco flushed pink at being called lovely. “Thank you Kreacher.” Draco said fondly. Kreacher beamed at Draco. “Would you like some ice cream? I think you need a reward.” Remus and Severus looked at Draco like he was insane. Remus had never even heard of someone giving house elves ice cream. Let alone a pureblood. Sirius jolted in shock. Severus stared… and then stared some more.

Kreacher’s smile became fixed and his eyes widened in horror. Harry snorted. “How about your reward can be that you don’t have to eat any foods that Draco mentions.” Kreacher breathed out in relief.

            “And the coaster too?” Kreacher hesitantly asked. Harry laughed out loud while Draco pouted. “Yes, you don’t have to go any rollercoasters with us.” Sirius had no idea what that was but Severus and Remus were both half-bloods and they squeaked in surprise.

            “Thank you Master Harry!” Kreacher nearly sobbed in relief and flung himself around Harry’s knees before quickly leaving the room hoping to leave before Master Draco mentioned anything else about rewards. Draco folded his arms across his chest and continued to pout. Harry thought that it was adorable. He leaned over and pressed a chaste kiss to those pouting lips. Draco wanted to deepen it but not with this audience.

            “You tried to get Kreacher to go with you on a rollercoaster?” Remus asked faintly. Severus’s mouth dropped open. He was tempted to mention this to Lucius. He would have to explain exactly what a rollercoaster was first but he worried that the shock would cause Lucius to have a heart attack. He feared the poor pureblood’s heart just wouldn’t be able to take the shock.

            “I would have put a glamour on him! I just wanted to include him in our outings.” Draco shrugged a little uncomfortably. He knew that it was silly of him and that they didn’t understand but Draco really did adore the little guy. Draco had never done things like that as a family and he loved going with Harry. Since Kreacher was a part of the family too he wanted him to like it as well.

            Harry could feel the self-conscious emotions and he wrapped his arms around Draco’s neck. “I think it is sweet that you want to include Kreacher love. But that isn’t something Kreacher would be comfortable with.” Harry could still feel some lingering emotions. “Tell you what, I will help you find something that Kreacher would like to do with us and then we can go out as a family.” Harry offered.

            Draco’s heart soared. “Thank you.” Harry kissed Draco’s nose in response. Harry couldn’t figure out why this was so important to his fiancé but it was so he would do anything he could to help.

            Harry turned to Sirius and his soft expression hardened some. “Kreacher was defending me with his comments. Even if he wasn’t I wouldn’t have minded. He can think whatever he wants. That is up to him. And while we are talking, your brother _was_ a great man. He was not killed by Voldemort like you thought. Your brother died trying to get rid of something very dark and dangerous of Voldemort’s.” Sirius raised his brows. Where did Harry hear that from?

            “No I won’t be going into more detail. This is something that I came across during the war. I love you Sirius, I do. But you cannot stay here with us if you are going to continue to treat Kreacher badly. I can order him to leave you alone and not even look at you if that will help but you will not goad him, or you will be staying with Remus.” Harry said firmly with narrowed eyes.

            Sirius was frustrated. He didn’t like having only half the information nor did he like being told what to do but Harry was his godson and he wanted to watch him grow up in any capacity that he could.

            “Alright. I am sorry. I will leave him alone.” Sirius promised. Harry sagged in relief.

            “Thank you.” Harry said enthusiastically. Now that things were okay, Sirius wanted some answers.

            “Why are the Weasleys ignoring you? And what did Kreacher mean that Draco would make a nice addition to the family?” Sirius was not about to say lovely.

            Harry bit his lip and looked down when a wave of anger welled up from his treatment. Draco wrapped his arms around his waist. “Calm down love.” Draco whispered into Harry’s neck. Sirius furrowed his brows. Calm down? Harry seemed fine to him.

            “Ron had a problem when I announced that I was Draco’s friend. We got into a row, he said some pretty harsh things.” Harry scowled in remembrance. “I punched him in the face and that was about it for him. He rushed home and the rest of the Weasley family stopped talking to me. They didn’t agree with me befriending him. The twins, Bill, Fleur and Charlie are still my friends though.” Harry finished bitterly.

            Sirius’s face twisted in outrage. How dare they treat Harry like that. “You have a right to be friends with whoever you want. If they were true friends, then they would understand that.” Harry grinned widely at that. He felt a rush of affection for his godfather. If a dead man could see that then why couldn’t the Weasleys?

            “What?!” Remus exclaimed angrily, startling everyone. Remus by nature was a very calm person. Harry couldn’t really remember any instance where Remus got angry. Draco was confused. Was Remus upset that Sirius was accepting of them? Harry could feel the hurt from Draco and he narrowed his eyes. He was about to speak but Remus kept talking.     

            “Sirius Orion Black, you bloody hypocrite.” Harry’s brows lifted. Remus was swearing?? Sirius wined, an angry Remus was not a pleasant one. He had only seen him angry a handful of times. Severus’s eyes widened, he tried to remember all the times that he had been in the same room with the man to see if he had ever lost his temper like this before. He couldn’t find one.

            Sirius raised his hands in surrender and confusion. “Now Moony-”

            “Don’t you Moony me!” Remus said angrily as he placed Sirius on the mantel piece. “What was it you said to me in school? Ah I remember, ‘Moony he is bad news! You can’t befriend lowlifes like that. See what happened to Evans? Why would you want to make new friends? Aren’t I not good enough? What about all we have done together? What would James say? I can’t continue to be your friend if you do this.’ You used every trick in the book to discourage me! You made me feel like I had to choose. Either him or you and you wouldn’t even tell James or Peter about it either. I made the mistake of confiding in you! I should have told you to go to hell. You have the gall to say that true friends would have understood? Does that mean you weren’t a true friend to me? Is that what you are trying to say?” Remus snarled out.

            Harry thought that Remus had never looked more like a werewolf then he did right now. He had no idea what they were talking about. He had caught the use of his mother’s last name. Remus couldn’t be talking about… no… really?

            Severus tilted his head to the side. Was Lupin talking about him? He couldn’t remember any other friends of Lilys that would have made Black react like that. But he couldn’t remember any point where it had seemed like Lupin had wanted to be friends. Lupin never even spoke to him. Perhaps this was somebody else?

            “You know you and James were my best friends. Moony of course I was your true friend!” Sirius pleaded.

            Remus scoffed. “Then explain how you couldn’t accept my decision but you can say that the Weasleys should have? All I wanted was to make a new friend, extend an olive branch.”

            It was Sirius’s turn to scoff. “I wouldn’t have cared if it had been anyone else. But really did it have to be Snivellus?” The three listeners all dropped their mouths open in shock.

            “I told you not to call him that.” Remus glared heavily. Severus made a surprise noise that made Remus realize where they were. He closed his eyes and felt his face grow red. Great. Just great. This whole day was just a shite storm.

            “Sirius you sound a lot like Ron.” Harry said glaring at his godfather. Harry thought it would have been wonderful if Remus had befriended Severus back then. He may not have even joined Voldemort! To think that Sirius did the same thing that Ron had done filled him with anger. The only difference was that Harry refused to allow Ron to change his mind. Sadly, Harry couldn’t picture Remus standing up to his friends. He never bothered when the rest of the marauders bullied Severus. Remus had disapproved but never said anything. Remus was more of a follower than a leader. Was it because he was afraid that they would turn their backs on him? Him being a werewolf probably worried him that they tell or maybe he feared he couldn’t make any other friends.

            Sirius wrinkled his nose. “No you do. You can say that Ron should be accepting but you couldn’t accept Remus’s decision to want to befriend Severus. Remus is right that is hypocritical. I stood up to Ron and it pisses me off that Remus felt like he couldn’t do that. It upsets me that you made him so insecure in your friendship that he couldn’t make a new friend. Why? Were you jealous? Did you fear he wouldn’t spend time with you? Do you realize how childish that is?”

            Draco raised his brows. Damn. Angry Harry was soo hot. He quashed his lust as soon as he felt it, it wouldn’t do good to distract Harry now.

            Severus wasn’t sure what to think. It was odd to find out that Lupin wanted to befriend him all those years ago. He was a little peeved that Lupin didn’t have the courage to stand up for himself. Not very Gryffindor.

            “Severus? Since when do you call the man by his first name? And jealous of Sni-Snape?” Sirius asked outraged. “It wasn’t like that. Snape is-” Harry interrupted.

            “A good man. Severus is a good man.” Harry argued firmly. Draco sent Harry a rush of love through the bond. It still blew him away how much Harry could get past his former issues with his godfather. Not that Severus really deserved it. He had been pretty nasty with Harry.

            Severus and Sirius both let out surprised noises and then glared at each other when they realized what they did. Like it was the other’s fault. Severus was stunned. He had known that Harry and he were getting along fairly well these days but to hear him actively speak up for him was something he had not expected. He was pretty sure he now knew what Kreacher felt like. He couldn’t stop the rush of warmth that went through him at the defense. Lily and Dumbledore had been the only people in his entire life to defend him. The only thing people saw when they looked at him was evil. No one had ever thought that he would amount to something. After he lost Lily’s friendship he had lost his only support system until he was much older and had Dumbledore’s public support. But he never had someone like Lily again. To hear Harry, the one he bullied for six years defend him, made some of his bitter heart melt.

            “Harry…” Severus took a step forward but then stopped when he wasn’t sure what to say. Harry studied the man and there wasn’t much on his face but his normally expressionless eyes were filled with surprise, warmth and a little wonder. He knew that Severus wasn’t good with emotions and was a man of little words. He would never get an actual apology from the man but he didn’t need to. Harry could tell by his actions that he was sorry. The wonder in his eyes broke Harry’s heart. He doubted that Severus had ever been told that in his life. People never defended him. Even the Order had regarded him with distrust while he helped. The only times he ever heard anything positive about Severus was when Dumbledore defended him and that was only ever to say that Severus could be trusted. Never anything positive about him as a person. At least Harry had Ron and Hermione to talk to and most of the time he could count on them to have his back. Well he used to. But Severus had no one after his mother and when he did have her, did she really even defend him?

Harry stepped away from Draco’s arms and rushed forward and embraced Severus in a hug. Severus looked down in surprise before returning the hug. Draco beamed at his two favorite people. Sirius openly gaped. What the hell happened after he died? Remus was torn in utter shock and melting at the unusual sight. He never thought he would see Severus hug anybody and definitely not the son of James Potter.

            Severus wasn’t sure why Harry had a thing for hugs but he supposed he could grant him this. Hugs was another thing he definitely never had. Harry took a step back and smiled softly. “I know this is poor timing but I also wanted to thank you for my birthday gift. I really like it.”

            Severus furrowed his brows. “Lucius already told me of your gratitude.” Harry grinned. “Well yeah but I myself never thanked you. You didn’t have to give me a Prince heirloom and if you ever want it back you can have it.” Harry rushed out nervously.

            Remus and Sirius’s jaws dropped. An heirloom? Remus smiled softly. This was the side of Severus that he had wanted to befriend. This was the person he saw all those years ago in school. Looking at them when they had embraced filled Remus with a lot of regret. Why over twenty years later was he seeing this? Why couldn’t he have just told Sirius to get bent and done what he wanted. Since the middle of first year Remus saw the way Severus behaved when he was with Lily. It was like night and day. Severus was an entirely different person when he was with his friends. Severus had always intrigued him. Maybe because of the way James and Sirius hated him for no reason. There was always something about Severus that drew him in. As they got older and the feud between James, Sirius and Severus got worse, Remus had been at a loss for what to do. James and Sirius (refusing to think about Peter) had been his only friends. They knew about his condition and they accepted him anyways. His own father had abandoned him when he found out. His father had been a muggleborn which confused Remus, maybe if he had been a muggle he could understand the revulsion. But he was his father. He had grown up thinking that he was disgusting and dirty if his own father couldn’t handle him being a werewolf. So when Sirius said that it was either him or Severus, Remus panicked. He couldn’t lose Sirius because surely James would follow. He needed them, they were his best friends. They had done so much for him and he didn’t want to lose them.

            So Remus listened to Sirius and just continued to watch Severus from the sidelines. He knew that without Lily that Severus wouldn’t be able to cope. Remus wasn’t blind, he knew that Severus was a dark wizard. Any idiot could see that. He also knew that the only reason he was restrained had been for Lily. Severus had changed himself to be her friend. When he lost that friendship, Remus saw the changes immediately. He knew that Severus would join Voldemort. Why wouldn’t he? His heart had broke with the knowledge but Remus had already made his choice. He had already decided to distance himself from the part of him that longed to make friends with the man. It wasn’t hard. It’s not like they were in the same house or even remotely close, Severus wouldn’t have even known that he wanted to be friends. But now… he couldn’t help but wish he hadn’t been such a coward. As hypocritical as Sirius’s words were, he was right. True friends would accept your decisions even if they couldn’t understand them. Sirius had not been his true friend. That realization nearly killed him. He clung so hard to James and Sirius because he was their true friend but it didn’t go both ways.  

            Remus had no doubt in his mind that James would have stopped talking to him. James hated Severus more so than Sirius. James had always been jealous of him since the beginning. He would have seen this as another thing Severus was taking from him. Remus knew that he was their friend. One of their best friends but… not a true friend. Merlin, he was losing it. He blinked his eyes rapidly trying to clear away the sting behind his eyes. No. He wasn’t going to do this here. He wasn’t going to let this get to him. He fought in a war for crying out loud. Childish problems shouldn’t be affecting him like this. It was getting hot in here. Why didn’t they close the floo after they entered? Remus needed to sit down. He made his way to the couch and sank down shakily.

            Sirius didn’t know what to think. His enemy since childhood was hugging his godson. Harry and Snape never got along. The man had been vile and nasty. A bully. Snape took his anger out on a child. How could Harry just forgive the man? What could have happened in the war to bring them close enough to hug for fucks sake? Sirius took a look at Remus and frowned when he saw him with his elbows in his lap and breathing heavily.

            Severus lifted a brow. “Harry I gave you the heirloom as a gift. If I wanted it back I never would have given it to you in the first place. Besides, you will be the only one to gain any use out of it. The book belongs with you and Draco.”

            Harry couldn’t help it, he had to hug the man again. “Thank you.” Harry mumbled. Severus’s mouth twitched. “You are most welcome.”

            “Remus are you okay?” Harry and Severus’s head snapped up at the concerned tone of Sirius. Harry stepped up to Remus and laid a hand on his shoulder. Remus jerked in shock at the contact but he couldn’t get enough air into his lungs.

            “What’s wrong with him?” Harry cried out wildly. Severus gently pushed Harry to the side and started running diagnostic tests on him. “He’s having a panic attack.” Severus mumbled to himself as he took out a bottle from his robes. “Harry hold his head back.” Severus ordered. Sirius wanted to shout and tell Snape to leave Remus alone. Everyone else may trust the spy but he sure didn’t.

            Harry did as was asked and on one of Remus’s gasps of air, Severus forced the potion down his throat quickly closing his mouth so that no potion escaped.

            When Remus got control of his breathing and looked around he flushed when he realized that Harry and Severus were surrounding him. He could see the concern in Severus’s eyes and that warmed him.

            “I’m sorry.” Remus choked out still fighting the emotions. Severus and Harry frowned down at the man.

            “Why are you apologizing Remus?” Harry asked gently. Remus shook his head. “I didn’t mean to panic. I-I just… it doesn’t matter.” Remus finished biting his lip and looking into his lap.

            Harry sighed. “You can tell us. We won’t judge you.” Harry whispered to him before hugging him tightly. Remus gripped Harry just as hard as he closed his eyes and a small sob broke free. “I realized that James and Sirius weren’t ever really true friends. Sirius prevented me from being Severus’s friend even though he knew how much I wanted to. James didn’t know but I know he would have sided with Sirius. He hated Severus more than Sirius did. I realized that I clung to the only people who befriended me and never stood up for myself. My father left when he found out I was a werewolf and if my own father could do that then surely I wasn’t worthy of friends.” Harry squeezed him tighter.

            “But after they became my friends I was so happy. Even after they found out about me being a werewolf they stuck around. You have no idea what that meant to me. To have them look at me and not be disgusted. My mother loved me but there were times when I would see revulsion in her eyes. I know she wished she had a child who wasn’t a monster. But James and Sirius never once treated me like I was different. They treated me like they always had and I clung to that. They meant the world to me and when Sirius gave the ultimatum of either him or Severus, I was so confused. I couldn’t understand why it would matter to him who I befriended. It wasn’t like I was asking him to be Severus’s friend. I just wanted his approval. I had hoped by asking Sirius first that it would ease James into the idea but with Sirius behaving the way he did, I knew I couldn’t go to James. If I did then I would lose them both. I couldn’t lose them Harry. They were the only people to tell me that I wasn’t a monster. I hadn’t even attempted to talk to Severus. There had been a huge chance that he wouldn’t even want to talk to me. Why would he? I was best friends with his tormenters. Sure, I never did anything to him but I never stopped James and Sirius from doing anything.” Remus let another sob of emotion.

            “I was a coward Harry. I wanted their friendship more than anything. So I turned a blind eye to their cruelty. I am no better than they are. In most cases I am worse. I just let them do it. I could’ve tried to talk to them, I could’ve tried to stop them. But I didn’t. Even then I hated myself for that. So why would he accept a friendship with me? To risk losing James and Sirius on the off chance that Severus would even talk to me was too much. It was too big of a risk. It kills me that I let him make my decision for me. Sirius was right, true friends will accept your decisions even if they don’t agree with them. I know that he was my friend just like Ron is your friend. But he was never a true friend. A true friend would never have put me in a position like that. I feel so empty now. To know that my only friends would have done that. To know how shallow I was, how cowardice I was. I feel more alone than I ever have before. It feels like everything I thought I knew was a lie. Didn’t what I thought matter? Didn’t my feelings matter? Friendship is a two-way street and now I realized I was only ever walking their one-way road. I-I just…” Remus wasn’t even sure what else to say. Vaguely he was aware that this conversation turned heavy pretty quickly. He knew that Severus and Sirius could hear him but he was so numb right now that he didn’t care. It made him question his worth.

            Severus was still crouched down to the side of Lupin, his legs started to cramp but he paid them no mind. He was blown away. He felt as if all the intelligence that his mind possessed just evaporated. This must be what Longbottom feels like every time he goes to make a potion. It angered him that Black had done that. Severus wasn’t sure if he would have believed that Lupin really did want to be his friend. Back then he was so lost in the dark arts. After losing Lily he had shut everyone out. He would have assumed that this was a new prank that the marauders had come up with. Lupin was right in saying that he had never done anything to him. But Severus had hated Lupin for just standing by and watching. He hated that someone as smart as Lupin would even want to be friends with Potter and Black. He never could figure out what the man saw in them. But hearing that he had hated himself to the point that he just clung to his first friends filled him with pity and a sense of wrong. Severus had done the same thing with Lily but at least Lily was a good person.

            Part of him dreaded that Lupin would have given up his only friends just to get rejected by himself but at the same time he knew how much his younger self had yearned for a friend. He couldn’t honestly say what he would have done. Lupin would’ve had to prove that it wasn’t a joke for sure. Severus wasn’t big on showing emotions, he thought that people who could easily succumb to their emotions were weak. But seeing Lupin so despondent didn’t make him cringe like it did when other people got like this. Severus was horrified to realize that he wanted to comfort him. Severus Snape does not do comfort.

            Sirius was speechless. He had never stopped to consider what his words would have done to Remus. All he could remember when Remus said that he wanted to befriend Snape was anger. Why would he want to do that? Couldn’t Remus see how evil the git was? Couldn’t Remus see that Snape was no good? What in the world would make Remus want to be friends with him? There was nothing inside Snape that would be worthy of being friends with Remus. Remus was too good of a person to be around Snape. Remus would have been blinded to how evil Snape was and when he let his guard down he just knew that Snape would have crushed him. That was why he made the ultimatum. He wanted to protect Remus.

            But listening to Remus break down gutted him. Had he really been so blind to his hatred that he would have lost Remus? Would he really have stopped being his friend because he couldn’t understand the need to be Snape’s friend? Was Sirius really that cruel to make Remus believe that he wasn’t worthy of other friends? Remus had been his best friend. In some ways more of one than James. Oh he and James were brothers in a past life. No doubt about that. They were the same in so many ways. Same humor, same idea of a good time and the same when it came to loyalty. They would have died for any one of their friends. But there were things that Remus had that James didn’t. Remus never said a bad thing about anyone. Oh he would tease them but he never meant it. Remus was kind, something that Sirius could never be. Remus was brilliant but never flaunted it. Remus had a soft quality that made you listen to the things he said, made you want to do better. Remus could make you feel guilty with just one look. Sirius knew that no matter the issue, Remus would always be there to listen. He wouldn’t judge and he would help in any way possible. Remus had been a true friend to him and he didn’t like knowing that he hadn’t been the same for him.

            “Remus.” Sirius choked out. Harry and Severus turned and glared at him but Sirius wasn’t paying attention to them. “I never wanted to make you feel like that. You have always been my best friend. You were there for me when no one else was. You always listened to what I had to say and helped me when something went wrong. I couldn’t have asked for better friends than you and James. I am so sorry that my own petty jealousy got to you. I know that I was wrong. I should have just been the friend that you needed me to be. I should have just sucked it up and been there for you. I am so sorry Remus.” Sirius said with emotion.

            Remus opened his eyes and had to blink away the tears that were clouding his vision. “I would say it’s okay but it’s not.” Remus said thickly. “I don’t think that I can accept your apology without thinking on it some. I am in no frame of mind to do this right now.” Sirius’s face fell but he understood. He just hoped that Remus could forgive him. Remus leaned away from the embrace he still had Harry in. “Thank you Harry.” Harry smiled softly at him and waved away the gratitude.

            “This has been an eventful day. I think I am going to go now. I still want you to tell me all about the burrow tomorrow at the Manor.” Remus told Harry. Remus stood up and gave Harry another hug and held out his arm and motioned Draco forward.

            Draco grinned and joined the hug too. “Take care Remus.” Draco said quietly before they stepped away from the hug.

            Severus stood up and cleared his throat. “I will floo with you.” Severus said not meeting his eyes. Remus smiled softly. “I would like that.” Remus and Severus stepped into the fireplace and left for the second time that day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was longer than I intended the chapter to be. Which will extend the length until the burrow chapter. Sorry about that. There is a conversation that must be done between Sirius and Harry before I can get into that drama. 
> 
> What were your thoughts on this chapter? I do think that Sirius needed a talking to regarding Kreacher. Not for his past issues with the elf but more that he needed to know that he wouldn't be allowed to say that stuff going forward.
> 
> Thoughts on Remus wanting to befriend Severus as a teen? This was the part that I wasn't sure about. I kind of just went on instinct with that. I did want to address the mistakes of never standing up against the bullying. People who can witness bullies but say nothing always irritated me. He knew it was wrong but he just let them do it. 
> 
> When it came to the hypocrisy of Sirius that wasn't too difficult for me to buy into. I can just see Sirius having a set of morals to follow but that would go out the window if it involved Severus. He had always been too caught up in their childish rivalries.
> 
> Tomorrow we finish up this little bit with Sirius and then there is some stuff to do with Draco and Harry that has been mentioned but I have not gone into details with. I know that you guys are interested in the burrow and I promise you it is coming. Patience is a virtue... not that I have any but oh well. *Grins*  
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	35. Roleplaying?

            “I really screwed up.” Sirius said more to himself than anyone else. Harry snorted. “That is obvious.” Sirius pouted and crossed his arm across his chest.

            “I was a right shite back in school. I can’t honestly say that I wish I had done things differently with Snape but I do wish I had treated Remus better.” Harry narrowed his eyes. It was just like Sirius to only take partial blame for things.

            “That is where we disagree. You were fucking horrible to Severus and don’t even start with trying to explain it away. I don’t care.” Harry held up a hand to stop the excuses that he knew Sirius was wanting to give.

            “It is not my place to judge you no matter how much I would like to. This mess is between you, Remus and Severus. I know that you will never apologize to Severus though I wish you would. He really is a great man.” Harry said firmly. Sirius could see the truth shining in his godson’s eyes and it just confused him.          

            “What made you realize this?” Harry could detect no malice, just curiosity. “What exactly did Remus tell you about the war?” Harry asked.

            Sirius shrugged. “Not a whole lot. Just that Snape had killed Dumbledore but that it wasn’t his fault. That you had said while you were fighting Voldemort that Dumbledore asked him to and that you won. That is about all.” Harry could detect pride in his voice when he mentioned Harry winning. He flushed slightly.

            “I will admit that I absolutely hated the man prior to him killing Dumbledore and then after that hatred increased drastically. But there had come a point during the battle where I got a vision of Voldemort talking to Severus and I wanted to know what was going on so Hermione, Ron and I listened in. Voldemort decided to kill Severus because he thought it would help him with Dumbledore’s wand.” Harry decided to not go into details with the Hallows. Less people to think it is real the better. Besides that was a long conversation that he just didn’t want to have.

            “Even though I hated Severus, I couldn’t help but be disgusted that Voldemort wasn’t killing him for something he had done wrong. He was killing him because he thought that it would help him with the wand. Despicable.” Harry said glowering.

            Sirius tilted his head to the side. “Well that is a sound theory. I mean it is still repugnant but if Dumbledore’s wand wasn’t recognizing Voldemort as the owner then he would need to be the one to beat Snape to gain ownership.” Sirius was surprised when identical grins broke out on their faces. He was missing something. He just had to be.

            “Yeah but Severus wasn’t the owner of the wand. Its allegiance had already belonged to someone else.” Draco piped up. 

            Sirius furrowed his brows. “But how is that possible?”

            “Draco was the true owner of the wand.” When Sirius’s mouth dropped open Harry and Draco let out chuckles. “Explain.” Sirius said with a slight glare at their amusement.

            “Well the night Dumbledore died… I was the one to disarm him.” Draco said a little uncomfortably.

            Sirius narrowed his eyes. “So you were a deatheater.” The ‘like your father’ was left out but they could both detect that Sirius had wanted to say that. Harry glared at his godfather not liking the expression on his face. Draco could feel Harry’s anger on his behalf and he put his arm around his waist. “It’s alright.” Draco told Harry. Harry wanted to argue and tell Draco that it wasn’t alright, that it wasn’t fair that he had to deal with so many people’s suspicions. But the determined look on his future husband’s face made him keep his mouth shut.

            Draco looked up unflinchingly at the suspicious look his cousin was giving him. “Yes I was. The summer right before my sixth year I was dragged by Bellatrix and forced to become one. My father was locked in Azkaban after the break in at the Department of Mysteries right after your death. Because it was ‘such an honor’ to become a loyal servant that I was never given a choice. But to be honest with you if I had been given a choice I would have done it anyways.” Sirius narrowed his eyes.

            “Voldemort decided that he needed a base of operations and since my father was in Azkaban and clearly not needing it, our home was chosen. My mother wasn’t asked. He invaded my house, he bullied my mother and demanded I become his next deatheater. I was 16. I knew that if I didn’t do it he would kill me and my mother. If it had just been me than I would have told him to get bent. I never ever wanted to become a deatheater but I would do it all over again to save my mother.” Sirius shifted uncomfortably once he realized that he misjudged him again.

            “Immediately after being given the mark I was told that I had to kill Dumbledore.” Sirius’s eyes widened. Had Voldemort gone daft? “It was a punishment for my father’s failure at the Ministry. It was either I kill him or he would kill me. He didn’t threaten my mother outright but I knew that he would kill her too. I tried many times throughout the year to kill him but my heart wasn’t in it. I knew I would never be able to kill him no matter how hard I tried. Plus, I didn’t want to do it. I was running out of time and then the night he died he offered me protection for me and my mother. I had already disarmed him at this point and was going to accept his offer when the tower we were in was overrun by deatheaters. I couldn’t do anything. They told me to kill Dumbledore but I couldn’t do it. I just couldn’t. That is when Severus showed up and he said the killing curse.” Draco finished with narrowed eyes. Even though he knew that he would be constantly under suspicion it still stung. He didn’t want to relive this memory but he was Harry’s godfather.

            Sirius wasn’t sure what to say. “I’m sorry.” Draco shrugged and didn’t accept nor deny the apology. “You need to quit jumping to conclusions and talking about things you have no clue about. Draco is a wonderful person and he did not deserve your scorn.” Harry demanded. Sirius appeared to be ashamed which was enough for Harry.

            Harry picked back up where he had left off. “As Severus had lay dying, there was something about his face that drew me in. Voldemort had used Nagini to try and kill him and Severus’s breathing was getting more and more labored. When he saw me he had memories leaking out of the wounds on his body. I collected them and got him inside the castle.” Harry paused when Sirius let out a surprised noise.

            “You saved him when you still thought he was the enemy?” He asked in disbelief. Harry shrugged. “There was something off about the situation so I just went with my gut instinct. Anyways, I watched the memories alone and they changed everything. There was a lot of information that Dumbledore had never told me in them. I saw a lot of the man’s personal life and what kind of person he is like. The things he did for me… well I have never had someone do that for me. He hated me and yet he protected me more times than I can count. He was always looking out for me and I never knew it. I won’t go into more details than that but you will just have to take my word.” Harry said quietly as Draco threaded their fingers together.

            “Does that make up for the awful way he treated you?” Sirius asked in doubt. Harry looked up at Sirius with a pitying look that set the man bristling.

            “Yes. I should probably still dislike him but I just can’t. You can’t watch the things he went through and not be touched. You can’t witness his life and your heart not go out to the man. The courage it took to do all of the things he has done blows my mind. Do I hate that he treated me like he did? Yes. Do I wish he hadn’t? Yes. Do I think it was childish? You bet. But is it something I can’t forgive? No. The war is over and I refuse to hold grudges for things like that. Everything Severus has done has been for my mother. She was his best friend and she remained that way even after losing her friendship. He didn’t protect me despite being James Potter’s son. No, he protected me because I am Lily Potter’s son.” Harry felt the pride that Draco held for his godfather and he knew that the same pride was running through his emotions too.

            Sirius was blown away. If he hadn’t been a painting, he knew he would need to take a seat. He still couldn’t stand the man. But he could no longer deny that he had misjudged him… slightly. Snape would never be someone he could get along with. Too much bad history. Too many bad memories. Just seeing his face set his teeth to grinding. But he couldn’t deny that he had protected Harry. He wished that Harry would go into more details, it might help him understand the man better. But if he was being honest with himself, he didn’t want to know the man better. Perhaps this way it let him still hold onto some of his grudges.

            “Alright, I can sort of see where you are coming from.” Sirius begrudgingly admitted. Harry rolled his eyes. Merlin, Sirius could be so bloody stubborn! Harry couldn’t stand it.

            “You never did answer my question about why Kreacher thinks that Draco will make a good edition to the family. He is already a Black through Narcissa.”

            Harry and Draco shared a look. “What did Remus tell you about our relationship?” Draco asked.

            Sirius arched a brow. “Just that you two were dating and that it was serious.” Harry was torn from being really pleased that Remus hadn’t told him about them being soulmates but also upset because now they would have to explain.

            “Draco and I are soulmates.” Harry said bluntly, not in the mood to ease him into it. But upon reflection Harry thought this was a mistake. Could a person in a painting die? It looked like Sirius was choking on his own spit… well if paintings had spit. This was hurting his head to think about.

            Sirius had gaped momentarily before losing all of his painted brain cells. Say what? Soulmates. Merlin, he was grateful that he no longer felt the ache of never finding his other half. He couldn’t believe that Harry had found his mate! It had been centuries since the last documented couple. To think that he actually knew someone who had found their soulmate was really something. It being Harry made it a million times better. He couldn’t think of one person who would be more deserving than Harry.

            “Wow.” Sirius whispered in awe. Draco grinned. “That is the usual response.” Harry shoved him playfully before resting his head on Draco's shoulder. Sirius smiled as he watched them. Now he could understand the longing look that Remus held when he had stared at them earlier. It also explained all the weird things that he kept catching these two do. It had seemed like they were just in tune to one another but it must be the bond! They were reading each other’s emotions. That was pretty neat.

            “Have you told a lot of people?” Sirius said in alarm. Harry’s eyes widened at the panic in Sirius’s eyes. “No. Just my parents, Uncle Sev, Remus, the twins, Pansy, Blaise, Bill and his wife. So ten people. That isn’t that many.” Draco said in confusion.

            Sirius relaxed slightly. “I wouldn’t recommend telling anyone else. Soulmates are revered but also heartbreakingly sad. I am sure you know this already but the Ministry would not take kindly to finding out about you two. They banned the knowledge from Hogwarts for a reason. I disagree with it but they still had their reasons. I myself wish I had never been told about soulmates. But that is because my soulmate died.” Sirius said bitterly.

            Harry and Draco shared startled looks. “What makes you say that?” Harry asked thickly as he tried to forget about Draco lying dead not too long ago. Draco wrapped his arms around Harry and held him tightly. Sirius gave them an odd look but answered the question anyways.

            “It was the type of longing that I had. There are three stages of longing and mine was that of a dead soulmate.” Harry and Draco furrowed their brows.

            Sirius tilted his head in confusion. “You guys didn’t know this?” Harry and Draco shook their heads. “There isn’t a lot of information out there on soulmates and Lucius and Severus didn’t know about that. Neither did Narcissa.” Harry said wondering where Sirius got his information from.

            “There is the Black family book on soulmates somewhere in this house. That is where I learned all of that from. Narcissa’s parents might have held a different Black soulmate book or just told her the existence of soulmates without having a book if she didn’t know about the stuff that I just mentioned.” Sirius explained with a shrug.

            Harry and Draco frowned. They hadn’t come across it when they cleaned nor when they looked through the library. Harry could feel Draco’s confusion. “I don’t know either love.” Harry said patting the arms wrapped around him completely missing Sirius’s fond expression. “We could always ask Kreacher later.” Draco supplied. Harry hummed in agreement.

            “So Kreacher thinks that since you are soulmates that Draco is now a part of the family?” Sirius wondered. Harry shook his head. “No that’s not it. It is because we are getting married.” Sirius openly gaped at them.

            Sirius let out a shaky laugh. “I would say you are too young but considering that you are soulmates and adults it wouldn’t matter. Whatever works for you guys I guess.” Harry beamed at Sirius and then proceeded to show him the engagement ring and the torque.

            Sirius let out a squawk of disbelief at seeing the torque. He looked towards Draco in awe. Draco prepared himself mentally for the same reaction that Bill had given him. Harry narrowed his eyes but was surprised when Sirius let out a grin. “Now that really is a forever.” He said a little choked up. For Draco to give Harry that was humbling. They could just get married and be soulmates here in this lifetime but to want to spend _every_ lifetime together really showed how much Draco cared for Harry. “Wow… congratulations…” Sirius trailed off still looking in wonder.

            Harry and Draco were rather pleased with this reaction. He knew that they wouldn’t be able to tell people about being soulmates but they would have to tell people about the torque. The torque would never come off, it would always be there to symbolize the type of marriage that they would be performing. They would face a bunch of questions that wouldn’t get answered, no one would understand why they wanted to do that ceremony. Harry honestly wasn’t looking forward to that but marrying Draco far outweighed the negatives.

            “Thank you.” Harry said warmly as he swayed back and forth in Draco’s arms loving the solid warmth that he always provided. Draco chuckled. “What are you doing?”

            “I’m dancing, what’s it look like to you?” Harry mumbled. Draco grinned. “You call this dancing?” He teased back. Draco turned Harry around and placed Harry’s hands around his neck while his encircled Harry’s waist. “This is dancing.” Draco mumbled before placing a kiss to the top of Harry’s head.

            Harry grinned before pressing his face into Draco’s neck and nuzzling the skin. “I suppose you are right.” Harry conceded. Draco smirked. “I am always right Great Consort.” Sirius’s brows rose at the title. That was odd.

            “How silly of me my Lord to have forgotten. My liege is always right and so smart, you are the smartest wizard in all the kingdom.” Harry praised sarcastically. Draco’s lips twitched. Sirius wrinkled his nose, what was with the titles? My Lord? They were a silly pair.

            “You don’t sound so confident my dear. I think I need a new advisor.” Harry lifted his head up to glare at Draco. “Over my dead body.” Draco raised his thumb and caressed Harry’s cheek. “There is my spirited consort. My beautiful soulmate. There could never be another.”

            Harry’s face flushed but was very pleased at his words. Harry gave no warning before jumping and securing his legs around Draco’s waist. Draco let out a surprised breath of air and placed his hands on Harry’s arse holding him up.

            “I love you my Lord.” Harry whispered as he stared down into Draco’s eyes. Draco was lost momentarily in the love shining in Harry’s eyes. “I love you too my beautiful consort.” Draco whispered before slamming his lips against Harry’s.

            Harry groaned into the forceful kiss of Draco’s. Yes. This is what he needed. After the crazy emotional day they had, Harry just needed the feel of Draco’s body to feel grounded again. Harry broke the kiss to trail kisses down Draco’s neck. Draco tilted his head to the side to allow Harry more access. He groaned when Harry bit down particular hard at a pulse point. “I want you Draco.” Harry whispered in his ear.

            Draco shivered and gripped Harry’s arse tighter. “I need you inside me.” Harry panted. Draco closed his eyes and let out a moan at Harry’s words.

            “Can you do that somewhere else!” Yelled a blushing Sirius. Harry was too far gone to be embarrassed.

            “Take me to bed my liege.” Harry demanded grinding into Draco. Draco bucked harshly before apparating them straight to their room.

            “What odd roleplaying.” Sirius said out loud in confusion. Kids these days, Sirius thought shaking his head.  

 

\------------------------------------------------------------------

 

            When they reappeared into the bedroom, Harry’s head began to swim with flashes of another time.

            _“Come my dear.” Dracott commanded as he held out his hand. “Yes, my liege.” Harland replied through half lidded eyes. Dracott led Harland to the bed and gently pushed him on his back. “So beautiful.” Dracott said in reverence as his hand caressed up and down Harland’s skin. Harland flushed a pale pink all over at his lover’s words._

“Beautiful.” Draco whispered as he laid Harry down on the bed. “So gorgeous and all mine.” Harry could feel the heat creep up on his skin. “M’not.” Harry slurred as the sensation of Draco’s hands on his skin ignited sparks along his body. Draco spelled their clothes away and climbed on top of Harry. “Do not argue with me my consort.”

            _Harland opened his mouth to no doubt refute the praise but Dracott hushed him with a finger. “Silence love. Heed my praise for you are beautiful. Oh so beautiful.” Dracott said between kisses to every new patch of skin that was unveiled as he undressed Harland. Harland arched his back when a particular sensitive spot caused him pleasure. “Yes. Be vocal my great consort. I want to hear your pleasure.”_

Harry who had been about to argue closed his mouth and listened to Draco’s command. Draco kissed and suckled a trail of burning desire down Harry’s body before settling between his thighs. “All of this is mine. Every piece of you.” Draco rasped before nuzzling his face against Harry’s leaking shaft. Harry gasped and arched his back. Without warning Draco swallowed him whole. Harry moaned loudly. “Draco!” Draco let Harry fall out of his mouth with a pop. “That’s right. Be loud. I want to hear you scream as I pleasure your body.” Harry shivered at the pure want his words ignited in his body. Draco took Harry into his mouth again, hallowing his cheeks. Harry couldn’t hold back the moans if he wanted to.

            _The finger that had previously silenced Harland was back pressing against his mouth along with two others. Harland opened his mouth and wrapped his tongue around those long digits before sucking them into his mouth, wetting them heavily. Dracott removed his fingers when he felt that they were significantly saturated. Dracott covered Harland’s body with his own. He leaned down to kiss Harland as one of his fingers breached the tight ring of Harland’s anus. “Yes.” Harland panted against Dracott’s lips._

Draco could feel the telltale signs that Harry was going to finish. He pulled off Harry and summoned the lube. As Draco started to slowly prepare Harry he couldn’t help but watch his lover’s face twisted in pleasure. Harry loved the intensity of Draco’s half lidded eyes, his grey eyes were darkened in his lust. “Now! I am ready.” Harry demanded panting heavily. Draco chuckled darkly. “Patience my love.”

            _“I require you this instant!” Harland commanded. He wasn’t going to be able to last unless Dracott stopped. Dracott let out a breath of longing. “Your lack of forbearance fosters fire in my loins.” Harland would have grinned in response but a particularly hard thrust of those wicked fingers had him gasping for air. When Dracott pulled his fingers away, Harland made a noise of discord. Dracott chortled at his lover’s disappointment before lining his penis against that tight ring of muscles and sliding in slowly. Harland moaned loudly at the stretch and burn as Dracott slid inside him._

“Please.” Harry begged shamelessly. All he could think about was getting Draco inside him. Draco groaned, he loved it when Harry begged him. Draco lubed up his cock and slowly rubbed the head around the puckered entrance. “You want this? Is this what you wanted?” Draco asked as he slowly slipped the head in and stopped. Harry groaned in frustration. “Don’t tease me.” Harry begged. Draco was a goner when he looked into those expressive green eyes that were darkened with pure want. Draco slammed the rest of the way in. “Yes! Like that!” Harry screamed. This is what he wanted.

            _Dracott stilled once he was all the way in and leaned forward until his hands were on either side of Harland’s head. Dracott licked and kissed the side of Harland’s neck. Harland wrapped his legs around his lover’s waist and thrusted letting Dracott know that he was ready. “I love you Harland.” Dracott whispered as he slowly but firmly slid in and out of his beloved’s body. The gentle way that he was being taken and the sweet words caused Harland’s eyes to burn. “I love you too Dracott.” Dracott lifted his head and kissed away the tears that slowly slid down his consort’s cheeks._

            Draco leaned forward and gathered Harry into his arms as he furiously pounded inside him. “So good.” Draco moaned into Harry’s ears. Draco looked down and slowed his hips immediately at the pure love that he could see shining in Harry’s eyes. Harry made a disappointed noise when Draco slowed but quickly moaned when Draco started hitting his prostate with each slow push inside. The emotions that Harry could feel from Draco were distracting him. The pure lust had merged with their love and now Harry was overwhelmed with it all. “I love you Draco.” Harry sobbed losing control of his emotions. Draco lifted one hand up to gently push away the tears that leaked down Harry’s cheeks. “I love you too Harry.”

            _The steady feel of Dracott’s throbbing member inside him and the energy spark that permeated his entire being when he hit that special spot was too much. Harland knew he was close to climaxing. Dracott could tell by the increase in volume of Harland’s pleasure that his lover was nearing his plateau. Dracott increased the movements of his hips and slid his hand down to wrap his slender fingers around Harland’s shaft. Harland arched his back, that extra sensation was what pushed him over the edge. White light burst behind his eyes as his climax hit full force, spilling between their bodies. With the slick feel of Harland’s fluids, Dracott couldn’t hold back. He thrusted twice more before stilling completely and spilling his seed deep inside his lover._

Harry couldn’t remember them ever having sex like this before. Draco was making love to him and showing his body how loved and cared for it was. Harry tried to meet Draco’s thrusts but it was difficult. Harry was moaning incoherently every time his prostate was hit. “So big. So full.” Harry meant more than just Draco’s cock. He meant the love Draco was filling him with was also big and filled him completely. By the shining of Draco’s eyes, he picked up the double meaning. Draco increased his pace as he wrapped his hand around Harry’s dick. Harry bucked wildly at the touch to his member. It was too much. Harry clenched his eyes shut and shouted when his orgasm rushed over him and he came spurting thick ropes of come between them. The clenching of Harry’s tight arse was too much for him. Draco slammed into Harry one final time and came deep inside of him with a shout of ecstasy.

            _Harland was boneless and pliant in the aftermath, not able to do anything but pant. Dracott slid slowly out of Harland and gathered him into an embrace. Dracott smiled down at Harland before sliding his fingers through the messy hair. “You are mine Harland. My love. My heart. My beloved. My world. My kingdom. My consort. My everything.” Harland buried his face into Dracott’s chest and let out a sob at the overwhelming sweetness of his words. Harland wanted to speak, to tell Dracott how much he meant to him. He wanted to voice the pure love that his heart held for the man but when he opened his mouth he was silenced. “Hush my love. I know.” Dracott kissed the top of Harland’s head. “Sleep. I shall watch over you.” Dracott demanded. Harland closed his eyes and basked in the feel of being so safe inside his lover’s arms. The sweet sound of Morpheus called him and lulled him into darkness._

Draco pulled out of Harry and collapsed next to him. Harry wanted to pull Draco into his arms but he was too exhausted, too out of it. Luckily Draco understood this and he pulled Harry into his arms. Draco wrapped his arms around Harry and nestled the man’s head into his neck. Something was niggling in the back of Harry’s mind. A sense of deja vu. “You are mine Harry. My love. My heart. My beloved. My world. My kingdom. My consort. My everything.” Harry froze. Why did that sound familiar? He was sure that Draco had never said anything like that to him before. Harry and Draco gasped as the memories of another life slammed into them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay what did you think? I wasn't going to have Harry and Draco rehash everything. I would be repeating myself and that didn't sound appealing. So I had them only tell him what was necessary for now. 
> 
> Now what did you think about the other memory that was shown. I know the names are... odd but there wasn't a whole lot of options. I didn't want to use Hadiran or Harold that a lot of other stories use when they change Harry's name. Harland just kind of came to me. It isn't the best but it will do. Now Dracott... lol that one was difficult! I was scrambling with trying to come up with something. The name Draco is hard to work with. Now I could have just gone with completely different names since it was the past and a different life but I liked the idea that their names somewhat resembled their current ones. 
> 
> Now tomorrow's chapter will go into detail on what I left out of this chapter and then Wednesday is the burrow. That is a promise guys. I know it has been stretched out for a while now and I thank you for your patience. But sometimes the story writes itself and I just have to follow it. 
> 
> Let me know what you thought of this chapter. :)  
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	36. Another Life

             Harry was thankful that he was laying down or the sheer force of the memories would have sent him reeling. As it was he was glad that Draco’s arms were around him. He felt anchored.

            _“My Lord I insist that we talk about this.” Came the pleading of Dracott’s advisor. Dracott sneered at the old man. “Nay William. I have told you thrice already that there will be no marriage as of yet.” Dracott told him firmly._

_William sighed heavily. “Since the unfortunate deaths of your parents, may their souls rest in peace, you have stopped looking for a companion.” Dracott narrowed his eyes at his advisor. You would think the man had any wits about him but alas that was not the case._

_“My father, may he rest in peace, may have decided that it was time for me to find a wife but since he is dead, I do not care. I am the king now. It will be up to me to decide when or if I wed. Certainly not you, do we understand each other?” The threatening tone of his voice should have alerted the man to know when to give it up._

_“My liege I must insist-” William was cut off by Dracott’s hand. “Guards! Take him away.” Dracott demanded. He tuned out the spluttering of the pathetic man. Why must advisors be so daft?_

_“What has he done? If I may be so bold sire.” Dracott looked up into the face of his longtime friend. “He was questioning when I am to wed.”_

_“Is that not his job? He makes the third advisor you have gone through since you have taken over.” Panslette pointed out with a smile._

_Dracott huffed but did not refute her statement. He knew he was being stubborn but his father, may he **not**_ _rest in peace, had controlled every aspect of his life. Who he could or could not speak to. What he could or could not do. Who he was or was not going to wed. Well Dracott was tired of it. Now that his father was gone there was no one to tell him what to do. He made the laws now. He governed the kingdom now._

_Dracott smirked to himself. If only his father could see the way he handled the castle. Lucian had been an unkind leader. Dracott could remember being a wee child and wondering why his father governed the way he did. Should not a king like his people? Should not a king want his kingdom to thrive? His father had been cruel to his subjects. Dracott feared that there would be revolt and there nearly was. But now that he was king, he did away with every single horrid law that his father passed that Dracott disagreed with. He opened up places for the poorer residents of his kingdom to go to if they needed help. Dracott stopped trade with the greedy neighboring countries, preferring to trade with the more deserving. He made sure to be a kind but justified ruler. One who listened to the people and took advice when it was warranted. In hindsight, he was doing the complete opposite of his father’s teachings and loving every bit of it._

_“As lovely as it is talking to you Pans I must be going. My time will be best spent elsewhere.” Panslette raised a disbelieving brow but stepped away regardless._

_Dracott strolled out of the throne room and bid his way to his bedroom. He rolled his eyes when he heard the sounds of his guards following him. Once he reached the door he turned to his bulky yet dimwitted guards. “Stay here. Do not disturb me under any circumstances. I do not care if someone wishes to speak to me, they will have to come back another time.” He ordered. They both grunted their agreement. Dracott sneered. So articulate._

_Dracott slammed the door shut and threw off the horrid clothes he was forced to wear. It was too confining. He made his way to his wardrobe and pushed aside all of the clothes until he came to a locked box. He quickly grabbed the key around his neck and bent down to unlock the box. Upon opening it, he rustled through the clothes inside the box before picking the outfit that he wanted to wear. Once the box was locked and stowed away did he change._

_Dracott was wearing common folk clothes. Less binding and he loved the look and feel of the fabric. He made sure to pick out grey colors as not to stand out. He put on a cap as well to hide most of his hair._

_Dracott walked over to a painting of his great grandfather and opened the hidden latch. Once open it showed the tunnel that led to the outside._

_Dracott made sure once he reached the end of the tunnel to check that there would be no one to witness his leave. There was not a soul in sight. He should probably increase the patrols of his guards. They clearly weren’t performing adequately._

_As Dracott walked through his kingdom and watched his subjects live their daily lives he felt content. Oh, how he wished he was not king. He wanted to travel and not worry about duty. He did not want the lives of all these people in his hands. His choices directly affect their lives. He did not want that kind of power. Dracott just wanted to live a normal life away from all of this. Perhaps if he was not king he could find someone that he wanted to settle with. Someone to come home to, someone to speak with and laugh over tea about frivolous things. Being king was so trivial to the life he yearned for. Too lonely for his comfort. The same could be said when he had just been a prince as well._

_“Would you like a flower sir?” A voice disturbed his inner troubles. Dracott looked up and froze in his tracks. The most beautiful person he had ever laid eyes on was looking at him. His clothes were much too big and horrid in style and his footwear was so worn that Dracott wondered if they would fall off. The man in front of him had messy black hair, one that would make you think he was a beggar. He had the brightest green eyes that Dracott had ever seen. His skin was darker than his own pale white. This was someone who spent their days in the sun. Oh how Dracott envied him. “Beautiful.” Dracott whispered before wincing when he realized he uttered that out loud._

_He worried he offended the man but was mistaken when he was rewarded with a brilliant smile that made his insides flutter. What was this? Had he eaten spoiled meat? Was that why his stomach was behaving so irrational?_

_The stranger was holding out a single wolfsbane flower. He could tell by the lavender color. Dracott tentatively reached out to grab the flower and jolted in surprise when a shock of energy zapped his skin when he briefly made contact with the man._

_Dracott bit his lip and looked down briefly to cover his embarrassment. What was it about this man that flustered him so? He realized that this man sold an arrangement of flowers. They were all beautiful and well cared for, he obviously worked hard. Dracott pushed the flower back into the man’s hands. The man furrowed his brows._

_“My sincerest apologies but I did not bring any money with me today.” Dracott rushed to explain. The man’s face cleared and he stepped forward to lean in and whisper in his ear._

_“Tis quite alright my Lord.” Dracott leaned away in surprise. “How did you know?” The man laughed and Dracott shivered at how beautiful the sound was. “Your face my liege. You cannot hide it with a change of clothes or caps. Even in these clothes the beauty of your face stands out.” The man looked down as his cheeks heated up._

_Dracott’s breath caught as he stared at him. This was the exact reason he had not found a wife. He did not want one. He had feared that his father found out his secret. That he liked men. But his father never mentioned it. Dracott knew that he would never wed. Two men were frowned upon and as king he had commitments to uphold. But he certainly was not going to tether himself in a loveless marriage with a woman to please other people. No. He would rather be alone than to do that. But… as he stared at this stunning creature in front of him he was wondering if he could still have a companion without a marriage._

_When the man placed the flower back in his hand and made to turn away Dracott grabbed his hand. “Will you grant me the pleasure of knowing your name?” The man smiled softly. “Harland my lord. My name is Harland.”_

_“Harland.” Dracott tested the name with a smile._

Draco clutched his head and groaned when memory after memory assaulted him. Harry wasn’t faring much better either.

            _Harland bit his lip nervously as the royal guards led him into the castle. Had he done something wrong? Did his uncle finally have enough of him and said something to the king? A flutter of nerves filled him when he thought of the young king. He had been right surprised to see the king strolling down the village in clothes befitting commoners. Harland couldn’t understand how no one else had been able to detect him. The beauty of the king was breathtaking. Harland would recognize him no matter what he wore. Beautiful. The king had called him beautiful. That was something unexpected that was!_

_The guards directed him into the throne room, bypassing the area where the two brother court jesters were preforming. The throne room was empty expect for the king who was pacing with his back turned to them._

_“My Lord.” One of the guards said causing the King to jump. The king turned and glared at the man. “Blaisure what have I told you about doing that?” The king said sternly but his lips were twitching._

_“I apologize my Lord. It shan’t happen again.” The amusement in his voice made Harland question the validity of the statement. By the raised eyebrow of the king, Harland knew he also picked up on it._

_“You are so alike that wife of yours.” The guard had a pleased smile on his face. The king snorted. “Give my regards to Panslette and please shut the door on your way out.” Harland was surprised at how gentle the king was. He had known that since the former King and Queen, may they rest in peace, had passed that the King had changed the kingdom for the better. Even his uncle who loved to complain could not find anything to gripe about except that he was not married yet. To his uncle, a good ruler needed to be complete in all things and that included a wife._

_“Harland.” The king said quietly once they were alone. Harland had to hold back the smile that threatened to come across his face at the nervous way the king was fidgeting. Who would have thought that a king would fidget?_

_“My Lord.” Harland bowed respectfully. The king smiled and walked towards a table to the side and directed him to sit down._

_“I have asked you here because I would like you to become my advisor.” Harland’s mouth dropped open. Pardon? Advisor? Why would the king want him to be his advisor? He knew nothing about being an advisor. He handled flowers._

_“Why?” Harland asked before wincing when he realized that he had just questioned the king. The man however just laughed in delight. “To be frank, I am fascinated with you.” Harland flushed pink. “I would like to know more about you and I am in need of an advisor. So I thought it could work out all around.”_

_Harland tilted his head to the side and thought about it. His heart soared at the thought of getting out of his relatives’ hands. They made him work while they stayed home and treated him something awful. He had been saving up the little that he was able to keep from selling his flowers to try and save up enough to escape but he feared that would never happen. But now that king was offering him a way out._

_“I will be the fourth advisor?” Harland asked wanting to know why the man kept disposing of them. If he was going to make the final step to get away from his family, then he needed to know that this was a sure thing._

_The king looked down at his hands and bit his lip slightly. Harland found this to be endearing. “The only thing I ask of you if you are to be my advisor, is that you not try to advise me on finding a wife. I will not wed now or ever. I will remain a king without a queen till I step down. That is why I have let so many advisors go. They did not understand this and kept insisting.”_

_Harland hummed in thought. Most interesting. Why would a king not wish to wed? Surely he could have whoever he wanted. But… Harland remembered the way the king had looked at him when he was at his stand and it made sense. The king did not want a wife…_

_“Aye I will do it.” The king looked up and Harland had to smile at the relief on the man’s face. His life was surely about to change forever._

Harry looked up into Draco’s confused eyes and braced himself for more memories.

            _Dracott slumped into his throne after everyone but Harland cleared the room. What a tiring day. “I dislike gatherings like this.” Harland chuckled at the frustration in the king’s voice._

_“Tis necessary my liege.” Dracott could hear the smile in his voice and he lifted his head only to groan when his neck muscles seized up._

_Harland stepped up. “Allow me to get that for you.” Harland whispered as he placed his hands on the back of Dracott’s neck and started rubbing the tense muscles._

_Dracott shivered at the warm touch of Harland and then moaned when the tense muscles started going away. He could grow accustomed to this. Harland looked down and smiled at how much the man was enjoying a simple massage. He really should relax more often._

_Dracott looked up and his breath hitched at their closeness. His eyes locked on to Harland’s lips, he dared a glance and was pleased at the longing he saw in Harland’s eyes. He gently cupped Harland’s face and hesitated enough to give Harland enough room to back away if this was not what he desired._

_Harland’s heart started beating rapidly. This would change things between them. Is this what he wanted? To be with someone that could never openly show his affection? The king had made it quite clear that he would never take a wife so Harland would not have to worry about being a mistress. He could back away and keep their relationship strictly king and advisor… but Harland didn’t want that. He wanted everything that Dracott had to offer._

_Harland met Dracott half way and pressed his lips against the other mans. Dracott made a surprised but pleased noise before quickly showing his enthusiasm in the kiss._

_Harland tilted his head and opened his mouth slightly when he felt Dracott’s tongue. He moaned when their tongues made contact with each other. Oh this was different. He had never known that something could feel so good. Why had they not done this sooner?_

_Dracott’s entire body flamed with heat at Harland’s moan. This is what he had been dreaming about since the moment he laid eyes on the beauty that stood before him. Aye. He wanted Harland in every way possible. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with this man. He wanted it all._

Harry touched his lips as they tingled in remembrance. Draco sighed as the feelings of old love washed over him.         

            _Dracott made sure that the guards were gone before he made his way to Harland’s room. Harland had been acting quite strange since the dinner with a neighboring king. He knocked once but there was a muffled sound that worried him so he entered. Dracott slowly shut the door and stood frozen at the sight of Harland crying. He stepped forward until he was right in front of Harland._

_“My love what is wrong?” Harland shook at his lover’s voice and raised tearful eyes. Harland closed his eyes at the concern that was on Dracott’s face. Dracott gently wiped away the tears and pulled Harland into his arms._

_“Speak to me, tell me what is the matter.” Dracott pleaded. If someone harmed his beautiful consort, then they would be dealing with him. Harland tried to push away but Dracott tightened his hold._

_“I love you! That is what is the matter!” Harland shouted before hiding his face and sobbing. Dracott’s eyes widened at the declaration but frowned at it being classified as a problem._

_“I love you too my love.” Harland cried harder at the words. Dracott lifted Harland’s chin and frowned. “Why is this a problem?”_

_Harland closed his eyes. “Because what will happen to me when you need to secure an heir? I know you say that you will not wed but what will happen if you have to? Then where will I be? I will not be some male mistress that you go to when your wife is not looking.”_

_Dracott frowned. “Where is this coming from? We have spoken over this already.” Harland whimpered. “Earlier, the foreign king’s daughter Astorian said that I was not doing my job correctly. She said that a king like yourself should be getting wed to sire an heir. She said for you to not wed for personal reasons was selfish. Astorian mentioned that her father wanted to offer her in a marriage to you. She can give you an heir. I am being selfish by being with you. What of your people?” Harland cried in horror._

_Dracott sighed and shook his head before placing a gentle kiss to the top of Harland’s awful hair. “I would sooner wed cattle then to marry Astorian.” Harland let out a surprised snort of amusement. “I will never sire an heir.” The shock of the words caused Harland’s tears to stall. He lifted his head in confusion. “Pardon?”_

_Dracott nodded. “I will not marry and I will not sire any children.” He repeated gently as he ran his hand up and down Harland’s back. Harland furrowed his brows. “But what of the throne? Who will take over if you sire no children?”_

_“I have a cousin who I will train to take over for me. He begins his teachings soon and in a couple summers he will be ready to become king.” Harland’s forehead wrinkled in thought._

_“But you are only 26 summers. Why is he taking over already?” Harland asked worried that something was wrong with Dracott._

_Dracott smiled down into those lovely green eyes that he loved so much. “I am stepping down from the crown.” Harland’s mouth dropped open. “I want to travel. I want to explore new places and see new things. I do not want this life. I never have. I just want to be happy. Being king does not make me happy. The only thing in my life that brings me joy is you my great consort.”_

_Harland blinked back tears and swallowed thickly. “And what of I?” He asked shakily. Dracott smiled slightly and rubbed his thumb against Harland’s cheek._

_“You my dear will be right along with me. By my side. We can spend the rest of our lives together.” Harland threw his arms around Dracott’s neck and sobbed his joy out._

_Harland lifted his head and pressed kisses all over Dracott’s face. Dracott chuckled. “I take this as your agreement?” Harland glared weakly. “Aye. I would love nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you.”_

_Dracott grinned and held Harland closer to him. “My only wish is that I could wed you. I yearn for the time when people like us can openly love one another.” Dracott whispered._

_Harland closed his eyes as his heart started beating fast. The idea of marrying Dracott filled him with such longing. He too wished that they could openly declare their love. To be able to walk into town holding hands and showing the whole world that Dracott was his and loved._

_Harland raised his head to look into his lover’s eyes. “Perhaps in another life we will not have such restrictions.” Dracott kissed Harland’s forehead. “I look forward to finding you in the next lifetime my great consort.”_

Harry stared up at Draco in awe. What was that? Had they really been together in a past life? Had what he witnessed really happened? The love he had felt for Dracott was still thrumming inside of him. Harry knew without a doubt that they really had been together before this. Harry could feel the sting of his eyes as tears formed.

            Draco reached forward and gently wiped away Harry’s tears. He himself had to force tears away. He never would have imagined that they were together in a past life. To think that he had been able to have two lifetimes with Harry was overwhelming. The odds have finding each other in this life had already been a miracle but to have found each other once before too? That seemed out of the realm of possibilities but Draco knew that it had happened. Harry was just as beautiful now as he had been when he was Harland.

            “We got our wish.” Draco whispered in delight. Harry shuddered but nodded. This entire day was filled with just too much. Death, reunions and now this. Harry was sure that his emotions were put through so much that he wouldn’t be able to recover. Not to mention that he still had to deal with the fucking burrow too! Good gods when would this day end?

            Draco could feel the rollercoaster of emotions from Harry and frowned. Draco pushed all the love and calm that he could as he wrapped his arms around Harry’s waist. “Shh. It’s alright my love. It is okay. We are okay. We are alright and we are together. Nothing, not even time itself will change that. No matter what happens in this life we will handle it together. We have already had one wonderful life together and we will have another life in the here and now.”

            Harry slammed his lips against Draco’s. Draco hummed and kissed back just as roughly. Draco thrusted his tongue in Harry’s mouth and moaned at the taste of Harry. He would never get enough of this. Never.

            “I love you.” Harry panted against Draco’s lips. Draco smiled widely, a smile that never ceased to melt Harry’s heart. “I love you too my dear.” Harry smiled at the endearment. Goodness this was going to take some getting used to. There was so much about Draco that screamed Dracott. They were the same person but so different. Despite Draco’s joking of how a good ruler was one who ruled with fear, Dracott had been a wonderful king. He had been a gentle but kind ruler. Harry was quite proud of that.

            Harry was thoroughly annoyed that in both lives he had shitty relatives. Like seriously? Couldn’t the fates have granted him a normal family? They didn’t even have to be nice. Just somewhat decent. But… in both lifetimes he had been granted Draco. Maybe that was the tradeoff. To have something as wondrous as his soulmate he had to go through trials. He couldn’t have everything in life handed to him. Maybe there had to be a balance. If having a nice family meant that he wouldn’t have Draco, then he didn’t want it. He would always choose Draco. Always.

            “I was a king.” Harry could hear the smug tone of his voice and he rolled his yes. “Yes you were. A brilliant one at that.” Draco flushed at the praise. It was odd. In this life, he had felt like a failure for most of his life. He had dreamed of a different life since he was a child. Even now after being a deatheater he wondered what he could really do in life that would make up for that. So to know that he had been someone wonderful in a past life filled him with such accomplishment. It was nice to know that he hadn’t made awful mistakes in that lifetime too.

            “I was a king.” Harry snorted at the repeated statement and looked up at Draco, only to frown at the astonishment on his face. “Love look at me.” Draco obediently looked at Harry. “Why does that surprise you? Is it just a shock or are you not feeling worthy?” When Draco looked away biting his lip, Harry narrowed his eyes and let out a growl.

            Draco jumped in surprise at the noise and the anger coming from Harry. He turned his startled gaze to see angry flashing green eyes. “Draco I can’t think of anyone else who would have been worthy of being a ruler. You were a wonderful king. You cared about your people. You listened to every single one of your subjects if they requested your audience. Lucian had been a cruel and awful king. He cared not for any of us. It was awful being a villager in his kingdom. Everyone was suffering and there was hardly enough food to go around. For people like me who sold things it was difficult. Money was scarce and no one wanted flowers when they had to scramble just to feed their families. But when you took over, everything changed. It was like the stormy clouds cleared and you were the beaming sun. You took care of the kingdom. You made sure that no one suffered under your watch. You got rid of every decree that your father made that harmed the village. You my love were a magnificent leader.” Draco looked down to blink away the tears.

            “But that was that lifetime… in this one I failed.” Harry felt such self-hatred that he gripped Draco’s shoulders hard. Draco looked up and Harry wilted at the watery gaze.

            “Baby you didn’t fail. I promise you that. You made some mistakes but that doesn’t mean you failed. You have had a much harder life in this lifetime then when you were Dracott. You can’t compare the two lives. You were worthy of being a King in your past life and in this one.” Draco shook his head as the tears rolled.

            Harry leaned up and kissed the tears away. “I will always be your consort and you will always be my king. Whether you think you are worthy of it or not. I promise you that you are worthy. So much so. I will prove it to you one day.” Harry said with conviction.

            Draco cupped Harry’s cheek. “God I love you. So much Harry. I don’t know what I would do without you.” Harry nuzzled into Draco’s hand. “I love you too Draco.”

            Harry’s eyes began to droop. He was getting so tired. The whole day was coming down on him. “Go to sleep Harry.” Harry shook his head. “No. I need to stay awake so that we can go to the burrow. Draco checked the time. “There is still about an hour that you can go to sleep.”

            Harry bit his lip in indecision. He really would like to take a nap but he wanted to stay awake with Draco. “Sleep. I shall watch over you.” Harry smiled at the same words that Dracott had once spoken to him. Harry closed his eyes and fell into a deep slumber.

 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------

        

            Sirius looked up at the sound of thundering steps coming down the stairs.

            “Why did you talk me into sleeping? I feel awful. I am more tired than when I fell asleep! How does that even happen? Not to mention that I have a horrid headache now.” Harry snapped angrily.

            Draco stopped walking. “It is not my fault that you feel like this. I just wanted you to get some sleep. You needed it, you were running on empty. I get that you are nervous but don’t take it out on me.”

            Harry could feel the hurt coming from Draco and his anger deflated and he was wracked with guilt. Draco was right he was just nervous and taking out his frustrations on Draco. Harry stepped up and wrapped his arms around Draco and when Draco stiffened instead of relaxing, Harry felt even guiltier.

            “I am sorry. You are right. I am nervous and I shouldn’t be taking it out on you.” Harry felt Draco sag into the hug and Draco nuzzled his face into the side of Harry’s neck. Harry kissed the side of Draco’s head. “I really am sorry.” Draco inhaled the scent of Harry and let Harry’s sincere emotions wash away the hurt.

            “I know. I forgive you.” Draco assured him before lifting his head and kissing Harry’s forehead.

            When they pulled a part, Sirius let out a low whistle. “You guys look dashing.” Harry grinned and turned fully to face his godfather. “You think so?”

            Sirius almost didn’t recognize Harry. He was wearing dark black trousers, a white dress shirt with a bright green vest over it and a black suit jacket to complete the look. Draco was wearing the same thing only a silver vest was the difference.

            “Draco has this fascination with matching things to our eye colors.” Harry said fondly. He loved seeing Draco in things that made his eyes shine brighter. Draco shrugged but he wasn’t going to apologize. He loved seeing Harry in clothes that matched his eyes.

            “I like it. You guys look great.” Sirius said firmly. Both teens gave him identical grins. He shook his head at how similar they were. He really hoped that dinner at the burrow turned out well. He didn’t want Harry’s spirits crushed. Harry deserved a family no matter what kind it was. Sirius had spent Harry’s entire life wishing he could be the one to give him that family. He used to fantasize in Azkaban about watching Harry grow up. That was until the dementors would come by and then he was forced to wait till he recovered before dreaming again. The only reason Sirius had even put up with Molly when they stayed at Grimwald Place had been because of how much the Weasleys meant to Harry. He could see how much their acceptance of him mattered. Harry deserved all the happiness that he could get, so he really hoped that nothing bad happened tonight. Remus had mentioned that Harry had found solace with the Malfoy family but Sirius had serious doubts that Lucius Malfoy would welcome Harry with open arms. His cousin Narcissa had never been a warm person even as a child. They never got along. She had been too prim and proper which was the complete opposite of him. He would keep an open mind though because he really didn’t need another argument with Harry.

            “Thanks Sirius.” Harry tried to grin but his nerves were making it come across as a grimace. “How much longer?” Sirius asked curiously. He wasn’t even going to bother trying to calm Harry down. Feelings were not his forte. He would leave that up to Draco.

            Draco checked the time. “Now.” Harry panicked. Now? This was too soon. He didn’t want to go.  

            “Harry.” Draco said calmly as he took Harry’s face in his hands. “Breathe. It is okay. No matter what happens tonight it will be okay. You will always have the rest of our family behind you. If everything goes smoothly then we will just be adding more people to our growing family. If it goes badly… well then you will have the rest of us to fall back on. You are my family and that will never change. It is okay to be nervous but don’t let it consume you.”

            Sirius was impressed with Draco’s words. He seemed wiser than his young 18 years. The way he handled Harry was beautiful to watch. He knew everything about Harry and it showed in the way he cared for him. Sirius was really starting to like Draco. He didn’t think that there was anyone else out there that could do a better job. It wasn’t just that they were soulmates either, although that played a big part of it. It was just the way that Draco stared at Harry like he was everything good in life. He looked at Harry like he was the most precious thing in existence. Sirius supposed to Draco that he was. It was endearing to watch. He had never known a love like that. His parents sure didn’t love each other. The only time he had seen love had been James and Lily, but it wasn’t even close to this.

            Harry took a deep breath and let Draco’s words wash over him. He could do this. He could walk in there and tell them exactly what he thought of them and hear what they had to say. He could do this. “Okay. Let’s go.” Harry said giving a chaste kiss to Draco’s lips. Draco deepened the kiss and apparated them out of there.

            When they broke apart Harry could see the burrow. He could _no **t**_ do this. Nope. Harry shook his head. “I changed my mind. Let’s go. I can’t do this.” Draco wanted to laugh at the fickle way Harry was acting but the panic he could feel made him push that aside.

            “Love. Calm down. You can do this. You are Harry Potter. Soon to be Harry Malfoy. Twice savior of the wizarding world. Kick ass wizard with amazing abilities. My beautiful soulmate extraordinaire. You got this.” Draco assured him.

            “You are right. I got this. Okay let’s go.” Harry said dragging Draco forward. Draco let himself be guided forward with a fond smile. Half way to the door Harry stopped.

            “Nope. I can’t do this. Let’s go home. We can eat ice cream in the nude and see how many times Kreacher will say that we are indecent masters. My guess is at least five.” Draco grinned at Harry’s offer. It did sound incredibly pleasing.

            “As tempting as that is, we have to do this dinner first. I promise you when everything is all said and done then we can do whatever you want. If you want to eat ice cream naked than that is what we will do. If you want to dance around the house without clothes on, then we can do that too. I am sure I will have fun making Sirius regret ever wanting to be a painting in our house. However, you are wrong. You _can_ do this and you will.”

            Harry deflated. He knew he was being silly but he just couldn’t help it. “Alright.” He said in defeat as they began walking to the door. “By the way, I think it will be at least seven or eight times. Five is so beneath us.” Draco said in a haughty tone.

            Harry grinned and shook his head. He didn’t know how Draco managed it but he always knew just what to say to make him feel better.

            Draco knocked on the door and ignored the ‘I can’t do this’ that Harry was mumbling over and over. Honestly wasn’t he supposed to be the dramatic one out of the two of them? Harry’s panic came to a standstill when the front door was swung open. Here goes nothing. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay what did you think of this chapter?
> 
> I had a little troubles trying to make it appear as if it really was in another time. I know the wording wasn't quite perfect but I think it came out alright. :)
> 
> I decided to keep some people in their past lives as well. How many did you guys catch? I know the names were odd but oh well lol. Some were so difficult. I thought their love was interesting. I had debated about making Harry the king but I feel like Draco just fits that role much better. 
> 
> So as you can you tell by the little cliff hanger that the next chapter is indeed the burrow. :)
> 
> Let me know your thoughts of this chapter. Also, I would like to know what you are looking for in tomorrows chapter. Is there something specific you are hoping Harry covers? Anything you would love to see addressed?   
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	37. The Burrow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so dinner at the burrow is long. Like very long. So it is at the least going to be four chapters. Maybe three if I lengthen them. Hopefully you guys like this chapter. Do remember that there is still more to be said so if what you weren't looking for hasn't been mentioned yet... don't worry. It will most likely be said in the upcoming chapters.

           Harry tried to smile but it was still coming out as a grimace. Ginny was standing there with her open in shock. Harry furrowed his brows wondering what was up with her? Why was she staring at him like that? Was something on his face? Was the outfit too much? She was making him uncomfortable.

            Draco’s heart had sunk when Weaslette had been the one to answer the door. He knew that Harry loved him but he was worried that there would be lingering feelings with his former girlfriend. He was relieved when he felt nothing coming from the bond. The previous nerves that he could feel from Harry were still there. But now all that has changed was a sense of confusion and uncomfortable unease. Draco raised a brow when the girl just stood there gaping.

            “What is taking so long Ginny?” Harry could hear Fred’s impatience as he saw the twins step up and shove their still gaping sister aside so that Harry and Draco could come in. Once the door was shut behind them the twins enveloped them both in a hug.

            George was hugging Harry. “Breathe. It will be okay.” Harry swallowed thickly at George’s concern. What would he do without these two? Goodness he was more nervous now then he had been when facing off against Voldemort. Why was he so jittery? The twins switched places and soon Harry was being hugged by Fred.

            “We are here for you.” Fred promised. Harry had to choke back his emotions. Merlin, what was wrong with him? “Thank you.” Harry whispered as he hugged Fred tighter.

            When the twins stepped back he could see the surprised faces of the rest of the Weasley family. Perhaps they hadn’t realized how close the twins were to Harry? He bristled slightly at that. They would have known that if they hadn’t been ignoring him. Arses, the lot of them.

            Fred could see how nervous Harry was and it made his own nerves spike. He still thought this was a bad time to be doing this. He hadn’t gotten over the shock of the day and was still a mess. Blaise and Pansy had held off their emotions until they left Grimwald place before breaking down. Draco was their best friend and it killed them seeing him die. Fred held Blaise until the tears subsided. The pair of them were waiting at their flat above the shop till dinner was done. Fred hadn’t wanted to come. He had been tempted to tell their mother that they wouldn’t make it but he knew that Harry needed them. It only took one look at the nerves on Harry’s face for him to realize that he made the right decision.

            George could tell that Harry needed more support than just Draco’s. There was a panicked look in his eyes that tore at George’s heart. Harry shouldn’t be this scared for dinner. It was sad that they even had to do this at all. He just wished that his family would get their heads out of their arses. George looked to Draco and frowned. There was a calm expression on his face but he could see the nerves he tried to hide in his eyes. His heart melted when he realized that Draco was trying to hide how nervous he was from Harry. He wasn’t sure that was possible since they shared emotions but he could tell that Draco was focused on making sure Harry was taken care of first and that just warmed him up completely.  

            “You two look hot.” The twins said in unison taking in their appearance for the first time. Harry looked down and then it hit him, that was why Ginny had been gaping. Well that didn’t sit well with him. She could look all she wanted but there was nothing between them anymore.

            Draco’s love was an inferno compared to anything he had ever felt for Ginny. It was like comparing a fire to a volcano. What he had with Ginny hadn’t been right. Things had never clicked like they should have. But with Draco… there just weren’t words to describe what they had and how wonderful it was. He still sometimes worried that he would wake up and it would all be a giant dream. Harry looked over and smiled widely when he caught sight of Bill and Fleur.

            Bill was standing behind Fleur with a hand on her shoulder. He smiled warmly at Harry and Draco. Fleur was bouncing on the soles of her feet as she looked at them. The twenty minutes she had been here while waiting for them to arrive had been awful. When they flooed in and Fleur caught sight of the disappointment on Molly’s face, her heart had plummeted. What would it take for the woman to accept her? Fleur ignored the upset looks that Ginevra and Hermione had on their faces, she ignored the pleased look that Ronald had. Which creeped her out. To her delight, Charlie had been able to come from Romania! She had watched the twins to see what her arrival caused but they had spent the whole time with their heads bent together whispering. She wasn’t even sure that they noticed that they had arrived at all. They had a sad expression about them and she wondered what was wrong. Her heart had warmed when she saw the twins embrace Harry and Draco. Fleur could see the close bond that they had and she was thrilled. 

            The smile had been the opening that Fleur needed before she ran forward and hugged the both of them to her. Harry and Draco laughed warmly.

            “You both look so ‘andsome!” She gushed out before kissing both of their cheeks.

            Everyone besides Bill raised their brows at the warm welcome Fleur was giving them. Ginny didn’t like the way Fleur’s comment made Harry’s cheeks flush. She already had a husband why was she acting like that towards Harry? And why wasn’t Bill upset?

            Bill smiled in delight as he watched his wife hug them. She had been a nervous wreck all day for this dinner. Not because of the treatment she would get but because she was nervous for Harry and Draco. His wife had a beautiful soul and it killed him that his family couldn’t see that. It took all the restraint that he possessed not to snap at his mother when she saw that he had brought Fleur. If they weren’t here for Harry, then he would have already started a row.

            Harry and Draco stepped away and smiled at Fleur. “Look at you. You look beautiful.” Draco said. It was true, she really did look stunning. She was wearing a light blue dress that matched her eyes. It was simple but elegant. Fleur blushed at the compliment. “Draco’s right. Stunning.” Harry assured her. Fleur waved away the compliments. “You are zoo kind. Eet eez nice zoo see proper gentlemen.” Harry and Draco grinned before stepping up and hugging Bill next.

            Hermione furrowed her brows. She couldn’t remember a time when Harry had ever been that excited to see Fleur or Bill. Sure they had gotten to know them a little better when they stayed at Shell Cottage during the war but she hadn’t realized it was like this. What puzzled her more was the way Draco greeted her too. Had the two of them known each other before now?

            Ron’s anger spiked at seeing the ferret. He hated the way he seemed to have charmed his older brother and Fleur. He had hoped that they would be able to see right through the gits evil plans but they seemed to have been taken in just like Harry had been. It had to be a spell. What could possibly make them like Malfoy?

            Molly was unsure of what to think. Harry seemed happy and as much as she wanted him to be happy she was hoping that Harry would have realized that the Malfoy boy was bad news. But as she watched the closeness they seemed to have she grew worried that Harry would not see reason. Molly was upset that Fleur had decided to come, she was sure that she would have an easier time convincing Harry without her around. Fleur was always taking the attention of everyone when she spoke. She had hoped that since Fleur had stopped coming by that Bill would realize that something was wrong. No one in the family liked her and she had thought that Bill was starting to realize that. She wanted her son to be happy but Fleur was not the right person for him. There were so many other worthy girls out there that she would love to see Bill with. She wanted the best for her children and Bills happiness meant the world to her. But… she just wished it wasn’t Fleur that brought him happiness. She had promised Arthur that she would try and get along with Fleur for the sake of their son and she really would try. She didn’t want to lose Bill. It was hard with Charlie so far away and after Percy’s death she just wanted her children home with her.

            Charlie was surprised to say the least. He had to take on extra shifts to manage to come home for this dinner considering he had just been home last week but he really wanted Harry to know that he was there for him. He had been surprised by the warm welcome the twins had given him. He thought for sure that Ron and Hermione would be the ones embracing him despite their argument. He had never known that Harry even had a connection with his brothers. Charlie had been surprised to see how well Fleur had taken to Draco. Bill had firecalled him and told him how the dinner had gone with them yesterday and was thrilled that it had gone well. Fleur had been in the background gushing at how sweet Draco was. Charlie had wanted to scoff but decided to wait and see this ‘charming’ boy for himself. Charlie had watched the genuine smile and joy on Draco’s face when Fleur hugged him. He could tell that Draco had made a friend in his sister in law and he wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.

            Charlie had wondered long and hard what Harry could see in Draco to want to be friends with him but his mind had come up blank. But he didn’t even know the Malfoy heir to try and pass judgement. As he watched how close Harry and Draco were to each other a sudden idea sprung forth. He remembered the way the twins had spoken about Draco and it made sense. His eyes widened and shot Bill a look. When Bill nodded once Charlie let out a surprised noise. Oh my. His mother was going to lose it. He winced internally, he should have stayed in Romania. Bill’s retelling of the night would have been sufficient enough. Damn.

            Fleur reached out a hand to grasp Draco’s. “Calmez-vous. Tout ira bien. Respirez Draco.” Everyone looked curiously as Draco smiled.

            Draco let out a little puff of air. “Je suis tellement nerveux. Je ne veux pas que Harry le reprenne. Ll est assez nerveux comme il est.”

            Fleur cooed softly. “C’est gentil.” Draco flushed slightly put squeezed her hand softly before letting go.

            Harry shivered and had to hold his lust at Draco’s wicked tone when he spoke French. It was intoxicating. He was positive that none of it leaked through but the smirk on Draco’s face said otherwise. Harry shot him irritation through the bond. Draco had to bite his lip to stop from smiling widely. Harry was just so cute when he got all flustered when he spoke French. He debated when he would tell Harry that he knew Italian as well.

            Molly frowned at the conversation. She didn’t like not knowing what they were talking about. The two of them could be talking badly about the family and she would never know it.  

            Harry looked over to Charlie, pointedly ignoring Draco’s humor and smiled at the dragon tamer. “I didn’t know you would be here today.” Harry said as he offered his hand to shake. Charlie huffed at being offered a hand and pulled Harry into a hug. “I see how it is. Everyone else gets a hug but I only get a handshake.” Harry laughed in delight and hugged him back. When he stepped back Draco offered him his hand.

            “Draco Malfoy.” Charlie didn’t hesitate and pulled Draco into a hug. “Charlie Weasley.” Draco let out a surprised squawk. Draco wasn’t sure if this was a Weasley thing to be so affectionate. He would have been satisfied with a hand shake but was quite pleased with the hug. They sure were an interesting family. Hugs were definitely not popular at the Manor. Well… until Harry that was.

     “Any partner of Harry’s is family to me as well.” Charlie whispered so that only Draco and Harry could hear. Draco took a step back and sharing a surprised look with Harry. Had Bill told him or had he just figured it out?

            “Thank you.” Draco said with a small smile. Arthur looked at his sons with surprise and confusion. He wasn’t sure that he liked what was going on here. They all seemed to openly approve of Harry’s friendship with the Malfoy boy and Arthur wasn’t sure that he liked it. He didn’t want to dislike the Malfoy heir solely on who his father was so he also let Ron and Harry’s own words on the boy influence his judgement. How could Harry be friends with someone who had done the things that he had? It didn’t make sense to him. There had to be something missing here.

            “Harry dear. How good to see you.” Molly gushed as she stepped up to hug Harry. Harry stepped to the side and dodged the hug. He wasn’t about to let her set the stage for this meal. He knew that if he hugged her then she would assume everything was okay and they were far from okay.

            Draco groaned internally. This was going to be a long night.

            Molly’s face fell but she cleared her throat. “Well come around the table everyone, dinner is done.” She said a little shortly as she ushered everyone over. Ron shot a glare at Harry for hugging everyone else but his mum.

            Once everyone was seated the awkward tension just grew. No one was sure of what to say. “How have you been Harry?” Molly asked. “Fine.” Harry responded without elaborating. Molly shot her husband a helpless look.

            “Had an interesting summer then?” Arthur asked. “You could say that.” Harry replied coolly. Arthur looked around the table indicating it was someone else’s turn.    

     “We have missed you.” Ginny said quietly. Harry felt a stab of jealousy from the bond. “Have you?” Harry asked doubtfully as he raised an eyebrow. “I can tell by the silence from you all that I was just missed terribly.” The sarcasm in his voice was plain to hear.

            “We really have missed you.” Hermione added before frowning at the cold attitude he was giving off.

            “Not too much or you would have contacted me sooner.” Harry said dryly. He wasn’t about to make this easy on any of them.

     When the food was fully laid out on the table and the awkward tension still high, Harry began filling up Draco’s plate with food before tending to his own. Fleur sighed sappily as she watched them. Bill’s lip twitched at the surprised looks that Harry was receiving. As much as Bill was dreading when it would be announced that they were together, he also couldn’t help but be excited. He loved to see his mother lose it.

            “Can the ferret not fill his own plate?” Ron asked outraged. Was he too good to do it himself? Harry stopped adding things to Draco’s plate and turned to glare at Ron. To be honest he hadn’t even been aware that he was doing that. It just came second nature to care about Draco first. And he knew it went both ways, there were times where it was Draco taking care of Harry.

            “He can. I was being nice.” Harry said with gritted teeth and narrowed eyes. Draco pushed Harry a lot of calming energy but that seemed to annoy him. Draco sighed and pulled back the emotions. Harry didn’t want to be calm, he didn’t want Draco’s secondhand emotions right now. Harry reached over underneath the table and entwined their fingers in a show of thanks anyways.

            “Ronald!” Molly scolded. Ron’s face turned red and he glared down at his food. Ginny and Hermione shared surprised looks. Hermione had been Harry’s friend for seven years and he never filled her nor Ron’s plates with food. What was with the familiarity? Hermione also couldn’t remember Harry doing that with Ginny either.

            Harry frowned. Usually when Molly got onto Ron she would go into details. Let him know exactly what not to do. Apparently, she didn’t feel that she should say for Ron to leave Draco alone. Harry gritted his teeth, silently praying for patience that he knew wouldn’t come.

            “Sorry dear. Ronald has been a bit tempered lately. I am sure you can understand.” She told Harry with a small smile.

            Harry lifted a brow, was Ron incapable of apologizing himself? “No need to apologize to me. I wasn’t the one who was insulted. And no I don’t understand.”

            Damnit this is not how Draco had foreseen this night happening. He had hoped that it would have gone a little smoother, or at least made it till dessert before the insults started. “It’s alright.” Draco mumbled.

            Harry was going to let it go until he saw the way Molly’s face brightened when Draco said it was okay. “No, it is not alright. We did not come here so that you could be insulted. If we wanted to be insulted, we would have had dinner with Severus.” Draco’s lips twitched reluctantly.

            The rest of the table besides the twins dropped their jaws. “Severus?” Arthur said surprised. “You and he have worked past your differences then?” He himself had never had a problem with Severus, they didn’t really know each other. He didn’t like the way the man taught or the way he treated people but he had known that Dumbledore trusted him impeccably. Even after Dumbledore’s death he had wondered if there had been more than meets the eye. He was just surprised with the history between Severus and Harry that they would be getting a long well enough for Harry to call the man by his first name.

            Hermione’s brain short circuited for a moment. Severus?? That was… odd… Harry hated Snape. Didn’t he? Or was this because Harry was spending time around Draco that he would come in contact with their professor?

            “One deatheater wasn’t enough for you? You had to make friends with the rest of them too?” Ron said quietly. Ron’s glass shattered and everyone turned to look at Harry. Ron gulped but he shoved aside any fear and glared defiantly. Hermione sighed. Would Ron ever learn? Anger was not the way to get Harry to answer things. Honestly, it was like Ron learned nothing over the years as Harry’s friend.

            Harry stood up so quickly that Draco had to drop his hand or he would have been dragged up with him. Harry leaned forward till his hands were flat on the table. “Severus Snape is one of the most honorable man that I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.” Disbelieving looks were being shared amongst some of the watchers.

            “Not to mention incredibly brave. He has done so much for me over the years, more so than anyone else. I will not have you sit here and lump him in with all of the other deatheaters. He did a lot for the war effort, more than a lot of other people did.” Harry said with anger vibrating through his body. This time when he felt Draco sending him calm he allowed it. It would not do well to get too angry. He was not about to risk Draco’s health over being angry at Ron. Harry slumped back into his seat with a heated glare in Ron’s direction. He had just had this argument with Sirius not more than two hours ago. Defending Severus once was alright but Ron was making him do it again? Harry sighed mentally.

            Ron scoffed. “What about us? We did the most for the war effort. His work can’t compare.” Harry laughed humorlessly. “It is not a competition Ron. It was a bloody war. Petty one upping has no play in this. But you are right the stuff he did can’t compare to what we did.” Harry paused till he saw the victorious smirk on Ron’s face before continuing. “In many ways, the things Severus did far outweigh what we did.”

            Ron and Hermione’s mouths dropped open in shock. “What are you talking about?” Hermione asked rather confused. They hunted Horcruxes for crying out loud! The war never would have been won without the things that they did or the danger they had gone through.

            “Severus was a spy. Every single time he had to be in the same room with Voldemort his life was in danger. One false move, one false report, one false occlumency shield and Voldemort would have killed him. Countless deatheater meetings, countless raids and countless reports that he leaked to Order. The Order would have been nothing without Severus. If we didn’t have his intel on their movements, then there would be nothing to protect. Voldemort’s attacks before Dumbledore’s death would have been much worse. Not to mention the intel he gave Voldemort on us was always false. He was more than the backbone for the Order. We would have been fucked without him. What we did for the war effort made it possible to kill Voldemort but we weren’t risking our lives every time the man called a meeting. We weren’t the ones who had to see Voldemort over and over while lying to his face. We weren’t the ones who had to be at the end of crucio every time Voldemort grew angry. Despite the danger of being a spy he had to face the distrust and suspicion of the entire order. No one believed that he could be on our side. Everyone assumed that he was going to betray us. He didn’t fit in on either side but he still continued to do everything that he could for our side of the war! So you can sit here and judge him all you want but it just shows how simple minded you are. If you can’t look past your hatred of the man, then that is on you. I won’t try and change your mind. I don’t care what you believe.” Harry finished closing his fists tightly. Harry didn’t even notice that his nails broke the skin.

            Draco however did. He felt the physical pain through the bond. He gently grabbed Harry’s hands in his own and whispered a healing spell. Harry looked down at his healed cuts and smiled weakly at Draco. “Thank you.” Draco wanted to kiss Harry and calm him down but he knew that now was not the time. So when Harry lowered one of his hands under the table he would just have to settle with holding hands.

            Draco decided that he was definitely showing Severus a memory of this. There was no way his godfather was going to take his word for it. He himself was a little taken back by the defense but he hadn’t really stopped to understand the danger Severus had been in being a spy. Maybe Draco had been too wrapped up in his own issues at the time but he hadn’t thought that Severus was a spy. He really believed that his godfather had been on Voldemort’s side. He supposed that was a mark of a good spy. Draco wasn’t entirely sure about Harry’s statement about the things Severus did for the war as more dangerous but at the same time he could understand it. Harry was right, it wasn’t a competition. Severus had done a lot for the light side of the war. A lot. Just like Harry and his friends had. Did it matter who did what and which one was better? No.

            Hermione, Ginny and Molly were surprised at the gentle care that Draco had shown Harry. They hadn’t been aware that Harry was injured until Draco had taken his hands. So how did Draco know?

            “He still treated us like shite all throughout school!” Ron yelled just for the sake of the argument. Harry and Draco rolled their eyes in unison. Fred and George smirked at how much they were a like. It was interesting to see as twins how much other people reminded them of themselves.

            “No one is denying that. I am not saying that everything he has done for the war excuses his behavior of me. The way he treated me was awful and he was a bully. But the things he has done for me personally makes it possible for me to set all of that aside and start over. I have moved on from the past treatment and I look forward to getting to know the man.” Harry said firmly.

            Ron furrowed his brows. “What has he done for you that makes it okay?” Harry sighed loudly. “Didn’t you just hear what I said. Nothing excuses his behavior but I can start over. And the things he has done is between him and myself. All you need to know is that I no longer have any issues with Severus. If you want to continue to hate him than go ahead. I am not asking you to stop. I am asking you to accept _my_ decision to do what I want.”

            Ron looked to Hermione. “Tell me you don’t agree.” He demanded. Hermione shot a puzzled look to Harry. “I don’t understand it at all but it is not up to us what Harry agrees to.” She said frowning in thought. “I won’t ever like the man.” She said as a warning to Harry.

            Harry frowned but nodded his head. He was having a hard time understanding why she was being so stubborn. Severus hadn’t been nice to his friends but in no way did he ever treat them like he had treated Harry. Harry had always been on the receiving end of much harsher insults. With everything that has happened he didn’t like that she wasn’t able to at least consider looking past all of that into the actual person. With her being so intellectual, he had thought that at least she would understand where he was coming from. Even the way she approved of his decision didn’t have the warm feeling he thought it would. Things just seemed so different now. He wasn’t sure where he wanted this night to go but he knew that nothing would ever be the same between them all.

            “Hermione!” Ron whined. Harry had enough. “How does what I do affect you?” He demanded to know.

     Ron crossed his arms across his chest. “It just doesn’t make sense.”

            Harry arched a brow. “And?” Ron huffed. “Fine. Be best friends with the man. I don’t care.” Ron said glaring in the other direction not meeting Harry’s eyes.

            Harry pinched the bridge of his nose trying to calm himself. Why did Ron have to be so incredibly stubborn? What was with him?

            “I think it is nice that you have set aside your differences with Severus.” Molly said acting like there hadn’t just been an argument. Harry raised his brows but didn’t respond.

            “So Draco is it?” Molly said in an overly sweet voice. Draco sat up straighter. “Yes Ma’am it is.”

            “How is it that you and Harry here are friends?” She asked. Harry leaned forward wondering where she was taking this.

            “A couple days after the war we talked over a lot of things and decided to start over and we became friends.” Draco said with a small smile as he remembered the day that changed everything.

            “Hmm. And you became friends after he defended your family at the trial?” Draco took a deep calming breath. He had known that this is what they would assume but it still stung. He pushed away his hurt so that Harry wouldn’t feel it.

            Harry narrowed his eyes at the question and then further narrowed them when he felt Draco’s hurt. No one made his man sad. No one. He opened his mouth but Draco squeezed his hand once and Harry closed it despite not wanting to.

             “No. We were friends before that. I didn’t even tell Harry about the trial. I didn’t want him to get involved.”

            Hermione, Molly, Arthur and Charlie raised their brows. “That is a lie.” Ron spat angrily. “I told Harry about the trial the day he came back from talking to you.” Ron said smirking.

            Draco arched a brow. “That may be true but I did not know that. Harry never told me that. I was under the impression that he had not known about the trial since he doesn’t have a subscription with the Daily Prophet. Like I said, I didn’t want Harry involved so I never told him. I didn’t ask for Harry to speak out on my behalf.” Ron gaped openly.

            “If he didn’t ask you to defend his family then why did you?” Arthur asked Harry curiously. None of this was making sense. He had thought that the Malfoy heir had asked Harry to do that.

            “Because Draco and Narcissa saved my life. Without either of them then the war would have been lost.” Harry said smirking inwardly at the shocked looks seen across the table. He had not given Bill or Fleur any details regarding why he defended the Malfoy’s yesterday so they were also gaping. Although Fleur did it with a lot more finesse than her husband. It shouldn’t have come as such a shock. All of this had been announced during the trail.

            “What are you talking about?” Hermione demanded with furrowed brows.

            “That night at Malfoy Manor when we were caught by snatchers, Draco lied and told them that it wasn’t me when they asked. If he had told them the truth, then they would have called Voldemort immediately and Dobby never would’ve had time to save us.” Harry’s voice cracked a little when speaking about Dobby.

            Draco lifted the hand that wasn’t holding Harry’s and leaned over to squeeze his shoulder. “It’s alright.” He whispered. Harry shot him a grateful look.

            “Your aunt is the one that killed him!” Ron snarled like that somehow made it Draco’s fault. “Don’t act like you care about Dobby!”

            Draco’s face hardened before he forced himself to relax. “Did you forget whose house elf Dobby was before Harry set him free? You presume to know what I think? Dobby was the one who practically raised me. Dobby was the one who watched over me when my parents were gone. Which was a lot. Do not assume what I do or do not care about. I liked Dobby just as much as Harry did. Yes Bellatrix was the one who killed him but that does not make it my fault. What she did in her life had no correlation to me.” The steel in Draco’s voice was not something that the twins had ever heard. It made them wonder if this is why Draco cared for Kreacher so much. Did he just have a soft spot for house elves?

            Draco Malfoy liked Dobby? Hermione thought that this was just odd. She had known that Lucius had treated Dobby awful and she assumed that the whole family had as well.

            Ron was staring at Malfoy like he had never seen him before. He hadn’t actually thought that he cared for Dobby. He shifted in his seat a little uncomfortably.

            Arthur didn’t like the statement about a house elf raising him. Children weren’t meant to be raised like that. Children need the care of their parents. Then again, the thought of Lucius showing care to anyone was a little farfetched. He wondered if this is why the Malfoy heir became a deatheater. Did he do it because he grew up without love? Or did he join because he wanted to? 

            Harry bit his lip and looked down. He hadn’t really given it much thought but Draco lost a friend the day Harry set Dobby free. With no siblings and absentee parents, Draco must have been so lonely and Harry took away his only friend at the house.

            Draco turned to Harry and frowned. “Stop that.” He ordered. Brows furrowed around the table. Stop what?

            “No need to feel guilty. Yes I cared for Dobby a great deal but he was absolutely miserable at the manor. Remember what I told you on the quidditch pitch? I am happy that you set him free. He deserved more than being our house elf. I had the other house elves to keep me company. It wasn’t the same but I was fine. So none of that.” Draco demanded with a small smile. Harry huffed but nodded his head.

            “Didn’t your other house elves deserved to be set free?” Hermione asked crossly. Just because Malfoy liked Dobby didn’t make up for owning other house elves. Harry couldn’t contain the groan. Great she was going to start on her S.P.E.W nonsense.

            Draco furrowed his brows in confusion. “Well Dobby wanted to be free. What you must understand is that house elves thrive on the bonds that connect them to their Masters. They have their own magic yes but they enjoy being a part of families. They like serving wizards. House elves have an abundance of magic thrumming inside of their bodies, it is so much more potent than our own magic. With so much magic their cores can’t handle it all. They need to release the magic and the servitude with the families they are bound to releases the pent-up magic reserves every time they finish performing a spell.” Draco explained.

            Hermione frowned. She had read plenty of books in the library and none of them remotely came close to that. “None of that has been mentioned in any of the books I have read.’’ She said suspiciously as she ignored the glare that Harry was sending her.

            Draco laughed. “Well they wouldn’t, would they? You don’t see the books telling you how goblins perform their magic or the delicate ways they mine. Or how the centaurs see the future in the skies. Or how the fairies jump through the realms. Magical creatures like to keep the knowledge of their kind to themselves. Have you ever actually asked a house elf what they thought about being bound?”

            Hermione frowned deeply. “They have been conditioned by wizards to think that they like servitude!”

            Draco shook his head. “That is not true. House elves approached wizards first. House elves are closely related to fairies. They have their own realm. They don’t stay bound to wizards because they have some form of brain washing. They stay because they want to. Dobby could have left our house at any time he felt like it if he feared for his safety. There are many house elves in their realm that never become bound. Not every house elf wants that. There are other things they could do in their realm but like I said earlier, they need to release the pent-up magic. Dobby was different than most house elves. I imagine if he hadn’t worked at Hogwarts that he would have gone back to their realm.”

            Harry was just as interested in this lesson as Hermione was. Unlike Hermione he believed what Draco was saying. He was confused as to why Dobby stayed with the Malfoys if he could have left at any time.

            “Where are you getting all of your information from? Why did Dobby stay and endure your father’s abuse if he could have left?” Hermione demanded to know. If this was all true, then why was none of it written down?

            Draco sighed, what was with the twenty questions? Was she always like this? It was exhausting. “A lot of it is just passed down from parent to child really. A lot of knowledge is passed down that way. History that isn’t in the books, spells that aren’t in the libraries and magic that isn’t taught in school.” Hermione had a scandalized expression that there were things that she hadn’t learned about that weren’t in books. How is that fair to muggleborns? How could they learn the things that children from magical families knew?

            “As for why Dobby stayed, well that is simple.” Draco shifted uncomfortably. “There is an Elf Council and they give out laws for house elves. They also provide protection. If a family does not treat their house elf in a respectful manner, then they are allowed to leave immediately and a report is filed back to the council. More than one report and the Elf Council will pull all house elves in servitude to that family and bar the family from ever being allowed to have another.” Hermione looked thoughtful that this.

            “You are correct in saying that my father abused Dobby. He did. Dobby was always an eccentric elf and my father held no patience for him. Dobby was not cut out for servitude. I had always wondered why he didn’t stay in their realm. Surely, he would have been happier there but he liked it down here. I think the reason that my father continued to abuse Dobby was because Dobby allowed it. My father never treated any of the other house elves like that. But he also knew why Dobby didn’t file a report to the council. Dobby stuck around for me. Like I said earlier, he was the one to raise me. Dobby liked to take care of me and my father knew this. You see it is not becoming of a pureblood heir to care for house elves. I think his harsh treatment of Dobby was a way of punishing me. To be honest, I think he was thrilled that Harry had freed Dobby. It meant that he no longer had to deal with him and it meant that there would be no report filed.”

            Harry didn’t care what anyone thought as he pulled Draco into a hug. Draco was grateful for the touch, he had been dying for physical comfort since they got here. He wasn’t used to not being able to touch Harry whenever he wanted. They were an overly affectionate couple so this had been killing him.

            “Don’t blame yourself for Dobby sticking around. It was his choice to make. It is obvious that he cared for you. Okay? Don’t beat yourself up about it okay?” Harry whispered into Draco’s ear so that no one could hear them. Draco nodded and breathed in Harry’s scent before pulling away and flushing at the surprised looks everyone was shooting them.

            “If this is all common knowledge than how come none of you guys told me this?” Hermione asked the Weasley family. “I tried to tell you that house elves liked servitude.” Ron defended.

            Hermione turned blazing eyes on him. “Yes but you didn’t explain why they did. Honestly I feel like a complete idiot for starting S.P.E.W and you never once bothered to go into detail.” She thought back to all the snide comments and laughter the rest of her housemates had whenever she tried talking to them about it.

            Ron’s face started turning red. “I didn’t know why they liked it, I just knew that they did.” The rest of the Weasley all gave Ron looks of disbelief.

            “Ronald we taught you about house elves when you were a child.” Arthur scolded with a frown.

            Ron shrugged. “Well yeah but I forgot about it mostly. It wasn’t like we had one for me to remember. At least I remembered that they liked it!” He defended himself.

            The twins wrinkled their nose at Ron. “We thought that-” Fred began.

            “Ronniekins had told you-”

            “About them and that you still-”

            “Wanted to free them.” George said frowning at Ron.

            Hermione was still glaring at Ron. “I can’t believe this information wasn’t in the school books.” No wonder everyone laughed at her when she tried to get people involved in freeing them.

            “A lot of stuff isn’t in the books.” Bill said darkly glaring at his parents. They shifted nervously. Molly hoped that Bill wasn’t going to bring up soulmates. She never should have told him about it.

            Arthur cleared his throat, quickly changing the subject.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys know that I don't like ending chapters in the middle of a conversation. Sorry! But I had to do so. 
> 
> What are your thoughts so far? I know there hasn't been a whole lot mentioned yet. No worries. There is still plenty left. I didn't want the whole thing to be anger filled so hopefully you enjoyed the little history lesson in there. I like making Hermione look like an idiot. :)
> 
> Even though Harry now gets a long with Severus, I am sure a part of him hates to keep defending the man. Lol. Anyone else find it hypocritical that Ron can be okay with Harry befriending Severus but not Draco? Perhaps because he was a spy? Or maybe just because Ron is delusional.
> 
> I know this chapter has been a long time coming and hopefully it was a good start. I considered combining the chapters into one but it would have been long as fuck. Way too long. So let me know what you thought so far.  
> -XxTheDarkLordxX
> 
> *Edit* Totally forgot to add in the French translations. My bad.  
> Fleur- “Calmez-vous. Tout ira bien. Respirez Draco - Calm down. Everything will be alright. Breathe Draco.  
> Draco- Je suis tellement nerveux. Je ne veux pas que Harry le reprenne. Ll est assez nerveux comme il est. - I'm just so nervous. I do not want Harry to pick up on it. He is nervous enough as it is.   
> Fleur- C'est gentil - How sweet.   
> Remember this was just literal translations. I am sure it isn't how it would be worded in French. I am not bilingual. *Shrugs*


	38. Mistakes

            Arthur cleared his throat, quickly changing the subject. “You said that Narcissa saved you too?” He asked Harry.

            Harry nodded. “Yes. Voldemort had sent her to check on me and see if I was alive. She lied and told him that I was dead, which allowed for a couple things to happen. We would have lost the war if she had been honest with him.”

            Arthur hummed in thought. He wasn’t sure what to think about this. It was an unexpected development. “And Lucius?” He asked darkly.

            Draco looked down at his plate refusing to meet anyone’s eyes. Harry shrugged. “I chose to defend him for personal reasons.” That was all Harry was willing to say on the matter.

            “You mean you saved him for your _friend_.” Ron said bitterly. Harry narrowed his eyes.

            “Jealousy is not becoming Ronald.” Ron’s ears flushed red and he glared. “No. Like I said earlier, Draco didn’t ask me to do anything. I thought long and hard about saving Lucius. There is not one thing that you can bring up that I didn’t think about. I wrestled with what to do for weeks. I thought of every reason under the sun as to why I should let him rot. But… ultimately I decided to protect him. It was my decision to do so. I will not go in details or explain those reasons. You can hate my choice and think me foolish but it will not change a thing.”

            Arthur bristled with the fact that Harry wasn’t going to tell them what made the man redeemable. He wanted to know why Harry had felt the need to speak out on behalf of the despicable man. He could understand Harry’s reasoning regarding the Malfoy heir and his mother but Lucius Malfoy was a deatheater that actively fought on the opposite side of the war. Whether it was the first or second war, Lucius had been on you-know-who’s side. The man had always been so far deep into the dark arts that he couldn’t see clearly. What in the world would have possessed Harry to defend him?

            “So you aren’t even going to tell us?” Ron demanded with a hurt tone to his voice. Harry raised both eyebrows in disbelief.

            “Why would I tell you guys anything? It isn’t like you guys have been there for me. No. You don’t get to treat me like I meant nothing to you and then with a simple apology think that gives you the right to demand answers. You didn’t even apologize Ron so you aren’t getting jack shite from me! I saved Lucius Malfoy for my own reasons that are none of your business!” Harry’s voice rose in volume with each sentence.

            Molly and Arthur at least had the grace to look ashamed. Good, Harry thought vindictively. It wasn’t even close to being acceptable but it was still nice to see. Hermione looked close to tears but Harry couldn’t bother to care. Tears were nice and all but where were they when he was crying over their treatment? Where were they when he was questioning his self-worth after they abandoned him?  

            “You want me to apologize for saying the truth?” Ron asked astonished. “You should be the one apologizing for my face! Did you have to go all muggle? You could have just hexed me. I had to stay in the infirmary for hours because of you!” Ron bellowed raising his fists.  

            “The truth? You are barking mad. There was not an ounce of truth in the hogwash you were spewing! I will not apologize for hitting you. You were bang out of line and I would do it all over again if I had to.” Harry said shooting daggers at Ron.

            Ron dropped his mouth open in surprise. “I don’t believe this. Harry all I was saying was that Malfoy was a bloody deatheater. That isn’t a lie! You can’t even say he was a spy like Snape. There is nothing redeemable about Malfoy. He is nothing but a slimy git and murdering deatheater. He _chose_ to become a deatheater. He wanted to be just like his precious daddy. He didn’t deserve to be saved from Azkaban. He saved your life, big deal. We would’ve done it too. None of this explains how you can just let his treatment of you go.” Ron spat out as his eyes lit in fury.

            Harry made to stand up but Draco grabbed a hold of him to hold him still. Draco didn’t want Harry to do something he would regret.

            “You don’t even know what you are talking about! How can you sit here and judge him based off what it looks like on the outside? You know his mistakes but you don’t know him! You don’t know the circumstances that led to that decision. You don’t know what Draco had to endure or the things he had to live through. You are so fucking narrow minded that you think the world is black or white. Good or evil. Deatheater or Order of the Phoenix. Light or Dark. Muggle or Wizard. Pureblood or Muggleborn. There is so much more out there than the shite everyone else believes in. Instead of judging primarily on what you can see, why don’t you think with your brain? Why don’t you try and see the underneath of things? I know you weren’t put in Ravenclaw but you must possess some brain cells in there! If you think our petty rivalry doesn’t pale in comparison to the war then you are barking! Of course him saving my life had a huge impact on forgiving him. I would be dead without Draco. Literally dead. Get that through your thick skull.”   

             “Are you calling me stupid?” Ron demanded hotly. Harry let out a scream of frustration. “That would be the thing you harp on. Did you not hear a word I said before that?” Harry asked a little hysterically.

            “What does it matter if you think I am dumb?” Harry actually laughed in disbelief. He couldn’t understand how someone could be so thick.

            “I give up. You are never going to look past your own misguided notions and see Draco for who he is. You will always judge him. To you it doesn’t matter that he saved my life. To you it doesn’t matter that he was one the most caring people I have ever met. Draco could spend the rest of his life taking care of the needy and feeding the poor and you would still say he has some nefarious plot planned. He could be the most generous person in the world but you would still look down upon him. You are never going to stop being so bigoted against him. This entire conversation is pointless because you are never going to change. I already told you once Ron, Draco is in my life to stay. If you cannot handle that then you can get the fuck out of my life. It wouldn’t be hard, you already abandoned me three times now. I am used to your disappearing act.” Ron leaned away like he had been punched.

            “That’s not fair!” Hermione said glaring at Harry. Why would Harry say something like that? He knew how sensitive Ron was when it came to that.

            Harry turned to her. “Why is that? Because you have forgiven him? I haven’t, not fully. If you want to forgive him then that is your choice. I don’t have to agree with you but I accept your decision to do so. Just like you don’t have to agree with me forgiving Draco to accept my decisions. Ron abandoned me in fourth year because he was jealous and wouldn’t listen to me. I tried explaining things to him but he just wouldn’t listen. You knew I was right and instead of standing up for me you just became the mediator between us. You never once told him that he was wrong or that he should just stop being so thick. No. You wanted to remain friends with both of us but who cares if Harry is hurt? The only thing that you can see past is a bloody book and Ron.” Hermione bit her lip to stop the trembling.

            “Then he abandons us during the fucking war! And don’t give me the excuse that the artifact made him do it either. Because newsflash, you and I both wore the fucking thing. Yeah it made us bitter and angry but we didn’t jump ship and leave! I understand that he was your sort of boyfriend at the time but you weren’t the only one hurt. So was I. He was my best friend and he just fucking left us like we didn’t matter. You cried for days but didn’t stop to think about what I could be feeling. Again, all you cared about was Ron. It doesn’t matter if Harry is hurting, does it? Yes, he came back but does that make up for leaving? Hell no. It just shows that he wasn’t completely spineless.” Ron bristled at the insults. He slung an arm around the now crying Hermione.

            “Those were mistakes and you know it. Why are you bringing them up?” Ron demanded to know.

            “Oh so only you can capitalize on making mistakes? It is okay for you to fuck up and be forgiven but not for Draco? That is so hypocritical of you.” Harry said furiously.

            “I was never a deatheater! My mistakes weren’t that serious.” Ron argued standing up while keeping an arm around Hermione.

            “Says you! Who is the judge over deciding whose mistakes were worse? You? Sorry but you are too blinded by hate to decide anything. You don’t know the reasoning behind him becoming a deatheater. He didn’t wake up one morning and say ‘you know I really think that I want to spend the rest of my life kissing the feet of a snakelike bastard’. There were extenuating circumstances that led him to doing what he had to. You will never know how brave he is. You will never know the depths of his character because you refuse to acknowledge anything but your hatred. But you Ron, what are your reasoning’s behind abandoning me? Huh? Fourth year was petty jealousy. You didn’t like that I was gaining even more public attention despite that it was all negative. Then with the war, what was it that you said? Oh yeah, that you hadn't signed up for any of it. You had enough and said fuck it. Well good for you Ron. Like you were the only one who had enough. Like you were the only one suffering. Like you were the only one who fucking mattered. Then you abandon me again over petty jealousy and childish grudges. Tell me how any of that can explained away? Tell me one honest excuse why any of that warrants forgiveness? You say they were mistakes and expect to be forgiven but refuse to acknowledge that Draco also deserves to be forgiven. He had legit reasons for the things he did in the war. I don’t expect you to forgive him especially since you don’t know why he did the things he did but honestly, even if you did know them, you would still say it wasn’t enough. I may have forgiven you for most of the shite you have done to me but I can never forget them. I never asked you to forgive Draco! Not once. All I wanted from you was to be there for me like I was there for you! I have never treated you like the way you have treated me. I have always been the best possible friend that I could be. I can’t say the same thing for you! So don’t even try to come at me with this bullshit because you will lose every time.” Harry finished panting slightly as he slumped down in his chair.

            Ron sat back down not saying a word. Everyone was looking at Harry in surprise. Usually he was not one for confrontations, he didn’t really ever raise his voice and he was kind of a push over. But not this new Harry.

            Ron was hearing what Harry was saying but it just wasn’t sticking. The things he had done were much bigger than Harry was making them out to be. Deatheater. How could that be anything but the obvious? What could possibly excuse being a deatheater?

            Harry could feel a lot of stunned glances but he just didn’t care. He was so done with all of this. He felt like he had just unloaded years’ worth of pent-up anger. And he supposed that was true. He felt loads lighter. Maybe all he really needed was a good screaming match. Well he certainly knew how to channel his anger now.

            Draco could tell that this had been a long time coming and that Harry needed to let it all out. When he had pictured this dinner, he had thought it would be more geared toward him. He knew Harry would never allow them to get away with insulting him but he was a little surprised with how stubborn Weasel is. Draco had known that it would take an act of a god to make Weasel accept him, so he had not even dared to hope for that. But the sheer depths of his utter ignorance was staggering. It was like he had selective hearing. He only picked the things that he could harp on and ignored the rest even if it proved him wrong. Not for the first time, Draco wondered what exactly Harry had ever seen in his best friend.

            Eating was awkward. No one really wanted to move in the aftermath of the argument. Harry thought the atmosphere made Mrs. Weasley’s usually good food tasteless. He wasn’t even hungry, so he just pushed the food around and made it seem like he was eating. A quick glance at towards Draco and he realized that he was doing the same thing.

            “How was your day dear?” Molly asked, scrambling for something to change the conversation to. Harry let out a breath of disbelief. She wanted to do mundane after an explosion like that? She hasn’t once spoken against her son. She just let him say whatever he pleases and that right there is why he acts the way he does. Allowing the conversation to change without talking about it leads people to think that things are okay. That is not healthy. You have to talk about fights not pretend they don’t happen. Harry considered the question and couldn’t help a little hysterical laugh to bubble out.

            “My day was just peachy. Nothing like death, reunions and past recollections to make you wonder if you are having an existential crisis.” After he said it, Harry was wishing he could take it back. Now there would be an interrogation. Fuck. Was this dinner over yet? Could they leave? Draco groaned. Merlin, was Harry deliberately making this difficult?

            Fred and George covered their faces in their hands and ignored the horrified look on everyone’s faces.

            “Death? Who died?” Hermione asked in a trembling voice. She hoped it wasn’t anyone she knew. With the war having ended not too long ago, she didn’t want any more death.

            Harry sighed. “No one. It didn’t come out like I intended.” Harry tried to reassure her. She raised a brow as she frowned.

            “That isn’t how it sounded.” She pointed out. Hermione never could let things go that didn’t make sense. It just wasn’t in her nature. The way Harry was acting went against what he was saying.  

            “I meant it figuratively not literally. Okay let’s move on and drop it.” He stressed.

            Hermione was curious now. He was protesting it too much for it to not mean something. “But that-”    

            “Hermione.” Harry’s voice was as hard as steel. “I asked you to drop it. Must you insist on knowing everything? Can you not take in account of my own wishes? I obviously didn’t want to talk about it, hence me saying to move on and drop it. Let it go.” Harry said in frustration. Why was it always a million questions when it came to her? Ron had zero tact but he had figured Hermione would know when to leave well enough alone.

            Hermione’s eyes misted up and she nodded. “Don’t you talk to her like that?” Ron bellowed angrily. “No it’s okay Ron.” She said in a small shaky voice that had Ron pulling her into a hug and shooting daggers at Harry.

     Draco looked at her incredulously, the girl could be a Slytherin with the way she was manipulating her boyfriend. She pushes Harry to lengths he obviously didn’t want to go and then when he gets upset, she makes it appear like she was wronged somehow. Draco wasn’t sure if Harry was aware of this at all but he seriously doubted this was the first time the girl was manipulative.

            Harry at first questioned if he had been too hard on her, he knew that Hermione was always one to question things but she had been driving him up the wall. Almost literally. But when he felt an inkling of suspicion from Draco it made him reevaluate things. Maybe he had been harsh but it had been needed to be said. She needed to know that he didn’t like it when she questioned him like that. And by god if someone says to drop it, then by all means fucking drop it. It wasn’t rocket science. Hermione knew him, she should have known he was being serious.  

            “Don’t look at me like that Ron. I asked her to drop it and she wouldn’t. How many times was I going to say it before she listened?” Ron opened his mouth to argue but Harry held up his hand and looked to Hermione. “Maybe it came out a tad harsh but I won’t apologize. You are always questioning everything that I do and say. Just once I would like it if you took what I had to say into consideration. It is like you are always trying to disprove the things that I say, like it somehow makes you smarter if you can prove me wrong. I may get details wrong but the hunches themselves are always correct. And when I say to let something go then just listen.” Harry told her firmly but in a softer tone then he used before.

            Hermione bristled at the accusations. “Yeah like when you were right about Sirius? I told you it didn’t make sense but did you listen to me? No. You are right, I do question you a lot but if I don’t then you do stupid things! So excuse me for pushing!” She said hotly.

            Harry leaned away like he had been slapped. Ron wined and leaned away from Hermione. That had been a mistake. Hermione’s eyes filled with tears when she realized what she just said. “Harry-”

            “No.” Harry said as his voice cracked. Draco squeezed Harry’s hand and sent him all the love he could. Fuck. If they were somewhere else, Draco would have hexed her into the next life. What would have possessed her to say that? Talk about going for the jugular. He knew how much Harry blamed himself, he didn’t need these buffoons making his soulmate feel worse. What kind of friendship do they have? Not one Draco would want. He would have wrecked Pansy if she had the nerve to say something like that to him.  

      “Don’t apologize. It would be hallow and pointless. You just said what you have been thinking. If this had been a couple days ago I might have agreed with you. I might have crumpled under the accusation. But you know what? Sirius’s death wasn’t my fault.” Harry said with as much conviction. Fuck that hurt. She knew the grief that he had been holding in. She knew what his death had done to him. It still took till today for Draco to make him realize that it wasn’t his fault. Not to mention that Sirius himself didn’t blame him. Why would she say that to him? 

            Harry ignored the stinging of his eyes. “I listened to what you had to say which is why I tried to contact Sirius at home. You know this. Once Kreacher said Sirius wasn’t there even you believed that he was at the Ministry. I know it didn’t make sense but the evidence suggested otherwise. Was it a mistake? Yes. Do I wish I had never gone? More than you will ever know. His death killed me and you know this! To use his death as a reason to excuse your rude unbecoming behavior disgusts me. Instead of arguing your way to being right, maybe you should have used some common sense and realized that you were in the wrong. You should have just apologized for pushing me and then that would have been the end of it. But no… miss ‘I can’t ever be wrong’ just had to keep on arguing. You just had to show me how right you are. Well how do you feel? Do you feel vindicated? Did you get what you wanted?”

            Tears were now streaming down Hermione’s face. “Harry.” She begged. Harry shook his head. “Save it.”

            “She is trying to apologize! The least you could do is listen!” Ron argued angrily. Harry ignored Hermione’s pleading look.

            “Like that makes it okay?! How would you feel if I used a dead relative against you to win an argument? You would blow up if I brought Percy into an argument where it had no place being.” Harry explained calmly not letting Ron’s anger get to him.

            “Don’t you bring Percy into this!” Harry moaned in mental agony. “Are you kidding me?? That was my entire point Ron. Fuck you can be so thick sometimes! The dead should never be brought up in arguments where they don’t belong. Just because she apologizes doesn’t make it magically okay.” Harry said throwing his hands in the air.

            “You calling me stupid again?” Ron demanded.

            “Oh my god.” Harry said as he clutched his head. Ron’s stupidity was hurting Harry’s brain. “This is so pointless.” Harry said closing his eyes. Merlin, Harry felt like he was talking to a brick wall. At least the one in diagon alley did what you wanted! Ron was worse than a brick wall! Harry couldn’t even come up with a proper analogy. This entire dinner was a fucking joke.

            “Let’s all try to get a long now.” Molly said sternly. Harry wanted to look at her like she had lost it but he just didn’t have the energy anymore. He couldn’t bring himself to care. Did she not even care that her son was a thick blustering idiot that had no common sense whatsoever? Harry was positive that even Goyle would have understood the things Harry was trying to teach Ron. And wasn’t that just sad?

            “Have you considered what you are going to do after Hogwarts Harry?” Arthur asked when the silence got too much to handle. Harry huffed but welcomed the change. It had to better than arguing, right?

            Harry lifted his head out of his hands and smiled softly. “I am going to become a lawyer. So is Draco.” Harry added in afterthought. Everyone but Bill and Fleur were surprised.

            Fred and George thought it was a fantastic idea. After watching the way Draco handled Zonko it wasn’t a surprise. Draco had a natural talent for intimidation and he knew the laws to back it up with. Not to mention his Slytherin side was exactly what a good devious lawyer needed. Harry would also make a great lawyer. He was passionate in the way he defended his beliefs. The way he had defended the Malfoys was brilliant. He was sneaky in the way he could get anyone to believe what he was saying. George had to wonder if there wasn’t anything that Harry couldn’t get someone off for. He could somehow see Harry managing to make a murderer look like the victim and the entire Wizengamot in tears by the end of the trial.  

            Ron frowned. Since when did Harry not want to become an Auror? That had been their dream since fifth year. It was something that they were going to do together. Why was everything suddenly changing so quickly?

     Hermione wasn’t sure what to think. She didn’t think Harry had what it would take to study to become a lawyer. Not to mention the research that it would take for each case that he would take on. Book work had never been Harry’s strong suit.  

            “Since when?” Fred demanded in a hurt tone. Why hadn’t they mentioned it? Harry shot an apologetic look to the twins. “It has been something I have been thinking about for a while now and you know how well Draco will be. When I was studying for his trail, I realized that I really enjoyed it. The rush of being in the court wasn’t something that I had experienced before. Then I remembered what you told us about making your business an empire and got me thinking. I liked the idea of creating our own empire. We talked about it and Draco and I are going to open up our own law firm after we become lawyers.” Harry said with growing excitement.

            “Which is why we hadn’t gotten around to telling anyone about it. We only discovered this last night at Bill’s place. Then with everything that happened today it slipped my mind.” Fred shifted guiltily while George smacked the back of his head.

            Bill and Fleur frowned as they wondered what had happened. It seemed like the twins were in on whatever had happened. 

            “I am sorry. I know how stressful today has been. I-” Harry smiled and reached out to grab his hand.

            “Don’t worry about it. I know you didn’t mean anything by it. I would be upset if you made life changing choices and didn’t tell me about too. Besides, when we go to the Manor tomorrow you can be the one to lord it over everyone else’s heads that you found out before they did.” Harry teased playing right into Fred’s hands.

            Harry grinned when the guilty look disappeared to be replaced with a mischievous gleam as he shared a grin with George.

            “You two go to Malfoy Manor?” Arthur asked sharply. Harry winced when the attention was now on the twins. Oops.

            Fred and George lifted their noses in a signature Draco move of defiance. Harry had to bite his lip to stop from smiling at the horror Draco was feeling. Draco scowled at Harry’s amusement. It wasn’t funny! Now they would think that he was a bad influence on them! If anything, it was the other way around. The twins of terror were really starting to rub off on him and he wasn’t sure if it was in a good way or not. 

“Yes we do. We have been-” George began. 

“Invited by Lucius himself on a-” 

“Couple of occasions and depending-” 

“On the day, sometimes we show up unannounced.” Fred finished with another mischievous grin.

“Lucius Malfoy ‘as eenvited you zoo ‘is ‘ome?” Fleur asked in surprise at the same time that Bill said, “You show up unannounced?” 

“He has.” Fred said with a smirk.

“We do.” George said with the same smirk. 

Draco shook his head. “It’s only because he likes you two. He would have to, to let you get away with calling him Lucy. Merlin, I thought he was going to kill you. Harry was planning your eulogy, while I was thinking of which flower arrangements to put in your casket that wouldn’t clash with your hair.” The twins busted out laughing. 

“You called him Lucy? And lived?” Charlie asked in surprise. He had never considered his younger brothers to be that outgoing, which is why he knew dragon taming was not in their cards… but taking on Lucius Malfoy like that was as close enough to a human dragon as you can get. 

“It kind of just came out. George and I call him that when he isn’t around and well… oops.” Fred said grinning.

Laughter broke out amongst the table while some still couldn’t wrap their minds around the fact that the twins liked going to Malfoy Manor.

“Speaking of life changing decisions.” Bill said a little crossly as he stared at the twins. Identical looks of confusion could be seen on their faces. 

“I had to hear from Harry about you expanding the shop.” He said folding his arms across his chest. 

“You are opening a second shop? That’s great!” Charlie said in enthusiasm. He was really proud of his baby brothers. 

Fred and George shot a look to Harry, who just shrugged sheepishly in reply. They sighed in unison. 

“Yes we bought out Zonko’s Joke Shop.” George said rather proudly. Jaws dropped. 

“You bought out Zonko’s? That is sooo cool!” Ginny said in excitement. “Filch is going to hate that!” Ron added. Harry chuckled thinking about how much more diligent the bitter man would be when searching the students after Hogsmede trips.

“Good.” Fred and George said with wicked grins. It was their lot in life to make the grumpy humorless man miserable. 

“Are you sure you have enough money to open another shop?” Molly asked biting her lip in worry. Even two years later she was hoping that they would get bored of this silly joke fantasy and get actual jobs. 

The twins rolled their eyes. “Despite what you think.”

“The shop is rather successful.” Fred said a little annoyed. 

“Actually, with Draco’s help-”

“We only paid 60 percent of-” 

“The retail price when we bought him out.” George said with a smug grin. 

“So we have a lot of money saved up.” 

Everyone was looking back and forth from the twins and Draco. “How did he get the price so low?” Hermione asked like Draco wasn’t even in the room. Harry gritted his teeth. The twins frowned at her but looked to Draco to answer. 

“I acted as their lawyer and asked to see the necessary documents. I used some of my father’s teachings and managed to offer him a fair price.” Arthur narrowed his eyes at hearing about teachings from Lucius. 

“What kind of teachings? Murder and torture that he passed down from his Master? Or did you just pay him off? Like father like son.” Ron spat out. He didn’t like the sound of Draco helping his brothers at all. It all seemed fishy. The twins and Fleur gasped in outrage. Harry had to take count to ten to stop from hexing him into next week. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. The next bit of the conversation goes on for a while so I had to end the chapter right here. 
> 
> What are your thoughts? 
> 
> I don't know about you guys but I have had my fair share of arguments with people just like Ron. They hear exactly what they want to hear and that is it. Or they pick apart an entire argument while harping on one key topic and ignoring everything else. I can't stand it when people do that. 
> 
> Thoughts on Hermione? I laughed myself when even Ron realized she went too far. 
> 
> Let me know what you think.   
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	39. Partners?

            Draco took a shaky breath and quashed the flash of pain. “No.” Draco was proud that his voice remained even. Fuck Weasel. “Zonko was a crooked man. He gambled anything and everything and used the shop as collateral. He was so deep in debts that he was drowning in them. He tried selling the shop over price to compensate but he was default in his licenses and the shop was tanking. 60 percent was a fair price for the damage that man did to his store. At the time, I only knew about half of that considering he didn’t have the correct paperwork. I used my gut instinct to tell me what was going on and I was right. I didn’t force him to sell his shop. He could have refused the offer. He took it because he needed the money. That is business and I abided by the law.” Draco said narrowing his eyes. 

Ron shifted uneasily. He hadn’t expected Malfoy to actually be knowledgeable on the subject. He was sure that he had bribed his way somehow. 

“My father has taught me a lot of things. Some of them utterly useless and some of them not worth repeating. But the majority of the things that I have learned from my father are things that will help in life. There is a lot that you can say about my father that would be true and I wouldn’t even deny them. My father is cruel, prejudiced, entitled, a bastard and in some cases a coward.” Eyes widened around the table. This was coming from the person who always taunted everyone about how great his father is? 

“He flaunts money and his own superiority around constantly. His loyalty is to himself first then his family. He cares not for laws and makes up his own rules. All of that is true. You could say it all a thousand times over and I wouldn’t bat an eye. But my father never wanted me to become a deatheater. Not once. No matter how hard that may be to grasp. That wasn’t the life he wanted for me but shite happens and things were out of my control. I didn’t have a bloody choice. You are barking if you think any sane parent would teach their children what it takes to be a deatheater. My father sure as hell didn’t. I have never murdered or tortured someone. It is incredibly ignorant of you to think that my father would want that for me. You see what you want to see. In case you have forgotten but my father was locked in Azkaban when I became a deatheater. Do you think I was asked? Do you think I did this willingly? Then you would be wrong. Again, I had no choice.” Draco breathed heavily to quash the rage that he was feeling. 

Silence greeted his statement. Only Harry had ever known all of this. He hadn’t even talked to Pansy and Blaise about it but he knew he didn’t need to. His friends hadn’t cared why he did what he did. They trusted and believed in him regardless. Draco wasn’t sure what to think about spilling his guts like this to the Weasleys. He felt so open and vulnerable now. Harry was right they shouldn’t have come here. 

Harry was a little amazed and incredibly proud that Draco had the guts to talk about this. He knew how difficult this was for him to talk about. Harry gripped Draco’s hand tightly under the table and let Draco feel all the pride he had for him. Draco soaked it all up greedily. Just this feeling alone from Harry was worth it all. 

“Everyone has a choice. You just made the wrong one.” Ron said quietly and stubbornly. He didn’t buy into this story. Malfoy was an exact replica of his father. He had seen Lucius in action and there was no way he didn’t teach his son the same things. Ron wasn’t about to buy into this sob story. 

Draco laughed humorlessly. “Right. I had a choice you say? It wasn’t just join me or die you know. It was join me or your mother dies. He didn’t have to come outright and say that. He charged his way into my home and took over. If it was you, what would you do? You can keep your precious good moral fiber and tell Voldemort to go fuck himself but then your mother dies. Are you comfortable making that decision? Are you okay with the knowledge that if you mess up it is your mother’s life in your hands?” Ron’s face twisted with indecision. 

“If it was just my life on the line, then maybe I could understand the value of choice. But I had more than just myself to think about. I had no one to go to, no one to run to. I didn’t know that Sev was a spy. I had Voldemort in the Manor and Bellatrix down the hall. Who the hell was I supposed to go to? It was summer so don’t you dare say Dumbledore. I was a prisoner in my own home and by the time sixth year had come around I was already fucking stuck in my pitiful fate. Tell me Weasley what would you have done? You think it is so easy just being on the light side and fighting against Voldemort. You are a light family, no one expects you to do anything different. Fighting against Voldemort was encouraged by the light. Can you even comprehend what it would have taken to fight the stigma of the dark side? I am a Malfoy, people look at me and only see darkness. If you take my mother out of the equation and I had told Voldemort to get bent, then I would have either died or escaped. If I had managed to escape, who was going help me? Your side? Doubtful. The war is over and you can’t even stomach to see me, if the war was going on it would have been even worse. I would have given up my family to do the right thing only to be shunned by the opposition. You sit here and judge me but you don’t even stop to consider the alternatives. You may think that purebloods are so prejudiced and you would be right, most of them are. But how the fuck are you any different? What does the shite I did to you in school have any play in the war? What does that have to do with anything? You would have condemned me on the things that were irrelevant in a heartbeat. It wouldn’t just be you either. The whole fucking order would have condemned me. So don’t lecture me about choices when there were none.” Draco was panting now with the exertion to keep going.

“Doing the things you did with Harry took guts and a lot of bravery. I won’t deny that. But don’t preach to me about my life when you don’t know the horrors I went through. Would you like waking up every morning to eat breakfast with a mass murderer? Would you like having your home turned into a deatheater headquarters? If you think he was the worst out of his minions, then you would be wrong. He had men at his disposal so vicious and cruel it would make your toes curl and they were in my house! There was no sanctuary in my own home. Not one damn spot to go to that could tune out the screams of their victims. Do you know what it is like to be awoken in the middle of the night to the screams as someone somewhere is being tortured to death for information? What is worse is that after so long it just became normal. To be woken up by screams was normal. How fucked up is that? That shouldn’t happen. While you were looking for ways to stop the war, I was fucking living it. The war was everywhere. There was no escape. Hate me all you want for the shite I did to you in school. That I can understand. That I can’t explain away or even make excuses for. I was a bully. I did and said cruel things to you. I imagine a lot of your worst memories in school dealt with me. I bullied you for sport and I despised you for no reason. I am not going to pretend I didn’t. I am not going to ask you to forget about it because that is impossible. I have made a lot of mistakes in my life that I wish I hadn’t. So if you are going to hate me then hate me for that. But do not hate me for the things that I had to do to protect my family. If you can sit here after all of this and tell me that you would have done it differently than you can fuck off.” Draco finished narrowing his eyes. 

Draco slumped in his chair and rested a lot of his weight against Harry’s shoulders. He said way more than he ever intended. It was like once he started he just couldn’t stop. He wasn’t even sure what made him explain. He could have just let the insults roll off of his back and ignored him. Draco felt drained. Utterly drained. Draco looked up and was surprised to see admiration in a lot of the faces around the table. 

Fred and George shared a look. That was intense. Fred stared at his soon to be brother in law with a new sense of wonder. He had known that there was more than meets the eye when it came to Draco. Fred had also known that there was a lot of things about Draco that only Harry knew. He felt honored that he was getting to witness this. For Draco to go into details about what he went through was a big deal. Most people probably would have shoved that away and pretended it never happened. If they were sensible they would probably talk to a mind healer. Draco had gone through some horrible things and he was still an amazing person. To be able to talk about it with a family that was hostile to him, blew Fred away. 

George couldn’t help but be proud of Draco. This was the side of him that made Harry take a second look. This was the Draco that had been through horrid things but still kept fighting. This was someone who even though was still in a shitty position in life managed to lie and save Harry’s life. This was someone that he was proud to call family. Hearing background information like this was humbling. George was saddened in a way, none of this would come out. People would still look at Draco and only see what they want to see. That was their loss because they were missing out on a wonderful opportunity to get to know a great man. 

Ron was torn. He wasn’t sure if all of that was the truth but he knew some of it had to be. He knew that Malfoy Manor had been their headquarters so he couldn’t imagine what Malfoy would have witnessed living there. He still couldn’t believe that Malfoy didn’t want to be a deatheater, that was something he just knew was a lie. Maybe life as a deatheater wasn’t all that he had imagined it would be but he was the one who made the choice to get the damn thing, so it was only fair that he live with the consequences. 

Hermione was a little surprised at how readily Malfoy acknowledged that he was and is a bully. Most bullies don’t see that what they are doing is wrong. They blame the victims but Malfoy was taking credit for the things he did wrong. Hermione had dealt with bullies all her life. Even before Hogwarts she had been bullied. Then it was just girls making fun of her wild hair and her book smarts. She had always gobbled up knowledge. Books won’t tease you, books can’t make fun of you and books will always be there for you. Hermione had always found solace and comfort when learning. Malfoy was right in saying he was their worst memories of school. She had plenty of happy times at Hogwarts but a lot of that was shadowed by the taunts and the jeers of his little gang. She couldn’t go one day without being told that she was just a know it all mudblood from the Slytherins. Maybe it was just more than Malfoy that insulted her but a big chunk of it was from him. And wasn’t he their leader? If he had stopped insulting her than surely the rest would have stopped too.

Hermione didn’t know Malfoy at all but she was tempted to think that there was more than meets the eye. She wasn’t sure what to think about the things that he had gone through during the war. That would make it more complicated to think about. That would blur the lines. That would mean that Malfoy wasn’t evil nor was he good. He would be a new classification and if she acknowledged that then it would mean that there was probably other Slytherin children that had gone through similar things. She didn’t want to wonder what was going on with them. She didn’t want to think that other people may have had it worse than they did. Because listening to Malfoy made her realize that she would have taken Horcrux hunting any day over the stuff he handled. That thought alone made her uncomfortable. She didn’t want to sympathize with him. Everything was just so much easier when he was the bad guy. It was easy to hate him. It was normal and expected to see him as the villain. She wasn’t prepared to look at him in a new light. She didn’t want any of this. She wished she had just stayed up in Ginny’s room for the dinner. Then her world would make sense again. 

“I can’t imagine what any of that would have been like.” Arthur said softly. It was true, he really couldn’t. He wanted to blame this on Lucius. If the man had never been a deatheater than his son never would’ve had to go through that. Draco shrugged not wanting to go into any more details. 

“Draco is a good person Ron. Just open your eyes and see that.” Fred said through gritted teeth. Draco looked up rather touched. George shot him a small smile. That smile said more than words could and in that moment, they were telling Draco that they were there for him and that meant the world to him. 

Ron folded his arms and pointedly looked in the opposite direction. Once again the awkward tension became thick. 

Harry looked around and tried to guess who would be the one to break it this time. 

George cleared his throat. “Adding on to the life changing decisions.” Fred shifted in his seat. 

“George and I have contracted two new business partners.” Harry and Draco opened their mouths in surprise. 

“Shut up.” Harry said in disbelief. Draco grinned widely. “No way.” The twins grinned at their reactions. 

“Like for real? Not just helping out?” Harry wondered. 

“For real, actual business partners.” Fred said smiling widely. 

“Even had licenses made for them too.”

Harry and Draco shared pleased feelings through the bond. That was the best news they had heard all day. 

“What about their plans for after Hogwarts? They talked about becoming publicists.” Draco piped up. 

The twins nodded. “They are still planning to do that too but on the side.” 

“And how convenient is it that we have our very own free publicists to help promote the business further?” George said smirking.

“I think it’s brilliant.” Harry said warmly. “Although I don’t think I am ever stepping foot in your shop again. Who knows what more devious things will be added. I shudder just thinking about it.”

“So do we.” They said in unison. Harry wrinkled his nose. They obviously meant it in a different way. He shook his head at them. 

“I disagree. I can’t wait. This is exciting.” Draco said with his eyes alive with the happiness that he had lost from being here. Harry groaned.

“You would be excited. Buy whatever you want but please don’t share any of it with Kreacher. The last thing we need is a law suit because Kreacher decided to use something you gave him on some reporter who got a little too rough in their statements.” Harry warned. 

Draco smirked wickedly. He hadn’t even thought of that. Perfect. Harry groaned again. “I know that look. That is your ‘I am a sneaky Slytherin’ look. You are going to buy Kreacher his own set of Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes products, aren’t you?” 

“You are the one who gave me the idea. Who am I to ignore such intelligence?” Draco teased back. Harry tried to look stern but he was failing miserably. 

“Since it is going to a good cause we can always sell you it for cheap.” Fred offered smirking at Harry’s face. 

“Oh don’t encourage him.” Harry moaned but his mouth was twitching. “You aren’t the one who has to live with Kreacher. This is going to spell disaster, I just know it.”

“I think I am missing something.” Charlie butted in with an apologetic look towards Draco who had opened his mouth to speak. “Who are your new business partners?” Fred shifted in his seat as he prepared for the backlash. 

“In for a knut out for a galleon they say.” George said wincing slightly. 

“Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zabini.” 

Draco had to bite the shit out of his tongue to stop from erupting in peals of laughter at Hermione’s dumbstruck face. Merlin, that had been something he never thought he would see. The effort to control himself was staggering. He could feel the tears of frustration from holding it in. 

Harry wasn’t fairing much better. Oh hell. He had never seen Ron or Hermione look like that. Hermione looked just like Ron whenever he had to take a quiz and would complain about not remembering learning any of the stuff in the test. Feeling the same amusement from Draco made it even harder. He stole a glance at Draco to see how he was doing and when they made eye contact they both exploded. 

“Oh god.” Harry said wheezing through his laughter. Draco was clutching a stitch in his side from laughing so hard. He had tears streaming down his face. He tried fanning his face as his face heated up from the exertion.

Harry tried gaining control over himself. He thought he was doing alright, just the occasional chuckles. He took a deep breath and steeled himself to look at Draco. One look and they were off laughing again. 

“I can’t look at you Harry!” Draco said trying to breathe through the laughter. Gods, his stomach was killing him. He hadn’t laughed this hard in a long time. 

“What is so funny if I may ask?” Hermione said crossly. Draco snorted louder at her voice. Fuck. He couldn’t control himself. 

“You should have seen your face!” Harry wheezed. He managed to stop laughing but he had to take deep giant breaths to stop himself from starting up again. His mouth was twitching rapidly. 

Hermione’s eyes narrowed. She was torn from being insulted and a little amused. She had never seen Harry laugh like that before. It had been such a free sounding noise. “What about my face?”

Harry and Draco both snorted but refused to look at each other. “Nothing.” They said in unison. Hermione might have believed them if they hadn’t released another snort after saying it. 

“Why have you gone into business with them?” Arthur asked curiously. He was proud of his sons for managing to succeed in opening a business. He had worried that it wouldn’t do well, not because of their products but mainly the timing of the war. But he had been wrong, they were great owners. 

“They have wicked minds and can match our mischievousness to a tee.” Fred explained. 

“Not to mention they know what they are doing. Pansy’s father owns several book publishing companies throughout the world. International ones. He taught Pansy to take over for him one day but that isn’t what she wants to do. Plus, our main goal is to eventually open up shops internationally too. So her knowledge will come in hand.” George said shrugging. 

“Blaise has a sharp mind when it comes to picking up things and he is a natural inventor. You should hear the things he has planned.” Fred said with admiration. 

“But they are Slytherin.” Ron said wrinkling his nose in disgust. 

Harry frowned. “Did you know Merlin himself was a Slytherin?” Harry asked. Ron opened his mouth but Harry forged right on. “How about Luther Belby, he created the wolfsbane potion. Or Carol Fisk, she created the Pratonus charm. Harold Palmer, discovered new ways to use the bezoars which help counteract poisons. Something you should know all about. That is just a small amount of people. I could go on and on but I think you get the point. Or at least I hope you do. Being a Slytherin doesn’t make you bad. Being a Slytherin means you are cunning, ambitious, resourceful, have determination and self-preservation. Those are not bad things. There have been so many Slytherins who go on and do amazing things. Once you leave school the houses cease to exist Ron. You don’t go to work and demand to know what house your coworkers were in and then refuse to work with any Slytherins. You are stuck in childish beliefs if you think that stuff matters outside of Hogwarts.” Harry said still frowning at him.

Draco looked at Harry in a way that had Hermione, Ginny and Molly frowning. It seemed to familiar and too close for comfort. Draco was a little awed. He didn’t know Harry knew those people had been Slytherins. He wondered how many others that he knew and why Harry had bother learning them in the first place. 

“Also.” Harry said with a blossoming smirk that had Draco groaning. Nothing good was going to come out of Harry’s mouth. He just knew it. 

“I was supposed to be in Slytherin.” Draco could feel the pride from Harry when he spoke of almost being a Slytherin. It was nice knowing that Harry accepted that side of him and embraced it. To Draco it showed that Harry wasn’t ashamed. 

Harry leaned back and watched for the second time what that announced brought. He loved doing this to people. The twins jerked in shock, no wonder Harry was so good at escaping Voldemort. Takes a Slytherin to kill a Slytherin. Fleur just smiled, she had always thought Hogwarts was odd for splitting the students into houses. It creates an unnecessary divide. Bill tilted his head to the side and figured that would explain why he matched Draco’s Slytherin side as well as he did. Bill could see it. He actually thought Harry was a nice blend of both worlds. Brave like a Gryffindor but cunning like a Slytherin. That combination would get him far in life. Charlie was surprised but didn’t think it was that big of a deal. Like Harry said earlier, outside of school houses don’t matter. 

Ginny’s mouth dropped open in a mix of horror and shock. But Harry was the ultimate Gryffindor. He was essentially the leader of the house, not to mention the icon of the light. If Harry was supposed to have been in Slytherin did that mean he would have been evil? Would he have helped you-know-who instead of killing him?

Ron jerked as if he had been slapped. What? There is no way his best friend was supposed to be a snake. There was just no way. Harry was everything that the Slytherins weren’t. Harry always fought against them, if he had really been meant to be one then wouldn’t he have made friends with some of them? Is that why he was okay with being Malfoy’s friend? He recoiled at thinking of all the things they have done together and he was just a Slytherin on the inside!

Hermione considered this. She herself had almost been put into another house. It wasn’t Slytherin thank goodness. The hat had considered placing her inside Ravenclaw but in the end it chose Gryffindor. She wouldn’t have minded being in Ravenclaw but she didn’t think she would have gotten along with many people there. Ravenclaws always think they are so smart, they never consider that they could be wrong and they rely too heavily on the importance of books. No. They were nothing like her. 

“Then why were you placed in Gryffindor?” Bill asked curiously. 

“Because I asked not to be in Slytherin. I argued my way into Gryffindor.” The twins grew identical grins. “Wicked.” They said together. 

“That is impressive.” Charlie said with a small smile. 

“So you have been lying to us this whole time!” Ron bellowed in betrayal. 

Harry was pretty sure he was losing brain cells the more time he spent around Ron. Did he think about what he said before saying it? Or worse, were the things he says actually the byproduct of thinking them through? Goodness he hoped not.

“Lying about what? I am a Gryffindor but I am also a Slytherin. I chose to be a Gryffindor and if I had to do it all over again I would still choose to be a Gryffindor. But I won’t deny or push away the side of me that is a Slytherin either.” Harry said slowly like he was dealing with a small child. 

“You can’t be both!” Ron argued. Harry squinted. “What nonsense are you on about?” Harry demanded. “So I can’t be a Gryffindor with other house traits? Is that what you are saying? In that case Hermione can’t have the intelligence, originality, creativity and the wit of a Ravenclaw. Neville can’t have the patience, loyalty and dedication of a Hufflepuff. Luna can’t have the daring, chivalry, nerve or bravery that a Gryffindor has. Is that what you are trying to tell me? I can be a Gryffindor and have the traits of a Slytherin. Have you considered how hard it actually is for the Sorting hat to do its job? The personality of someone can’t so easily be bottled into one house. I imagine most people could be sorted into at least three houses. The Sorting hat has to look at all kinds of things and then make a judgement. It couldn’t decide between Gryffindor or Slytherin so I made the choice instead.” Harry said a little exasperated.

“And you are barking if you think that the twins don’t possess Slytherin traits. They are as about as Slytherin as you can get… only louder.” Draco snorted at Harry’s explanation. Fred and George busted out laughing. 

Ron scrunched up his face in thought. Hermione was smart like a Ravenclaw, so he can’t say that other people don’t have other house traits. But Hermione’s house traits weren’t Slytherin! To Ron that made all the difference. He thought about what Harry said about his brothers and that made sense too. 

“I don’t like it.” Ron declared. Harry lifted a brow. “Well than it is a good thing it has nothing to with you. Maybe if you weren’t so narrow minded then you would have been considered for another house. Can’t say you are cunning, loyal or have knowledge.” Harry said dryly. 

The twins whistled and looked elsewhere. Draco looked up at the ceiling and shook his head. Why was Harry deliberately baiting him? 

Ron’s face grew red with anger. He was too surprised to argue back and just stared at Harry with narrowed eyes. 

“Is that really necessary?” Molly asked Harry shortly. Harry turned towards her and lifted his brows. 

“Is it necessary to be invited in only to be insulted every five minutes? Your son has verbally harassed everything that I say. You say that I am a member of the family but you would never allow Ron to speak to the rest of you like that. He has insulted Draco who you yourself invited over. If this is how your family treats guests than I feel sorry for anyone who sets foot in here. You as a mother have sat here in your home and let your son get away with treating us so awfully. Aren’t you supposed to be in charge? Why let him speak like this to us unless you approve of it as well. So yes, when I am insulted I will fight back. I won’t let him say stupid shit and get away with it. So yes, it is completely necessary.” Harry said clenching his fists and openly glaring at her. 

Molly shifted in her seat uncomfortably. Harry had never talked to her like that before. Perhaps she should have scolded Ron more but some of the things he was saying needed to be said. Plus, Ron has such a temper that not even she can tame it sometimes. 

Silence greeted him. Harry felt rather vindicated that she didn’t reply. It meant she couldn’t even come up with a pathetic excuse. She knew exactly what she was doing by allowing Ron to vent out his anger. 

“Well might as well just lay it all out there.” Fred said with a fixed smile. 

“Pansy and Blaise are more than just our business partners.” George said with a genuine smile. 

At the confused looks they were getting they elaborated. “Blaise and I are in a relationship. While George and Pansy are also in a relationship.” 

Ron looked at his brother’s in disgust. What on earth could they see in those two?

Hermione scoffed at the mention of Pansy’s name. “You don’t mean Parkinson, do you?” She asked incredulously. Draco and George sat up straighter. 

“Yes. Pansy Parkinson is my girlfriend.” George said in a voice that surprised the rest of his family. It was harsh and booked no argument. 

Hermione looked at him like he had lost his mind. That pug faced nasty girl was dating George? What?

“Pansy.” Harry began glaring at Hermione. “Is a wonderful person once you get to know her. She has a wicked humor, sweet personality and loyal to a tee. She cares about her friends and family and would do anything for them. Pansy adores George and treats him like he deserves. Pansy is my friend so watch what you say.” 

George smiled gratefully at Harry. Pansy would be so touched when he told her about this. Draco’s heart melted. Gods he didn’t know it was possible to love this man any more than he did. He just wanted to lean over and snog the breath out of him.

Hermione recoiled. “What happened to you? You make friends with Malfoy and now his friends. It is like you have forgotten what they did to you in school, what they did to us. Pansy was my biggest tormentor and you can just easily be her friend like that? You are replacing us with vile people!” Hermione said through tears. 

“Let me ask you a question. Did you give as good as you got? When Pansy did things to you did you take it lying down or did you do something about it?” 

Hermione huffed. “Of course I didn’t just take it lying down. I wasn’t about to let her just walk all over me.”

“Exactly. You weren’t some innocent little victim. You stood up for yourself and you fought back. I am not saying that what you did was wrong. I am pointing out that you did just as much stuff to her as she did to you. Yes, she started them but you didn’t have to retaliate. You didn’t have to do anything to her but you did. You could have let the insults fly but you didn’t. I have done the same thing so I can’t say what you should or should not have done.” Hermione furrowed her brows. 

“Pansy bullied you. No one is denying that. People change Hermione. We have gone through a war. That alone changes everything. Pansy is not the same person that she once was. Am I supposed to hate her for the things that she did to you? Well I won’t. If you want to hate, then do it. No one is stopping you. No one is telling you to let it go. No one is making you do anything. George and I just see the good in her and see who she really is. If you don’t want to accept that then don’t. You can only change if you want to. Hopefully someday you can change.” Harry said with disappointment. 

Hermione opened her mouth in surprise. Harry was trying to make her feel guilty. She was the victim here! She was the one who had been constantly made fun of by the girl. How could Harry want to be friends with someone like that?

“By the way, I am not replacing you. When you guys abandoned me, they were the ones who were there to pick up the pieces. They were the ones who immediately welcomed me in. There wasn’t a single moment where they questioned Draco’s mental stability by being friends with me. They welcomed me in and didn’t bat an eye. They were friends for me when I had lost mine.” Harry said quietly. 

Hermione and Ron shared a pained face. Harry can say it all he likes but it feels like they are being replaced. Maybe they hadn’t been there for him like they should have but they were here now. Didn’t that count for something?

“You can dislike my girlfriend all that you want Hermione but it won’t change my decision to be with her. What I do has no effect on you. Continue to hate her, I don’t care but you better not insult her in my presence. I am not afraid to hex the shite out of you.” George said with his eyes flashing. 

Draco could barely contain his glee. Merlin, Pansy so needed to see this. Maybe this night wasn’t a total loss. 

“Alright. That is enough.” Arthur spoke up. Everyone turned to look at him. “George, Fred, congratulations on your business and finding partners to share that with. Hermione, it is fine to disagree but that is his girlfriend so keep it to yourself or at least wait until he is not around.” Hermione huffed but nodded her agreement. 

Fred and George were a little surprised but were glad for his support. “Thank you.” They said in unison. 

Everyone went back to pretending to eat. Harry just shoved his plate away. He was not remotely hungry. Harry was tempted to check the time and fake an emergency to leave. 

Charlie cleared his throat. “Since we are speaking of life changing decisions.” Charlie began a little nervously. He decided now would be as good of a time as any and hey, it would even take some heat off of Harry and Draco. 

“I am getting married.” Charlie said with a nervous grin. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. What did you guys think? It got a little heated there for a moment in the beginning. I realize that this is rather long. One dinner is turning into multiple chapters but there is just so much that has to be said. A lot of information and years of things that have been pushed under the rug. It is more than just about Harry and Draco for the burrow. To showcase other people that requires depth, so that includes making it a tad long. Well at least you can't say I just glossed over details. *Shrugs sheepishly*
> 
> Was anyone else wondering what Voldemort would be eating for breakfast when Draco was talking about him being in his home. No? That was just me, okay. Lol.
> 
> Thoughts on the twins' new business partners? I think it is a grand idea. It is mixing business with pleasure but I think they will be able to make it work. 
> 
> Anyone else laugh at Hermione literally describing herself when thinking about the Ravenclaws? 
> 
> And finally, what did you think about Charlie's announcement?  
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	40. Magical Creatures and Mudbloods

            “I am getting married.” Charlie said with a nervous grin. 

            Jaws dropped around the table. Harry grinned widely. He hadn’t even known that Charlie was seeing anybody!

            “Congratulations!” Harry and Bill said enthusiastically. Fleur cooed and leaned over to hug him tightly. Charlie grinned while everyone else gave their confused congratulations.

            “Not to that trainee, right?” Molly asked with wide hopeful eyes. Charlie sighed. “Tamer mum. Demetrius is a dragon tamer just like me.” Harry raised a brow. He didn’t know that Charlie was interested in men. To be honest he never really paid that much attention to Charlie.

            “Charles, do you really want to tie yourself to a man like that.” Charlie clenched his fists tightly while Fleur and Bill glared at Molly. Harry was confused, he had to be missing something.

            “There is nothing wrong with Demetri. You would know that if you bothered to get to know him. Do you know how hard it is to tell your significant other that he isn’t invited over the holidays? Why do you think I haven’t been coming home more often? I refuse to leave him alone just to satisfy you.” Charlie said trying to keep control of his emotions.

            “He is an incubus Charlie! I know that you have a fondness for creatures which is why you became a dragon tamer in the first place, but an incubus? They are so dangerous. They are sexual beings that will dispose of their mate after a fashion. You know this.” Molly begged with teary eyes.

            “He is a sixteenth of an incubus. The blood from his incubus ancestors goes way back. It is almost nonexistent. Yes he gets those urges but he is fine. He manages to control them no problem. You are acting like I am preforming bestiality! Demetri is a human too mum. He bleeds and breathes just like you and I do.” Charlie said with anger in his voice.

            Harry blinked rapidly. Incubus? All he could think about was Blaise’s mum. Would Demetri dispose of Charlie like Miss Zabini does with her husbands? Draco could feel Harry’s worry through the bond. Draco turned to Harry and started a whispered conversation while everyone else was focused on the row between Charlie and Molly.

            “It’s not the same as Blaise’s mum. She is a succubus, along with their urges comes the desire to reproduce. Misses Zabini was only ever able to conceive Blaise. There was an accident, Blaise won’t talk about it, but it left his mum unable to bare more children. Which I also believe makes the succubus side of her angry after she succumbs to the sexual desires. Blaise said she gets angry at the choice of partner after the fact but I don’t think that is all the way true. I believe the succubus part of her yearns for a child that she can’t have, so when she wakes up from the urges and there is no offspring, she kills them.” Draco whispered.

     Harry hummed in thought. He wasn’t sure what to think about that. On the one hand, it was incredibly sad that she couldn’t bare more children and the creature side of her ached for a child. But on the other hand, she is murdering these men… it made him uncomfortable to think about.

            “Do incubus not feel the urge to reproduce like succubus?” Harry whispered back as he watched Molly’s face grow more red as the row carried on. So that is where Ron gets that from. Interesting. Harry moved shifting subconsciously closer to Draco, which caught the attention of others. Neither noticing that they were now the focus of the rest of the room. 

            “No, they don’t. A full-blown incubus doesn’t have the need to sire any children. Their instincts are only sexual release and the entrapment of their victims. I do mean victims. Incubi don’t take mates like you would think. They have many bedmates and rarely ever monogamous. An incubus feeds off of sexual acts. They can’t eat normal food. It isn’t something that they can stomach. They can actually feed off of the pleasure that their partner is feeling, they themselves never have to climax to be full. Most incubi will enslave their victims so that they can feed off of them daily whether they are willing or not.” Harry muffled a gasp of horror.

            “Incubi aren’t too common. Neither are succubae. Their kind has been hunted for hundreds of years. They are pretty close to being an endangered species. But with the violent ways they take their mate is it really a surprise? Although, you have to look at it from their point of view too. It is in their nature to behave that way. They are hungry and need to survive. It is no different from a lion and a zebra. The lion is hungry and needs to eat. Is it wrong of the lion? No just unfortunate for the zebra. To an incubus or a succubus we are the zebras. Unfortunately for them, us zebras learned to fight back." Draco explained with an uncomfortable smile. 

           "Now the offspring of incubi and succubae will have some of the characteristics of their parent but not all of it. Unless both parents were full blooded. The more generations that pass the weaker the genes go. So someone like Demetrius who is only a sixteenth of an incubus would hardly feel the effects of his ancestors. I am sure there would be strong sexual urges but there would be no danger to Charlie. If Demetrius was a succubus that might be a concern due to the parental urges that come along with the sexual urges but since he is not a succubus, he is quite safe. There would be no difference between Demetrius and Charlie other than a high libido. Having creature blood inside of you does not make you a monster. Even if he was a full-on incubus it would not make him a monster. That is just who they are. Why are we punishing them for things that are not in their control? Because they do things differently than we do? That is just prejudice and entitlement. Demetrius is no more of a monster than you or I. He is just someone who had a many times great grandfather who was an incubus. Every culture has their own beliefs and things that are taught, so I just hope that he doesn’t resent the creature blood inside of him. Hopefully he embraces that part of him because there is nothing wrong with being part incubus.” Draco finished tucking a loose strand of hair behind Harry’s ear.

            Harry was fascinated with how easily Draco could explain things to him. How come he couldn’t have had a teacher like Draco for History of Magic? When Draco explained things, Harry was never bored. Draco had a way with words that made him want to listen. “I could hear you talk for hours you know that?” Harry asked. Draco flushed but was pleased with the praise.

            “Was any of that taught in school because if so I slept right through it.” Harry said shamelessly. Draco chuckled warmly and shook his head at the lack of awareness Harry had when it came to school.  

            “Some of it. But a lot of it gets passed down from each generation to the next. I have a lot of books on magical creatures at the manor. They wouldn’t be in the library at Hogwarts due to Separation Act of 1660. The Ministry passed the law because they didn’t want children to learn about creatures that they saw as beneath them. Since magical creatures aren’t allowed in Hogwarts the Ministry felt that there was no need for the children to learn about them in depth. So mainly we are taught of the major wars between wizards and magical creatures but never much on the creatures themselves.” Harry recognized the excitement to Draco’s voice and knew he was just getting started. Harry rested his chin on the top of his hands and watched Draco with a fond expression. He hadn’t been lying, he really could listen to Draco all day.

            “Did you know that in Singapore there is a sanctuary for all magical creatures? They also hold lectures on the history of magical creatures. It isn’t just England that is prejudiced. Other countries government limits what is taught inside their schools too.” Harry could hear the wistful tone to his voice and he didn’t have to ask if Draco had ever been. He highly doubted that Lucius had ever allowed his son to go somewhere like that. Lucius was as prejudiced as they come.

            “You want to go?” Harry asked smiling at the delight that Draco was feeling. “You mean it?” Draco tried to keep his face in a calm mask but he knew that he failed when Harry couldn’t stop grinning at him.

            “Of course. We are going on the trip around the world. Singapore can just be one of those spots. Sounds like fun to me.” Draco forgot where they were and threw his arms around Harry’s neck.

            “Oh thank you. I have always wanted to go.” Draco gushed. His face was pressed against Harry’s neck and was about to press a kiss to the pulse point underneath his mouth but a cough jarred them apart in surprise.

            Harry flushed in embarrassment when he realized that everyone was looking at them. Some with fondness like the twins, Fleur and Bill. Some with disgust like Ginny and Ron. Confusion on Hermione and Arthur’s faces. Molly just had a frown on her face like she was trying to figure something out. But Charlie was staring at them with misty eyes.

            “Are you alright?” Harry asked Charlie tentatively. Charlie was staring intently at Draco, who was growing uneasy with the stare.

            “Did you mean it?” He rasped quietly. Draco raised his brows in surprise. “I am sorry… but did I mean what?”

            Charlie let out a little chuckle. “The things you said about Demetri.” Draco flushed when he realized that they had been listening to his little history lesson with Harry.

            “Of course I did. It isn’t just a personal belief. It has been proven over and over with actual facts but people will be prejudiced whether there is proof or not. There is absolutely nothing wrong with having creature blood inside of you. I don’t know Demetrius but I can tell you without a doubt that he is just like you and I.” Draco said firmly.

            Charlie swallowed thickly. Draco had said everything he had been trying to convince his mother in that lesson of his. He had approved of Harry’s relationship with Draco since it was his right to love whoever he wants. But it wasn’t until this moment that he saw the actual character and personality of Draco did he approve of him as a person that Charlie would want to get to know. He was actually going to plan on showing Demetri a pensive memory of Draco’s lesson. Demetri had to face a lot of shite from everyone. The only place that he was saved from sneering faces and prejudiced gazes was behind closed doors with Charlie. It broke Charlie’s heart to know what his fiancé had to go through. Demetri tried to not let it get to him but Charlie could tell that it took its toll on him. Demetri would never admit it but Charlie knew that he hated the incubus blood inside of him. He hoped that after viewing this memory that Demetri might grow to love who he is again. Might want to learn more about his heritage instead of despising it.

            Fleur had to wipe her eyes after hearing Draco defend a man she had never even met. To hear Draco talk so openly about magical creatures made her very lucky to know a gentle soul like that. Not many people are open like that. Some will fight for werewolf rights but look down on goblins. Others will demand that centaurs teach them their magic but refuse to offer things in return. Incubi and succubae are hunted and slaughtered so that they won’t harm anyone but yet Vampires are given blood donations. It should be rights for all creatures and not just the ones that wizards deem acceptable.

            “Thank you.” Charlie said thickly. Draco cocked his head to the side in a way that made Harry want to sigh besottedly. To Draco he honestly couldn’t understand why people treated magical creatures like that and Harry loved him even more for that.

            “Your welcome.” Draco said shrugging. By the tone of Draco’s voice Charlie could tell that he didn’t think he had done anything that warranted gratitude. Which made Charlie respect him even more.

            “So… he eats your sexual desires?” Ron said grossed out. He knew what an incubus was but he didn’t know any. They were rather rare. Charlie frowned at his youngest brother. “No not really. He would if he was a full incubus but he just has a higher libido.” Charlie explained. Ron frowned but didn’t say anything.

            Hermione frowned at Malfoy. “How is it that you can be so accepting of magical creatures but look down on people like me? I can’t help being a muggleborn any more than the people born as a magical creature but yet you treat me like a second class citizen.”

            Draco let out a big sigh. “Are we really doing this? You really want open this door?”

            Hermione glared at him insulted. She wouldn’t have asked if she didn’t mean it. She wanted to hear the bigoted reasons, she wanted to know the silly nonsense that purebloods thought. Harry himself was intrigued. He would like to hear this explanation as well. His mother had been a muggleborn and he was raised as a muggle.  

            “The term mudblood was never meant as an insult. The term was to define someone born of non-magical parents. Muggleborn was the term that recent society started using when they found mudblood offensive. There are purebloods, half-bloods and then there are mudbloods. It is just a classification. It isn’t to indicate that you are less of a witch by being a mudblood, it is a way of saying that you are witch from muggle parents. For example, let’s say that pure was to signify water. Water is crystal clear and in a way pure. Mud is a mixture of dirt and water. A mudblood is a mixture of the pure essence of magic, that would represent the water and the dirt would represent the muggle heritage.” Hermione opened her mouth but Draco waved her away.

            “I am not saying that muggles are dirty. Don’t get the analogy wrong. Mud is a mixture of two things just as a mudblood is a mixture of two worlds. The term is just a way to signify who you are.” Draco explained. Harry considered this, he had not thought about it like that before. He wondered when it had gotten warped into the insult that it now is.  

            Hermione tilted her head to the side. “Then why do you look down on muggleborns if we aren’t considered less of a wizard or witch?”

            Draco scrunched his face up trying to find the best words. “It’s not the fact that you are from the muggle world. It is more of what happens when you come into our world.” He could tell by the look on her face she wasn’t understanding.

            “Let me give another example. Say you have been born and raised in England your whole life, then you decide to move to France. But when you get there you don’t bother learning French or the culture behind the country. You move in and demand that they conform to your beliefs and if they don’t then they just must hate all people from England. That is essentially what happens with muggleborns. I understand that you come into our world not knowing anything but most of you guys don’t even bother learning. You think of magic and how cool it is but don’t want to learn the history behind it all. And I don’t mean History of Magic.” Draco said quickly when it looked like she was going to interrupt.

            “There is so much of our world that can’t be taught at school. We have traditions and rituals that are done that muggleborns don’t bother to learn. Muggleborns receive an education and then that is all that they care about. Some stay in our world while the majority go back to the muggle world. Muggleborns come into a new world but then demand that wizards should conform to the muggle beliefs. Instead of trying to understand the beautiful heritage of the wizarding world they harp on the amazing ways that muggles do things and then cry prejudice when wizards don’t care. It is wonderful that you are proud to be a muggleborn. You have interesting ways of doing things and have your own traditions. That is perfectly fine. But you aren’t in the muggle world. You are in our world and by ignoring everything that has built us this world makes a mockery of it all. You want the best of our world but don’t care about the rest of it. That is greedy and selfish. It is insulting when muggleborns don’t even bother to learn about our world, all they care about is what magic can get them but not where the magic came from. Every time you mock a wizard for their ‘outdated’ or ‘archaic’ ways of doing things, you are spitting on the foundations of our world. There are reasons we do the things we do and instead of comparing them to the progressive muggle way, how about taking the time to understand why we do them that way in the first place.” Harry was a little awed and ashamed that he had never considered any of this. He honestly never bothered to learn the finer things of the wizarding world.     

            “Our wizarding population has dwindled drastically. But part of the problem is the muggleborns leaving our world. They come in and get taught by us but then take their knowledge and slam the door in our faces when they graduate. They are saying ‘thanks for the seven years but I want nothing to do with you.’ They take everything we taught them and then don’t contribute to our society. If muggleborns actually respected what we stand for then there would be more integration. There would be more marriages between purebloods and muggleborns. But sadly that isn’t the case. The reason purebloods marry other purebloods is because they know that who they marry will be someone who loves and respects our world just as much as they do. Why should we respect people who turn their backs on everything that we stand for? They don’t respect our culture, teachings, beliefs or traditions so why should we offer respect when it isn’t freely given?” Draco paused to see if she was registering any of what he was trying to say.

            “Not to mention the muggleborns who do stay in our world but don’t learn our culture are polluting our society. I know that sounds harsh but it is true. Because their offspring will be taught nothing of our traditions. There are wizards born into the wizarding society and have absolutely no clue about the rich history and beautiful backgrounds that make us who we are. With each knew uneducated generation our beliefs and our cultures are slipping away. We are witnessing the downfall of our society. So again, it is not that you are a muggleborn it is what muggleborns represent to the wizarding world in general.” Draco finished firmly.

            Harry was stunned. When Draco said it that way it put things into perspective. It made him want to learn all he could about the traditions and the cultures that make up the wizarding world. It made him realize that he had been a tourist this whole time. He came to the wizarding world and only learned the popular things, the ones that would get him by. He didn’t stop to actually take it all in. He had never given any of it a second thought. But he wanted to now. He wanted to learn it all.

            “So when you compare the differences between muggleborn prejudice and magical creature prejudice there is a big difference. A magical creature cannot be blamed for just being a creature. It is not their fault that they are who they are. Just as it is not your fault that you are a muggleborn but it is your fault that you don’t educate yourself properly. That is why purebloods feel the way they do.” Draco said with a shrug.

            Hermione wasn’t sure what to think. She had expected to hear some big lecture about how they were just dirty because they come from muggles. She didn’t think that there would be legitimate reasons behind the prejudice. Hermione didn’t think that it was that big of a deal that muggleborns didn’t want to learn all of the wizard traditions. She was having a hard time believing that purebloods would ever want to be with a muggleborn if they respected the old values. That can’t make that much of a difference, can it?

            Molly bit her lip lost in thought. She had pretty much tuned out the conversation. She was still thinking about Charlie’s announcement that he was engaged. Molly loved that her son was settling down and finding someone that he wanted to be with but she wished it was with someone else. True, she had never met the incubus trainee but she didn’t need to. Anyone that threatened the safety of her son was not someone she wanted to invite into her home. She knew just as much about incubi as the Malfoy boy but she didn’t understand how he could be so open about it. Didn’t he realize how dangerous it was to be around an incubus? Not only did he convince Charlie that it was okay but everyone else seemed to approve as well. She shook her head and glared down at the table.

            Charlie looked to his mum and sighed. “I am going to marry him mother and I wish you could accept that.”

            Molly looked up at her son and sniffled. “I can try but this is hard for me to accept Charlie. So far all of my sons who are getting married are doing so to part creatures and it is a lot to take in.”

            Bill growled. “What is wrong with someone who has creature blood in them? You have no problem with Remus and he is a werewolf. You have no problem with vampires that I am aware of. You get along with Hagrid and you talk nicely to house elves. You even respect the goblins. So tell me what is so wrong about the rest. Why is it you can accept some magical creatures but not all of them?” He demanded to know as he pulled Fleur into a hug.

            “Remus was bitten against his will as a child. Vampires are bitten against their will and changed as well. Goblins and house elves don’t have children with humans.” Molly said quietly.

            “And Hagrid? You like him.” Bill pointed out.

            “Yes, but Hagrid is a lovely fellow. You know this.”

            Bill stood up suddenly. “So is Fleur! She is the sweetest, most gentle, loving, caring, beautiful, giving, generous person I have ever met. Her first priority is always to take care of me. She was there for me through a really tough moment in my life. Fleur is the only one I have ever loved and she makes me happy. So happy. I wake up in the morning thankful that I have someone like her in my life. Fleur is the best thing that has ever happened to me and I am so fucking sick of the way you treat her.” Molly leaned away from her angry son. She had never seen him like this.

            “You say you want my happiness but you judge the only thing that brings me that happiness. I cannot be happy without her. Why can’t you see that? You say that you can accept Remus because he was bitten as a child and didn’t have a choice. Well neither did Fleur! She didn’t choose to have Veela blood inside her. It was passed down to her through genetics. It is hypocritical and ignorant to dislike her based off of creature blood. The same goes for Demetrius. He didn’t choose to have incubi blood. Even if Fleur was an actual Veela it wouldn’t be an issue. I still would have married her. Why? Because I love her. Not only that, but being a magical creature is not a bad thing. Veelas didn’t choose to be a magical creature instead of a human. They are what they are. You are so prejudiced that it kills me. I am fed up with it. Either you change your attitude or you will never see me around here.” Bill warned darkly.

            Molly’s eyes filled with tears. “You would turn your back on your family?”

            Bill laughed humorlessly. “No, it is you who is turning your back on me. You are the one who can’t accept reality. You are the one who is so backwards in your thinking that you are driving Charlie and I away.” Bill sat down and through an arm around Fleur defiantly.

            Fleur blinked back tears. Oh how she loved this man. This was a long time coming. Fleur had been begging her husband to leave it alone for a while now because she hadn’t wanted him to lose his family. But listening to him defend her made her realize that family doesn’t do what they have done. So if they couldn’t accept her then they were saying that they couldn’t accept Bill either.

            Molly bit her lip as the tears rolled down her face. This is not what she had wanted to hear. This was not how things were supposed to go and this is not the life she imagined for her children.

            “I-I will try and accept this.” She said weakly.

            Bill raised a brow. “You need to do better than try.” Bill warned before shoving his plate of food away.

            When Molly nodded, but didn’t say anything, Hermione voiced something that had been bothering her since Charlie announced his engagement.

            “Why are you getting married?” She asked Charlie.

            Charlie looked up at her with furrowed brows and a frown. “Because I want to spend the rest of my life with Demetrius.” He said slowly like she was stupid. Why else would you propose?

            “Why do you have to marry him to do that? Can’t you just stay in a relationship?”

            Charlie tilted his head to the side. What was she on about? It was confusing the fuck out of him. “Well when two people love each other very much they decide to make it official and get married.” He said sarcastically.

            Hermione huffed. “I get that normally but why you two?” Charlie was so lost. It was like she was speaking in tongues.

            Harry’s blood ran cold. “Hermione…” He started but had to take a deep calming breath. “Are you trying to say that two men shouldn’t be allowed to marry?”

            Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. “Yes. That was what I was trying to get across.”

            Everyone, including Ron was staring at her in disbelief. “What kind of messed up logic is that?” Charlie demanded.

            Hermione seemed confused. “Well marriage is between a man and a woman. You can love who you want but why do you have to make a mockery of marriage?”

            Charlie gasped in outrage. “Excuse me?” He demanded hotly. “That is some backwards thinking! It is okay for me to love my boyfriend and want to be with him but I can’t marry him?”

            “I am all for loving who you want but why does that mean you have to marry them? Since the beginning, marriages were only done between man and woman. Why change that now just because some people are progressive?”

            “That is the muggle shining through in you.” Harry used Severus’s insult. Draco shook his head, this was exactly the reason purebloods hated muggleborns. They don’t even bother to learn about the actual history. Hermione gasped.

            “I am just as much of a witch as you are a wizard! And you were raised by muggles too!” Hermione pointed out. That would be a comment she would expect from Malfoy but not Harry. He was already corrupting her best friend! How could Harry not see this?

            “He wasn’t suggesting that you aren’t a witch due to your… heritage.” Draco said calmly. Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. “But your mentality that you are using is very muggle. You should know that for wizards, witches and magical creatures, there was never a time where it was only man and a woman. Love is love. Whether that is a man and a woman, two men or two women. The wizarding world doesn’t discriminate against sexuality. In our world, there is nothing wrong with marrying the same gender. It’s as natural as your… relationship,” Draco wrinkled his nose. “with Weasley.”

            Hermione wrinkled her forehead. “I haven’t read any books regarding this.” Draco rolled his eyes, was that all there was to her? Books. Could she not have an original thought of her own? As long as it was in a book then she trusted it unreservedly.

            “How many books have you read on the subject of heterosexual couples?” Draco asked with barely any patience. Hermione narrowed her eyes, she didn’t appreciate the way he was talking to her. It was like he found her stupid.

             “Well none. There are books that mention famous couples sometimes, it all depends on the subject.”

            Draco sighed. “Right. But there aren’t any books that go into depth on heterosexual couples?”

            Hermione frowned. “No. Why would there be? Unless you’re talking sexual books then I have no idea why they would make a book talking about heterosexual couples.”

            “That is my point exactly. You are considering gay couples as this out of this world concept so therefore there must be books regarding this. But to us it isn’t something like that. It is normal and accepted. So why would there be books talking about it when it has been around as long as there has been magic?” Draco questioned.

            Hermione bit her lip as she tried to wrap her mind around this. “Did you know about this?” She asked Harry.

            “I didn’t realize how accepted it was in the wizarding world but I am not a bigoted arse so it wasn’t a hard concept to accept.” Harry sniped with rancor.

            Hermione gasped at the insult. “It wasn’t like I knew! There is no reason to be hateful. We grew up in the same world. Gay couples aren’t widely accepted and you know that.”

            “You are right and that is a shame but that doesn’t excuse your line of thinking. Just because the rest of the world looks at gay couples as a sin does not mean you have to. Just because someone else is prejudiced against who other people choose to love doesn’t mean that you have to as well. You have your own mind and your own opinion so why are you thinking like everyone else. If no one had told you that it was wrong would you be having these thoughts? If you had grown up with it being normal would you still think that it is wrong? No. You were conditioned to think that it is wrong. You were raised like sheep and accepting other people’s opinions as your own.”

            Hermione sat back in her seat and tried reasoning this. You can’t just wipe away years of this kind of thinking with one conversation. Her whole life she had been told by her peers, parents and church that it was wrong for anyone to be with the same sex. Over the years as more and more people became actively gay, the opinion had changed some. There were many people who still considered it a bad thing but others were okay with it as long as they didn’t try and get married. Marriage was the one thing that was always between a man and a woman.

            The wizarding world did a lot of things differently. It had been difficult going from one culture to the next. So many things were different. Coming from a world where people were treated equally to all of a sudden being considered beneath other wizards had been a shock. To see that they would despise her for something that she couldn’t control had been heartbreaking. So she tried her best to show them all that a muggleborn could be just as good as they are. Hermione could never understand why wizards refused to see that muggles were good too, that they could learn more about the muggle world and then maybe they wouldn’t hate muggleborns so much. It was hard trying to learn all of the things that made up the wizarding world. There was so much to learn and no one to really teach it to muggleborns. So finding out about this was something else. It was just hard to ignore the teachings that had been ingrained inside her for so long.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay what did you think of this chapter? 
> 
> I debated for awhile about who to have Charlie be with. I thought about making it someone that had been in the original books but that was difficult. Charlie spends his days in Romania so long distance didn't sound like a good idea. Not to mention that I loved the idea of him finding love while in Romania. That Demetrius is a dragon tamer too just seemed like a bonus to me. Thoughts on Demetrius being part incubus. It fit the plot that I was trying to establish so I rather like it. 
> 
> What did you think about Draco's explanations regarding muggleborns? Did it make sense or did it seem to tame to be a reason for the prejudice that purebloods have?
> 
> There will be more on the subject of Hermione's beliefs of two men marrying. I just needed a good spot to end the chapter. 
> 
> I think Draco would make a great teacher. He makes a great potions brewer, a great lawyer and a gentle teacher. Too bad he can't do it all lol. I also love that even with the prejudice that Lucius has that Draco never disliked magical creatures.  
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	41. Chirldren and Confessions

            “But what about children? And the wizard population? It is selfish to marry the same sex when you can’t produce off spring to help the dying population. The wizarding world has seen a decrease in the population and if more people are openly gay and in marriages then that won’t help anything.” Hermione argued.

            “For someone so book smart you know nothing about our customs.” Charlie said darkly. Hermione looked hurt. Charlie was sounding just like Malfoy! Charlie paid no mind to this. He wasn’t about to care what she thought of him after saying that he didn’t have the right to marry just because he was in love with a man.

            “It’s not her fault.” Ron said glaring at his older brother. “She was raised like that.”

            Harry scoffed. “So. I was raised by a homophobic twat of an uncle and I have no problems with a man marrying a man.” Harry said ignoring the fact that he himself was going to marry a man. Harry felt the amusement from Draco through the bond. Fred and George tried to hide their smiles. Bill and Fleur didn’t even try hiding their humor. Charlie looked at them in confusion. He couldn’t understand what Harry said that was funny.

            “It is ironic when you think about it.” Harry mused. “You have been prejudiced and looked down upon by wizards because of your blood status. Something you can’t control. But yet you yourself look down upon people who want to marry the same sex. Which is something they can’t control. You love who you love. This is all rather hypocritical if you ask me. You want equality for you but don’t care about it for other people.” Harry said frowning at the whole concept.

            “It’s just wrong!” Hermione cried out in frustration.

            Harry looked at her in disgust. “How can love ever be wrong?”

            Hermione wasn’t sure what to say to that. Charlie cleared his throat. “You talked about us being selfish because we are not bringing children into the world but you are wrong.” Hermione looked up confused.

            “Most magical male creatures can become pregnant. When the time is right for Demetri and I, he will be able to carry our children. Not all creatures but a big chunk of them. Werewolves, Incubi, Centaurs and male Veela. Although male Veela are nearly extinct. There are tons more but it would take forever to name. Now for wizards there are experimental potions out right now that can temporarily provide a womb for the male wanting to carry the child. It is still in development but that is an option. The usual method is finding a surrogate, which there are plenty of agencies, and then preforming blood rituals. It has to be done while the baby is still in the womb but it ties both of the wizards’ blood to the unborn child and the child will develop with both sets of DNA and magic inside them. The ritual actually gets rid of the surrogate’s magical signature and DNA. Really all that the surrogate provides is the egg. After the rituals are performed the baby is one hundred percent the two wizards’ child.” Charlie explained a little shortly. He was still offended.

            Draco raised his brows a little surprised. That was an incredibly dark ritual. Messing with the blood of a child and erasing their DNA to start over with both sets of the males, was indeed dark. Charlie was correct in stating that it was the most popular option but it didn’t erase the dark nature of the ritual. Blood rituals are never light. Especially not with what these rituals were doing. It was actually pretty hypocritical. The wizarding world was always looking down on those who perform dark magic but don’t even bat an eye when it comes to the children of those rituals. Not that Draco cared about that, it was just the principle of the matter.

            “And the process for two women is pretty much the same. All they would require is male semen, which is at the same agencies, and then the blood rituals are preformed and the only DNA left will be the two witches.” Draco piped up.

            Hermione and Harry were a little blown away with the knowledge. Hermione was once again upset that she hadn’t known any of this. Honestly, how did they expect muggleborns to be more involved if there was no way to gain this information? With all of her reasons against gay marriages thrown away all she had left was just that she didn’t like it. Gay marriages just didn’t sit well with her. Two girls shouldn’t be together and neither should two men. It just was wrong. She didn’t know why she felt like this but she just did. She was entitled to her opinion no matter what they said.

     Harry honestly hadn’t given any thought to children at all. But… the thought of a little Draco running around someday filled him with wonder. He could imagine the baby would have gorgeous silver grey eyes with his hair color but Draco’s flat style. God help the poor thing if it took after Harry in the hair department. A little boy who would behave as sneaky and cunning as Draco but be bold and generous like Harry. Hopefully he would not take after Draco’s humor but keep his sarcasm. Harry liked the idea of the potion more, that way they wouldn’t have to involve a third party but either way would get them the joy of a child. It sent tingles down his spine just thinking about it.

            Draco could feel the awe and slight longing and with a jolt he realized it was for a child. Harry wanted to have a child with him someday. With the trial, discovering they were soulmates, getting engaged, his death and the sorcerer’s stone darkness, Draco hadn’t really thought much about what they would do besides get married. He knew he wanted Harry forever but he hadn’t given thought to children. Draco knew they were young to be seriously considering that right now… but the thought of maybe a little girl with his skin complexion and Harry’s beautiful eyes took his breath away. Merlin, help the child if it comes out with Harry’s disaster that he calls hair. He could just picture that she would be as kind as Harry but still crass like Draco. She would preferably have his sense of humor considering Harry had none but have Harry’s wonderful outtake on life. She would be the best parts of them. Family. Harry wanted a family with him. The wonder Harry was feeling while thinking about their future child choked him in ways he couldn’t articulate.

            Draco had to blink back tears. He never had a proper family. Not exactly. He would give their future children all the love that neither he nor Harry had growing up. They would want for nothing but be as humble and sweet as Harry. They would know how special and wanted they are and they would never have to wonder their worth. A family with Harry was a dream come true.

            Draco and Harry turned to each other at the same time which drew everyone’s attention. “Really?” They asked at the same time. They let out shaky laughs. Draco rested his forehead against Harry.

            “Gods Harry, I never even thought about it. But to feel… oh it was beautiful.” Draco choked out. Harry wiped the couple tears in the corner of Draco’s eyes. “I want it someday. I really do. I was just imagining the combinations.” Harry said in a breathy whisper.

            Fleur couldn’t help it, she cooed at them. Bill sighed but then sat up straighter, what was it about these two that turned him into a sap? Charlie thought it was rather sweet. They were too young but it was adorable to see. Fred and George shared soft smiles. Uncle had a nice ring to it. Oh they couldn’t wait till the day that Harry and Draco had kids. They would teach them every prank they knew, every joke under the sun and they would be the best uncles that they could. Of course they would be the favorite uncles, that was just obvious.     

            Everyone else looked at them in confusion. Ginny thought it was odd that they were so close, if she didn’t know any better she would think that they were together. She thought back to the powerful way Harry defended Draco, the close way they were sitting, Harry getting Draco food, the meaningful hug and now this conversation and it all clicked. Ginny gasped in horror and just gaped at the two of them.      

            Hermione was still trying to catalogue this new development to really pay Harry and Draco any mind. It was just hard to let go of the beliefs that she always had.

            Ron was staring at his sister and wondering why her face looked like the end of the world was announced. He turned to see that she was staring at Harry and Malfoy. Ron didn’t like how close they were sitting. They seemed like they had been best friends their whole lives instead of just a couple months. He didn’t want to admit it but he was jealous. Harry was his best friend not Malfoy’s. He had a sinking feeling in the pit of his gut that Harry was never going to see reason. Harry was going to be Draco’s friend no matter what he thought of it. Ron was going to lose his best friend to his enemy.

            “What is going on?” Ginny’s shrill voice interrupted the sweet emotions that the soulmates were sharing.

            Harry blinked a couple times before realizing that they had pretty much just outed themselves.

     “Keeping up with the theme of life changing decisions...” Harry trailed off nervously. Fred, George, Bill and Fleur all sat up straighter in their seats which caused everyone else to look at them in confusion. Draco steeled himself for the explosion. He wondered if he should cast a shield charm just in case. 

            “Draco and I are in a relationship.” Harry said with an exaggerated grin. When they started gaping at him and Molly had taken a sip of water to calm herself did Harry continue. “And we are getting married… Surprise!” Despite the explosion he knew was going to happen, he couldn’t help but be pleased with their reactions.

            Molly spit out her drink across from Ron right in his face, which some of it got into his gaping mouth, much to Draco’s delight. Ron gagged and looked at his mother in disgust. “Mum!” He half whined half choked.

            Molly ignored her youngest son as she stared at Harry with wide eyes. What? Why would Harry, sweet Harry want to marry a Malfoy? Especially one that made her son’s life miserable? Harry wasn’t supposed to marry someone outside of the family. He was supposed to marry Ginny! She had always thought it was adorable that little Ginny had loved the stories of Harry Potter and dreamed to be his wife one day. Molly knew how much Ginny loved Harry and she had hoped that the silly breakup was just a misunderstanding. She told Ginny not to worry about it, that Harry would come to his senses sooner or later and then she would have the life that she had always wanted. She was going to be the mother in-law of Harry Potter. Harry had been a part of their family since he was twelve. Marrying Ginny just would have been the last thing to make it official. But now she was worried. Harry had been duped somehow into doing this. There was no way that Harry would have come to this unbelievable circumstances without outside forces being involved. The Malfoy’s did something to make Harry think that this was what he wanted. She wouldn’t put it past Narcissa to do this. Narcissa wanted Harry to fix their political status. They were just using Harry and when they were back on top they would discard Harry. She had to make him see reason. There was no way that Harry could go through with this.

            Ron wiped his mouth on his sleeve and stared at Harry hoping to hear that this was some joke. That Harry hadn’t lost the last thin shred of his mind. This right here just proved that Harry was barking mad and needed the help of St. Mungos. He needed to convince Harry to seek help. Maybe the whole family could perform an intervention? If the whole family got involved, then maybe Harry would see reason. The close way that Harry and Malfoy seemed connected now made sense. He couldn’t believe his best friend was into men. That was something that Harry had never mentioned before. Was Malfoy the first bloke that Harry was into? Or were there others? Did Harry like any of their dorm mates? Oh gods, Harry had seen all of them in the showers. Did Harry have the hots for him? Ew.

            Ron had to shake his head to clear that disturbing thought. Harry was supposed to marry Ginny. As much as he disliked the idea, Harry was the best person to marry his little sister. He couldn’t trust anyone else to make her happy. They were already best friends and they would have become an actual family when he married her. Harry would be his brother in-law. That was what he had planned out since the moment that Harry had started dating Ginny. Harry couldn’t marry Malfoy. That was just wrong. The slimy git didn’t deserve Harry. No. This was just wrong. So wrong. He didn’t like this one bit. This was a million times worse than Harry being friends with him. This was a nightmare. There was absolutely no way that he would accept this. Harry would just have to find someone else.

            Charlie made a surprised noise at the last statement. He looked to Bill, Fleur and the twins but they weren’t surprised. They just had easy smiles on their faces. The wankers already knew.

            Arthur blinked rapidly trying to figure out what Harry just said. He had to have heard wrong. He had to have. Harry Potter was marrying Draco Malfoy? That was just plain weird and odd. Friends was one thing… but to marry him? Arthur still felt like the was missing something.

            Ginny covered her mouth in shock. She had suspected that they were together but marriage? They were only 18. Harry had the rest of his life to decide when he was going to get married, why was he doing that now? She had hoped that maybe after Hogwarts that they might try a relationship again. Her whole life she had heard the stories and tall tales of _the_ Harry Potter. The wonder in her mother’s voice when she told the family about him made her long to meet Harry. When she was a child and played games by herself she always imagined that she was playing with Harry. Ginny had imagined being friends with Harry and going on adventures. Every summer when her brothers would come back gushing about what they did during the school year she would be so jealous. She yearned for the days where she could go to Hogwarts too. Her mother had told her that Harry Potter would be in Hogwarts the same time as her just a different year and it filled her with wonder. The previous yearning for school had turned into an ache. She wanted that badly. Harry Potter was the childhood dream that never went away. Her crushes that she had on quidditch players had long faded, the crushes on her brother’s friends disappeared. The older she got the more she was leaving behind the child fantasies… except for Harry. Ginny had always been fascinated with him. She wanted to be Mrs. Potter. Ginny Potter. It had such a nice ring to it. Merlin, she had always wanted that.

            They were going to get married and have three maybe four children. They would be beautiful kids that looked like Harry and maybe a little girl that looked like her. They would be Potters and the world would look at them with respect. They would be famous before they would even be born. Their children would be the next generation to do great things. Everyone would envy the life she had with Harry. It was her favorite thing to think about. But… that dream was slowly slipping through her fingertips. No. How could something that she had been dreaming about since she was three just be gone? The panic of losing Harry was awful. But what made the whole thing worse was that it was Draco bloody Malfoy. If it had been another girl she might have stood a shot. She might have been able to flirt her way in and seduce him. But if Harry is into men then she wouldn’t stand a chance. It’s not like she can just grow the necessary parts. Why did it have to be Malfoy? If she was going to lose the love of her life, why couldn’t it be to someone worthy?

            Hermione made a disgusted noise. Partly at the fact that it was once again two men marrying each other but mainly at his choice of partner. Malfoy?! What the hell happened to Harry? What could have possessed him to think that this was acceptable? Hermione had scoffed when Ron had suggested that Harry must have been the victim of a spell or potion. That had been silly. Harry knew what he was doing and would never have been stupid enough to fall victim to anything like that. But now she was questioning that. The Harry she knew would never want to marry Draco. Why would he? There was nothing about Malfoy that would make anyone want to marry him. Harry was such a catch. He was sweet, kind, loving and loyal. Harry was everything that Draco wasn’t. This whole thing made no sense.

            “But why?” Ginny blurted out. Harry raised a brow. “Because I am madly in love with Draco and want to spend the rest of my life with him that is why.” Harry replied bluntly.

            Draco pinked up but a smile creeped up on his face. Gods he loved this man.

            “Harry I think you are confused.” Molly began with a shaky voice. “I know that you and Ginny were taking a little break away from each other but I believed that you would find your way back together. Ginny loves you Harry.”

            Ginny was nodding along with her mother. “I have been here waiting until you knew what you wanted.”

            Harry scoffed. “It was no break. It was a breakup. I was never going to come back to you Ginny. You are like a sister to me and that is all you have ever been to me. I was confused during sixth year and mixed the signals. I thought that what we had was a real relationship but it wasn’t. The protective urges that I held for you was just brotherly. There was nothing romantic love between us. I consider you my younger sister and that is all.”

            Ginny’s face fell and her eyes filled with tears. The sister card. He fucking put her in the family area. There was no coming out of that. “You can’t mean that.” She begged as the tears started rolling.

            Draco’s stomach was rolling at the emotional display. He wasn’t sure if he should be threatened or disgusted. He was a mixture of both. Harry lifted their entwined hands and placed them on the table for all to see.

            “I do mean that. I am in love with Draco and I will be marrying him. There is nothing you can say that will make me reconsider this. There was nothing romantic between us. I won’t tell you it was a mistake because it made me realize what true love is. I know what I feel for Draco is the real deal.”

            Ginny gasped in pain. “So I was just some experiment to you?” She demanded angrily.

            Harry sighed. “That is not what I am trying to say. When you find the one that you are meant to be with you will understand. When you fall in love with your next boyfriend you will see how wrong we were for each other. You will realize that all I was to you was a brother.”

            “But you were the one for me. We were made for each other.” She begged him to realize this.

            Draco couldn’t help it, he snorted. Only if she knew how wrong she was. Harry made for her? He scoffed internally.

            Harry groaned. He could understand Draco’s humor, he really could but now was not the time for it.

            Ginny narrowed her eyes at Malfoy. “And I suppose that you disagree? You think that you are meant to be with Harry? Well you are wrong! I am the one that loves him. I am the one who has always been here waiting for him. I know everything there is to know about him. He is the love of my life.” She argued. The tears had stopped flowing and was now replaced with anger. She despised Malfoy with every fiber of her being.

            Draco his filled with loathing as he stared at the delusional redhead. “Oh you think you know him, do you? Tell me what is his favorite foods are. Tell me how he likes his tea in the mornings. Did you know that it differs at night? He likes it sweeter right before bed. How about his dreams and his goals? Do you know any of those? What about the way his eyes light up every time he sees chocolate? His sweet tooth is outrageous. Tell me something about him that doesn’t revolve around his fame or his looks. Tell me about the way Harry smiles at children when he thinks no one is looking. Or the way he can’t help but tear up when he hears a sad song. Did you know that Harry hates most fruit? He doesn’t like the texture, says it makes him gag. Harry likes to sleep in and his laziness far outmatches mine on occasions. Can you tell me one thing about him that no one else knows? Can you honestly say that you have taken the time to appreciate who Harry is on the inside and not just the things he has accomplished? Harry is far more than his name. You look at him with longing but not any good longing. You see a fantasy when you stare at him. You see _the_ Harry Potter but you don’t see who Harry actually is. You know nothing about him. Nothing. Harry was not made for you. You were not meant to be with Harry. I am going to marry Harry because I love him and he loves me.” Draco said with a smile.

            Harry turned to look at his fiancé. “Draco.” He whispered. Harry was touched beyond belief. Draco was utterly amazing. That was one of the sweetest things he had ever heard. He had no idea Draco paid that much attention to what he did. Merlin, this man was everything to him.

            “Beau.” Fleur mumbled in French. That was so touching, they were just so perfect for each other. Watching them filled her with a longing for her own mate. She sighed half in pain and half in wonder as she watched them. Bill took her hand entwining their fingers. She knew from the simple gesture that Bill understood her pain as well.

            Oh man. Draco had it bad for Harry, Charlie thought. There was something about the two of them together that made him ache. He wasn’t sure what it was but he wanted that. He wanted the love they had, which confused him. He had Demetrius so why would watching Harry and Draco make him long for more?

            Hermione and Ron’s noses wrinkled in disgust. Ron had never heard anything so sappy and gross since the short time that he dated Lavender. Hermione was having a hard time believing any of that was real. She didn’t trust Malfoy for one minute. This was just another way to pull Harry in and trap him.

            “I may not know all of that but it doesn’t matter! I love Harry more than you ever will!” Ginny argued shaking a fist.

            Harry arched a brow but continued to stare lovingly at Draco. “You can love me all you want Ginny but we will never be together. It would be best if you moved on and found someone else. This isn’t a negotiation, there is nothing you can say that will make me want to be with you. Draco is my whole world and we will be getting married. So arguing is pointless.” Harry said with his back still turned to her.

            Ginny was outraged. How could Harry say that to her? How could he just give up on them? What they had was real and strong but Harry was just throwing it away? Like they were nothing! Her eyes filled with tears.

            “So that is why you were okay with Charlie marrying a man! You are going to as well!” Hermione said in anger.

            Harry sighed. “Even if I wasn’t in a relationship with a man I would still approve of Charlie being with one. Love is love. Get that through your thick skull. Your beliefs are misguided and horrid. I won’t attempt to change them because you are entitled to your completely wrong opinion.”

            Hermione opened her mouth to no doubt start another argument on the subject but was cut off.

            “Harry.” Molly began with furrowed brows. “Are you sure you have thought this through? I know that you think you two are meant to be together now but there is actually someone out there that is meant for you. And I can tell you that it isn’t him.” That last word had been said with disgust.

            Bill and Charlie straightened at their mother’s words. She was going to talk about soulmates. Honestly, it didn’t even surprise them. She would do whatever she thought she could to get her way. 

            Harry finally left the adoring gaze of Draco’s to narrow his eyes at his once ago honorary mother. “Don’t even bother giving me your doctored soulmate speech. I already know about soulmates. I am still marrying Draco regardless.” Harry wasn’t about to tell these idiots about their bond. It would do nothing anyways. They would still hate Draco, they would never be able to see past all of this. They were too narrow minded in their own ways.

            Draco frowned but conceded to Harry’s wishes. He thought that maybe if they told them about being soulmates that it would make them accept him easier but he didn’t want acceptance like that. He wanted them to accept their relationship as it was. Besides, he honestly couldn’t trust them not to tell anyone. The more people who knew about them, the easier they could be in danger of the Ministry finding out.

            Charlie, Molly and Arthur raised their brows. So Harry already knew about soulmates? Molly frowned. This is not how she had hoped this would go. She was hoping that by surprising him with the knowledge it would make him reconsider going through with this. She was scrambling to come up with something. He was an adult and there was nothing she could do to interfere in this.      

            Charlie was surprised that Harry already knew this. Had Draco told him? Or had he known for a long time? He was still bitter that his mother had never told him about soulmates.

            “Soulmates?” Hermione and Ginny said at the same time in confusion. Ron just shook his head at the girly word.

            “It is nothing.” Molly said quickly. Harry laughed darkly.

            “Oh no. You opened the door to this discussion, so I am going to finish it.” Harry warned. Molly shook her head rapidly but Harry was already gearing to go.

            “What you mother was trying to say, is that there are soulmates in existence. Every witch, wizard, squib or magical creature has a soulmate. They are incredibly rare and can be anyone in the entire world. You have no idea who they are or where they are. They can be already dead or not even born. The soulmate doesn’t have to be magical. Your soulmate could be a muggle, there is no way to detect who your soulmate is until the bond forms. That is what she was going to say.” Harry said with a smug smile on his face.

            “You are making that up.” Hermione said with narrowed eyes. “I have read many books on bonds and there has never been a mention of soulmates.” Draco gritted his teeth. This was exactly why he can’t stand muggleborns. They know nothing of the wizarding world but will argue regardless. Granger had such a false knowledge complex. She needed books to make her feel clever and uses knowledge to fake her way into the world. It’s like a child wearing their parents’ clothes and pretending to be them. Granger was uneducated but pretends otherwise.

            Harry shook his head. “After everything that you have been told today that wasn’t mentioned in books, you are still arguing. Why do you argue about things that you have no knowledge in? There will always be things out there that you don’t know. You can’t know everything no matter how much you would like to. That isn’t how things work.” Hermione opened her mouth but Harry held up a hand.

            “Soulmates do exist and they are very much real. They aren’t in books because the Ministry had taken the knowledge out of them. Soulmates are now taught from parent to child. Like a lot of the teachings.” Harry explained.

            Charlie was impressed with the knowledge that Harry possessed on them. Their mother hadn’t gone into much detail when she was explaining things to Bill so he didn’t know much about them. He had tried to discover more but no one really wanted to talk about soulmates.

            Hermione pouted and wondered if that was true. Why would the Ministry take out such a huge thing? Why would they want to deprive people of that knowledge? That isn’t fair. People deserve to know all that they can. She was tired of finding out that there were things that were only passed down from one generation to the next. It just wasn’t fair.

            Ginny perked up at the thought that she had someone out there that was meant for her. She just knew that it was Harry! That was why she always had this connection to him. Oh this was perfect.

            Ron was a little confused. Why did Harry know about this but he didn’t? He was the pureblood here. Why was his mother only now discussing this? Shouldn’t he have known about this all along? He had a soulmate out there? He wondered who they were and if they were even a live.

            “Harry you must be my soulmate!” Ginny said in excitement!

            Harry, Draco, the twins, Fleur and Bill all busted out laughing. Everyone else looked at them in confusion.

            “Oh god.” Harry said through tears. “That was just golden.” Draco said through chuckles. Ginny frowned at that. Why was that funny?

            “You are _not_ my soulmate.” Harry said with conviction. “The soulmate bond will only form if there is a connection between _both_ individuals and believe me, there is no connection with us. Sexuality plays a key factor too. I find I like the male form more than the female. I don’t know if I am bisexual or I never really evaluated things until Draco. All I do know is that women no longer hold my interest. So there would never be a connection with us. You would know if we were soulmates because then there would be an emotional connection. We would be able to feel each other’s emotions. We are not soulmates. You are grasping at straws.” Harry told her with a firm tone.         

            “Elle s'intéresse seulement à votre renommée et à votre argent.” Fleur mumbled under her breath. Ginny glared at her just knowing that it was something rude. Draco’s mouth twitched rapidly and he shot Fleur an amused look.

            Harry had no idea what she said but the amusement he was picking up from Draco confirmed that it probably wasn’t nice. He couldn’t be bothered to care.

            “Harry dear, I think you need to reconsider that you may be confused. If you are determined to be with a man then why not with Charlie? He would treat you right.” Molly tried to stress. Harry needed to understand what he was doing.

            Charlie choked on his own spit. Did his mother just try to sell him out to Harry?

            Harry opened his mouth in surprise. “Did you just...” Harry shook his head rapidly. “Charlie is getting married to someone already.” Harry pointed out dryly. “Not to mention so am I. I love Charlie like a brother and nothing more. No offense.” He added in an afterthought.

            Charlie laughed and lifted his hands. “No worries. I am not offended.” He assured Harry. Charlie turned to his mother. “I cannot believe you just tried to peddle me off to Harry.” He said in disgust shaking his head.

            Molly made a frustrated noise. “I was just trying to show him that there are other options than doing this!” She argued hotly.

            Harry sighed. This was going to probably cause more issues that it was worth but he decided to just say fuck it. Reckless had always been what he was good at. Harry lifted his sleeve and showed them his engagement torque.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. Thoughts? You may not believe this but this cliffhanger was not intentional. ;P I promise. I needed to cut off the conversation before it got too into it and then the chapter would have been too long. 
> 
> Favorite sentence in the book so far is, how can love ever be wrong. It gave me tingles. That is something that I have always believed in. 
> 
> How adorable was their little dreams of children? The fluffiness of it nearly made me swoon. How cute. 
> 
> The whole aspect of the dark rituals to ensure children? Thoughts? I agree with Draco on the hypocritical views on it. That is a dark ritual but no one cares about it. 
> 
> French. Beau- Beautiful.   
> Elle s'intéresse seulement à votre renommée et à votre argent- She is only interested in your fame and money.   
> Reminder- this is just a literal translation. 
> 
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	42. Hate and Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Warning* This doesn't really pertain to the story or plot so you can skip this little note if you would like. 
> 
> Okay, I would just like to point out the obvious here and state that this is fanfiction. The entire point of fanfiction is to use your imagination and change things around. My story is not entirely cannon. I have changed things and expanded on things that haven't been explained very well in the books. If you are looking for this story to be entirely cannon then you are in the wrong story. You need the original books if you don't want anything to have changed. 
> 
> I understand that everyone has an opinion and that not everyone will like my story. That comes with the territory of posting things online. Not everyone will like what you do. I get that. But if the only negative things you can point out is that it is too different than cannon then I am afraid you aren't understanding what fanfiction is. Sorry if my story is not what you thought it would be but this is my imagination that is running wild and my story. 
> 
> Even though I do not agree with everything that people will say, I do acknowledge that you have the right to say it. So thank you for reading my story and sorry it just wasn't up to your standard. There are thousands of other stories that might be up to your liking instead. 
> 
> For everyone else, I really appreciate your comments and reviews. I love hearing what you guys think of my chapters. Whether it is just a recap or even suggestions for future chapters. If it fits in with my plot then I will try and squeeze it in somewhere. I try and respond to every single comment because I enjoy reading them. Thank you for all the support for my story. Writing daily updates can get taxing. Maybe if they were drabbles it wouldn't be too hard but these are actual chapters so I am thankful that you guys appreciate the hard work I have been putting into this. 
> 
> Negativity sucks but hey that is just life. So I will just take it in stride and surround myself with the positive. :) Thank you for reading this rant and without further ado here is the next chapter.

            Harry sighed. This was going to probably cause more issues that it was worth but he decided to just say fuck it. Reckless had always been what he was good at. Harry lifted his sleeve and showed them his engagement torque.

            Hermione was thoroughly confused as to why a bracelet was causing everyone to lose their minds. “Oh god.” Ginny said in a stunned voice.

            Charlie sucked in a surprise squawk and dropped his mouth open in shock. Ron blinked rapidly and just gaped openly. Molly covered her mouth in horror while her husband rubbed his face into one of his hands.

            “Do you know what that is?” Arthur asked calmly. Harry growled deep in his throat startling those at the table.

            “Of course I know what it is. Draco made sure I knew exactly what I was getting into. He explained it and I made the choice to do this. I want a forever with Draco we are happy with this ceremony.” Harry said with a fierce glare that had Arthur wincing.

            “Well what is it? I read all about marriage ceremonies and I don’t remember there being one with a bracelet.” Hermione said with a haughty tone. Well that wasn’t entirely true. There was an ancient Himalayan bonding ceremony that used handmade twine but that wasn’t like this. Hermione couldn’t ever remember coming across this in anything that she had read. It was beautiful but too extravagant for her tastes.  

            Draco rolled his eyes. “Well you wouldn’t. It is a pureblood engagement torque.”

            Hermione huffed. “It is just like you to prove how much better you are than non-purebloods. In case you have forgotten Harry is a half-blood.”

            Draco chuckled in disbelief. “Believe me I didn’t forget. You need to take a step back and stop seeing prejudice where there isn’t any. It is just what they call it because several generations ago, this was something that purebloods started to ensure that their heirs took the marriage seriously. I was not implying that _only_ purebloods can wear one.” Draco said in exhaustion. Dealing with her was making him have a migraine.

            “The torque is a binding magical contract. Once you get engaged you have to follow through with the marriage and it doesn’t bond you like a typical marriage would. It ties you to your chosen spouse. It ties your magical cores together and it makes it so that you will be bound together in the afterlife and any reincarnated life as well. Not only that but if one of you dies then the other will shortly follow.” Draco explained.

            Hermione looked at Harry with a terrified gleam in her eyes. “Why in the world would you want to perform a ritual like that?” She said in an aghast tone.

            “Because I love Draco and I want to be with him in every life. Not just this one. I don’t want to live in a world where Draco isn’t alive. This wedding ceremony is perfect for us.”

            Molly’s eyes filled with tears. “You have ruined yourself from ever being able to connect with your soulmate. Not in this life nor any others. Do you understand what you have done?” She asked hysterically.

            Charlie loathed to agree with his mother on anything right now but he had reservations about this ceremony. He knew that Harry must have thought this through so he couldn’t fathom why Harry would want to tie himself to someone that wasn’t his soulmate. There was no guarantee he would ever find his mate but to totally take away the chance was a little daunting. Charlie had expected some kind of reaction from Harry… he just didn’t expect a smirk. But the smirk wasn’t a normal one. It was a smirk that held secrets. Like he knew something that they didn’t. This was an odd expression to have after hearing that he would never be able to connect to his soulmate. Charlie looked around to see what his older brother thought of this but was surprised to see a pleased smile on his face. Charlie huffed in confusion. What was going on? He hated to be the last one to understand things. The prats.

            Charlie furrowed his brows trying to think this over. Why would his mum’s comment make Harry smirk? Why did they all laugh when Ginny said that Harry was her soulmate? The conviction in Harry’s voice when he denied her claim had sounded like he knew one hundred percent. But was that possible? How would he know for sure that they weren’t soulmates… unless he already knew who his soulmate was? Suddenly everything was making sense. It was like the candle was lit. “Oh sweet Merlin.” Charlie whispered out in shock. The way they seemed to understand each other. The secret conversations. The touches that spoke volumes. The way they seemed to just know what the other was thinking. The way their love made him ache. The knowledge that they had on the subject. They were soulmates. “Holy fuck.”

            Charlie’s mind was spinning out of control. Soulmates. One simple word and it filled him with ache and longing. He wanted his other half so bad. Demetrius was everything that he could hope for in a partner. Sweet, caring, loving, adorable, wonderful, beautiful and downright amazing. But he wasn’t his soulmate. That was the only downfall to their relationship. Charlie knew that Demetri felt the longing worse due to his creature blood and Charlie sure didn’t envy that. After discovering that soulmates were real Charlie had tried to learn everything he could on the subject. Which albeit wasn’t much. People were so closed lipped on the subject. Touchy bastards. He did know how rare they were and that the last known couple in England had been almost 700 years ago. To think that he actually knew someone who had met their soulmate was hard to believe. Harry and Draco would be the only known soulmates alive right now. That was incredible.

            Molly was nodding along to Charlie’s statement. At least he was agreeing with her. Good. That should make it easier for Harry to understand what he did.

            Harry shot Charlie a panicked look. He could tell by the way he was reacting that he had just figured it out but he didn’t want the rest of the family to know about it.

            Charlie could see the panic and pleading in Harry’s eyes. He arched a brow but nodded once. He didn’t understand why Harry wanted to keep it a secret. His mother would accept it more readily if she knew. But if Harry didn’t want anyone to know then he would respect his wishes. It wasn’t his secret to tell anyways.

            Harry turned his eyes to Molly and narrowed them. “I know exactly what I have done. Again, I thought long and hard about this and I want to do it. I know I can’t stop the contract and that I now have to marry Draco but that is what I want. We will be doing this, there is nothing that you can say to change it because it is physically impossible for us to not wed now. So do all us a favor and just accept this because there is no other alternative. I want this. That is _all_ I am going to say on the subject.” Harry warned.

            Molly tilted her head to the side. There was nothing that could stop an engagement torque. She couldn’t believe that they were doing this. It would be a Malfoy move to ensure that Harry couldn’t back out of the wedding now. Even if she raised all kinds of hell and used every trick under the sun, nothing would be able to interfere with the torque. She loathed to admit it but Malfoy won this round. And that killed her to think about. Molly glared the best she could at the Malfoy heir. This was all his fault. If he had never talked to Harry then she would be getting a son in-law.

            “So you can’t ever change your mind?” Hermione asked in horror. “You are stuck with him forever?” The way she said it was like that was the worst possible thing she could imagine.

            Harry however smiled widely. “Oh yes. This life and every single one after.” He said in a dreamy voice that reminded the others of Luna. Draco smiled warmly at Harry.

            Harry sat up straighter with a blush when he realized how lovesick he was acting. It was true but that didn’t mean he had to show it.

            “How do you know he returns your… affections? How do you know that once you marry him he won’t show his true colors? You can’t know what he is feeling. He could be tricking you.” Hermione said thoughtfully.

            Harry tried really hard to hold his laughter in but a tiny sob of humor escaped. Draco had to press his lips firmly to keep from reacting. If only she knew how wrong that statement was. Harry shook his head rapidly hoping that would clear his humor. If Hermione could feel the love that Draco held for him then she would not be questioning this.

            Fred and George snorted before they schooled their features to a blank mask. Hermione shot them a look of confusion. What was so funny? That is a legitimate concern. She had Harry’s best interests in mind.

            Charlie coughed to cover his amusement. Now that he was in on it, it really was funny. There was no concern that she could come up with that would make Harry change his mind. Soulmates. That right there cleared up everything. Charlie couldn’t imagine what it would feel like to know exactly how much he was loved. To know and to feel it are two different things.

            “Sorry.” Harry said chuckling. “But your concern is not needed. I am not worried about this. I know that he loves me just as much as I love him. So just keep your worries to yourself okay?”

            Hermione huffed. How in the world could he be so brainwashed? What had Malfoy done to get Harry’s blind trust? She couldn’t understand any of this.

            “I can’t believe you were stupid enough to actually put on the torque. Malfoy had to have tricked you into it somehow. You are smarter than this.” Ron said in frustration.

            Harry arched a brow. “I have already told you that he explained what it is. I didn’t put it on and then ask about it. He wouldn’t even let me touch it until I knew exactly what the torque entailed. So what exactly has your knickers in a twist? Is it because I am getting married or is it because that person is Draco?” Harry questioned in a low voice.

            “ _Malfoy_ ” Ron spat. “Doesn’t deserve your friendship nor your… relationship.” Ron sneered on the last word. “This has to be some form of spell. I feel bad for you. When you wake up and realize just what he has done to you it will be too late. And I will be right here to tell you I told you so.”

            “Oh how kind of you.” Harry said sarcastically. “Well sorry to burst your bubble but that will not be happening. Years from now when I am still blissfully wed and happy you are going to realize that this is not a mistake. That I am happy and that Draco really does love me. When that time comes, I hope you know that I won’t be here for you. There will be no I told you so’s. There will be nothing because you don’t deserve a single word from me.”

            Ron felt a twinge of pain at Harry’s words. To think that Harry didn’t want him in his life hurt a lot. “So you are ditching our friendship?” Ron asked quietly not meeting his eyes.

            Harry sighed. “That is not what has happened. You were the one that ditched our friendship. You are the one that treated me atrociously and then when I come here to see what you have to say, you treat me even worse. This is not friendship. Friends don’t treat each other like this. I didn’t deserve any of this. You think I like what has happened to us? You think I like knowing that we aren’t the friends that we used to be? Well I don’t.” Harry’s voice cracked. Draco wrapped his arms around Harry and rested his chin on Harry’s shoulder. He ignored the glares being sent his way. Harry’s comfort mattered far more than what they thought of him.

            “I hate that we aren’t friends. I hate that when something amazing happens that I can’t tell you about it. I hate that when something funny happens you won’t be there to laugh with me about it. I hate that I can’t share my dreams or ideas with you. I hate that we won’t get to play quidditch with each other again. I hate that we will never argue over whether chudley cannons will win the quidditch cup. I hate that I won’t be there for the day that you marry Hermione. I hate that you won’t be my best man at my wedding. I hate that you won’t be there to see the home Draco and I will eventually move into. I hate that you won’t laugh at me when I do something silly. I hate that I won’t be able to reminisce about our past adventures. I hate that you won’t see the kids that I will eventually have. I hate that we won’t have family get togethers. I hate that our kids won’t grow up as friends. I hate that the only times you will see me are in passing at a shop in town and that we will have to avoid each other for fear of awkward conversations. I hate the things we will never do together again. I hate the pain I feel at your rejection. I hate that you can’t accept someone who makes me happier than I have ever been. I hate the memories of us being happy. I hate that you have never been there for me when I needed it the most. I hate that I miss you. I hate that this happened. I hate that I lost my best friend. I hate it all Ron. I hate it all.” Harry said through tears.   

              Hermione was openly crying as the realization of all of this came crashing down on her. She was never going to be Harry’s friend again. Harry was really going to walk away from them and never look back.

     Ron felt the sting behind his eyes. Losing Harry hurt bad. It hurt like nothing he had ever experienced before. Harry had been his best friend since the moment he sat down on the train. Ron knew that he could always tell Harry anything and that he would never be judged for it. He had gotten used to the fact that Harry would always be there for him. But now he realized that Harry was going to leave. Harry was going to put aside their friendship and Ron couldn’t blame him. No matter how much Ron wanted to beg for forgiveness he knew that it wouldn’t make a difference. Not because he feared that Harry wouldn’t forgive him but because he would never be able to get along with Malfoy. He would never be able to be in the same room without wanting to curse the git. Ron was still unsure if any of this wasn’t a ploy of Malfoys. Accepting Malfoy would be the only way to get Harry back into his life but that was something that he just couldn’t do.

            “Losing you was hard. I already came to grips with the loss of you and Hermine. I couldn’t understand why you would do this. After everything we have been through, how could you just throw me away? Didn’t I mean something to you? Didn’t I matter? Wasn’t I good enough for you guys? I couldn’t understand how my choice to befriend someone would make you leave me. I was devastated, crushed and utterly destroyed. My family didn’t want me anymore.” Draco rubbed circles along Harry’s stomach as he pushed through all the love that he could muster.

            “But as much as I hate the things that will now be behind me, I love what I have gained. I love the way Draco makes me feel. I love the way he shows me more than tells me how much he cares. I love the way he puts everything he is doing aside just to kiss me and tell me about his day. I love that he makes me his number one priority. I love that he is always touching me when we are together. I love that he thinks about me when we are apart. I love that he is always giving me little tokens of his affection. I love that he listens to what I have to say without judgement. I love that he holds me when I have a nightmare and waits until I have fallen asleep before he follows suit. I love that he takes me out whenever I am feeling down. I love that when I am missing my friends he listens to all the great things about you two. I love that he wants to know about you guys and our adventures. I love that he never says a negative word about you even when I am the one complaining. I love that he included me into his friendship with Pansy and Blaise. I love that he is the one who forced me here tonight. I love that he wants to be accepted by you all even though he knows it will never happen. I love that he wants the best for me. I love that he will always be here for me. I love that he will never leave me nor abandon me when things get tough. I love that I will be married to him. I love that he has become my best friend. I love all of the things that we do together. I love that he considers Kreacher as a part of the family. I love that he is silly and sneaky. I love that he has a mischievous side that scares me. I love that one day we will have children together. I love that I will get to have a career with the love of my life. I love that I am the most important thing to him. I love that he stood up to his family for me. I love that he goes out of his way to include me in everything. I love that he never lets me get too down in my emotions. I love that he knows when I need space and never crowds me. I love the life that I have with him. I love every single thing about Draco Malfoy. So even though I hate losing you two, I love everything that I have gained. I love him more than anything in the entire world. It sucked losing you but Draco was the one to help me get over it. He was the one who was there to wipe away my tears when I questioned my self-worth. He was the one who picked up the pieces and glued them back together with his love that he freely gives me. I would lose you all over again if that meant keeping Draco. If having you in my life means constant tension around each other when together then I don’t want it. I know that you will never accept him and that is okay. I don’t have to have you in my life. But I do need Draco. He is what makes all of this worth it.”

            Draco had tears in his eyes as he buried his face into Harry’s neck. “I love you Harry. So fucking much.” Draco croaked. Merlin, he had never heard something so sweet in his whole life.

            Harry closed his eyes and soaked up all of the love and pleasure that Draco was feeling. This right here is what makes losing his friends okay. As long as he had Draco in his life than nothing else mattered.

            Harry turned his head slightly to press as much of his head against Draco that he could. “I love you too baby.” Harry gently wiped away Draco’s tears and kissed his cheek lovingly. Draco nuzzled into the warmth of Harry’s face.

            Ron watched them curiously. He hated knowing how much his silence hurt Harry. He had never wanted that. He never wanted to hurt his best friend. He just wanted to prove a point and he realized that he had gone about it the wrong way. Ron remembered the words that Fred and George told him. They had said that Harry was moving on and if he didn’t get his head out of his arse then he would no longer have a best friend. Ron had scoffed then, nothing would make Harry not forgive him. Nothing would come in between their friendship. They were strong. But Ron realized that it was never Malfoy that had come in between them. No. He realized that it was his fault. He had been the one to destroy everything. He was at fault not Malfoy. Ron’s heart hurt knowing that he had been the one to start all of this. He wished that he could go back in time and change the things he had said. Change the things that he had done. He wished he could have been the friend that Harry had needed. He wished he could have been there for him. But he wasn’t. And in some weird twist of events his enemy had been the friend that he should have been. That thought gutted him. He was supposed to be Harry’s friend and instead of being that friend he had led way to Harry seeking comfort elsewhere.

            Regret. Hermione was filled with so much regret as she watched the two of them. Harry’s words were playing back in her mind and she hated it. She hated it that Harry had been so despondent after they stopped talking to him. She hated that Harry had to get comfort from Malfoy. Harry was her best friend. He had always been there for her and defended her against all people who made fun of her. Harry never made her feel like she wasn’t trash for being a muggleborn. Harry had always accepted her and she loved it. She loved that Harry would always be there for her. Harry had been a steady constant in her life. Something that would never go away. But sitting here she realized that he was leaving. He was going to walk out and move on. Harry was over their friendship and that hurt. She hated that Harry had replaced them. Harry no longer needed them but she still needed him! She was upset with herself for not writing to him. She had thought that Ron needed her more and he was her boyfriend. She couldn’t not take his side. Ron had never been strong like Harry, she had assumed that Harry would be okay. Hermione had never thought that they were hurting him like this. She wished that she still had a time turner. She would go back and fix it all. She would make sure that she never had done that and maybe then Harry wouldn’t have ended up engaged to the enemy.

            Fleur had to fight back tears at how adorable they were. She felt bad that Harry had to go through this. After everything he had been through it shouldn’t be like this. Harry should have all the family he had. He shouldn’t have lost anyone. Fleur ached for Harry but she was also incredibly proud of him for facing the family.

            Draco wished they were somewhere else. He just wanted to go home and not leave for days. He wanted to show Harry exactly how loved he was and how he didn’t need these people. He wanted to give Harry the world. Draco wanted to be able to kiss Harry and love him. This place was getting smaller by the minute. It felt small and confining. He hated it. He missed the creepy halls of Grimwald place. He missed Kreacher’s mumbling. But most of all he missed the freedom that they had. Freedom to do whatever they wanted.

            Silence. No one was speaking. Harry wondered if there was more silence than actual talking tonight. Harry could tell by the looks on his former best friends that they realized how serious this was and how they would never be able to be as they once were. Maybe a long time from now they could be acquaintances but they would never be friends again. It was all too much. The what ifs and the how it should’ve been would haunt him if they became friends again. There was no way to get past this. Not after all of the things that had been said tonight. Maybe if they had immediately been contrite but they weren’t. Some awful things had been discussed and Harry got to see what they really thought. He refused to have anyone in his life that didn’t approve of Draco. He had no time for petty shit and taking them back into his life would be asking for just that.

     He knew that Draco would do anything for him and that would include being nice to Ron and Hermione. But his friends wouldn’t do the same, which made the difference. Draco would accept them in a heartbeat but it wasn’t Draco that was the problem. It was Ron and Hermione. There was no longer room for them in his life. Not with the way that they had acted. It was nice that they finally realized the full gravity of the situation but it was too late. Lines had been crossed and there was no going back. This was a chapter of his life that was done. As hard as it was to admit that, Harry knew it to be true. He was moving on with his life without them in it. He knew that it would take some more time to get over this. He would cry and scream and curse them both but Draco would be there to help him. Draco would once again pick up the pieces and hold him the whole way. Harry was okay with this. He was okay with losing them. He had a family that loved him and cared about his wellbeing. He had a fiancé that loved him more than anything. He didn’t need Ron and Hermione to be happy and that was okay with him. As much as he hated that they had come here, Harry knew that it had been necessary to get the closure that he needed. Draco had been right. Not that he would ever tell him that. Draco would just get an even bigger ego.  

            Fred and George were proud of Harry. They were proud of Draco as well. It took a lot of courage to come here tonight and they both managed it perfectly. They handled the harsh words with ease and a calm attitude. If it had been either of them they knew they would have walked out long ago. The twins admired the strength that it took for Harry to confront everyone. They couldn’t imagine losing best friends like that. It would be devastating. But they knew that Harry had a wonderful support system behind him that would help him. Harry wasn’t alone. He had a family that loved him and friends that would do anything for him.

            “Who wants dessert?” Molly said breaking the quiet. She feared that if she stayed quiet much longer than she would start crying. She knew that this was most likely the last time that Harry would step foot into her home and she was devastated. She wished things could be different. She wished that Harry had never gotten involved with the Malfoy heir. She wished that they had never ignored Harry. She wished that they had been there for him when he needed it. Maybe if they had just been around then things would have gone back to normal.

     Harry didn’t even bother responding. Merlin, what was with this family? It was like she just wanted to sweep all unpleasant things under the rug. If a fight happens shove it away and act like it never happened. If unpleasant things are mentioned just gloss over them. Who needs to talk about things? Who needs to discuss the actual problems? Well at least Harry now knew where Ron picked up such a habit.

            Harry was clutching Draco’s hand tighter than normal under the table but Draco didn’t seem to mind so Harry kept on holding it. He did however push him a wave of love in apology. Draco rubbed his thumb in soothing circles on the back of his hand. Harry was wondering when would be the best time they could leave. Surely, since dessert was being served that meant they could leave soon. He had said his peace and there wasn’t anything he had left to say to them.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tomorrow is the last chapter of the burrow dinner. Hopefully you are liking it so far. I know it has been rather long and I thank you for keeping up with it. 
> 
> Thoughts on this chapter? I have to admit that I got a little teary eyed when Harry was talking about all the things that he hates that he can't do with Ron. Then it didn't help when he started talking about all the things he loves about Draco. I am just a big baby when it comes to stuff like this. 
> 
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	43. The Last Supper

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No the title was not a biblical reference or a play on the painting. I just thought it was a fitting title that had no religious meaning to my story. :)

            When the pudding was laid out on the table Harry snorted darkly and covered his face in both of his hands. “Do you have any other desserts?” Harry asked with his face still covered.

            Ron sat up straighter, he was still upset about all of this and he needed to blow off steam. “Why is the _great_ Harry Potter too good for my mum’s desserts?” Hermione elbowed Ron but it was too late.   

            Harry snapped his head up and everyone could feel the anger rolling off of him. “You know damn well that I have never once liked the way people treat me because of my name. I have never used my name to grant me anything. I have never used my name to get something I didn’t deserve. I have never used my fame to further my own agenda. I have always done things with my own merit. Even when I testified at the trial, I did so with my own knowledge. I studied law books for two months just so that I knew what I was talking about. You have the nerve to say that to me? Have you forgotten everything that we have been through in your bid to smite me? You really want to know why I was asking that?” Harry said with pure venom in his voice causing Ron to shrink down in his seat.

            “Your brother is fucking allergic to Raspberries. I was asking if there was something else for Fred. How about instead of jumping to conclusions, you just ask me!” Harry exploded as he pushed the pudding away from him. He had definitely lost his appetite a long time ago.

            Everyone turned to stare at Fred in surprise. Fred’s eyes widened comically. Fred really hated to be the center of attention when it didn’t involve a prank. But despite his growing discomfort, he couldn’t help but be filled with warmth that Harry knew this. He had known that Harry had told the raspberry story to Blaise but it hadn’t been clear if he had known why his hands had swelled.  

            Bill tilted his head to the side as he thought back to when the twins had come in to talk sense to the rest of the family. His mother had mentioned raspberry pie then too and that was when Fred stormed out. Had he really been allergic and no one noticed? Had Fred told them? He was feeling quite guilty that he hadn’t known this about his little brother.

     Molly frowned in confusion. “Fred’s not allergic to raspberries. I would know if my own baby was allergic. It is his favorite.”

            Harry snorted. “Why because George likes raspberries? They aren’t the same person. They both have different dreams and ideas. They like different things and hate separate stuff. Just because they are twins and do things together does not mean that they are the same. I imagine you all gift them identical presents on holidays.” Harry shook his head at the gobsmacked looks on everyone’s faces.

            “Did you know that George hates onions?” George startled. He knew he had never told Harry that. He wasn’t allergic so he was confused at how Harry knew that. Bill nodded remembering that was when George had stormed out too. He felt like the worst big brother in existence. How could he not have known this? He took a glance towards Charlie and noticed the same guilty look. At least he wasn’t the only one.

            “He is always picking them out of meals at Hogwarts. At first I just thought it was the one dish but it is any dish that has onions. Did you know that Fred loves anything with pumpkin? His face lights up like a Christmas tree every time anything pumpkin is on the table. Did you know that George’s eyes are slightly darker than Fred’s? Or that Fred has an extra freckle on his nose that George doesn’t?” The twins were staring at Harry with their jaws dropped open.

            Harry vaguely realized that he had probably said too much but he was on a roll. There was no stopping now. “Did you know that Fred doesn’t really like quidditch that much? Every time we would have to go to practice his smile would be a little fixed and he hardly participated in conversations that revolved around the topic. I am sure he liked it well enough but not as much as George. Did you know that George never drinks pumpkin juice? No idea why but he doesn’t. Always chooses something else. Did you know that Fred always smiles bigger than George when something funny has been said? Did you know that George is always moving? He can’t sit still for too long. Did you know that silences bother Fred? He sometimes hums to himself if it gets too quiet or he cracks a joke just to break the quiet. Did you know that hardly anyone can tell them apart? It isn’t difficult, you just have to have the drive to want to. You just have to _care_ enough to see them for who they are. Here is the most obvious question. Did you know that they are separate people? Seems rhetorical but no one treats them like that.”

            Silence. That was what greeted Harry after his mini speech. He winced internally. Fred wasn’t the only one who didn’t like silences. Had he said too much? Did he come off as creepy? Harry glanced up to see the reaction of the twins, they were the ones that mattered right now.

            Harry could see the complete surprise on their faces and he had no warning before the pair of them completely launched at Harry over the table tackling him into a hug.

            “Oi! Get off me.” Harry said through chuckles. “No.” They said in unison before hugging the day lights out of him. Draco put his hands beneath his chin and watched them with a fond smile on his lips.

            Fred couldn’t believe it. No one had ever noticed any of those things about them before. During school Lee had been their closest friend but he was just interested in the pranking really. They had lost touch since they had left during their final year. Lee had been a tad upset that they left without him but Lee would never have been serious enough for the business. He worked for the ministry now. That was all the proof they needed to know they made the right decision. The things that Harry had picked up on weren’t everyday things. Harry had been paying close attention to them and it touched Fred in ways it probably should have freaked him out.

            George was stunned. Goodness he wasn’t even aware that Harry had known any of that. To him it showed how much Harry cared about them. Sure, it was odd but it was so endearing that he was able to look over that bit. Besides, who wasn’t odd these days? George had always wondered why it was so hard for people to tell them apart, they were more different than they were alike. People just couldn’t see past the identical part and just assumed that they were the same in personality as they were in looks. He wondered how long it had taken Harry to notice all of these things. Was this a recent development?

            Fred and George took a step back and grinned at Harry. Draco tilted his head to the side, now that Harry had mentioned it, Fred’s grin was wider than George’s. Interesting.

            “You are our best friend Harry.” They said in unison with emotion. Harry threw his arms around them. “You are my best friend too. You guys mean so much to me. You don’t even know. You were there for me when I really needed it and I am so grateful that I get to call you two family.”

            Ron glared at the three of them. This wasn’t right. Harry was supposed to be his best friend not his brothers’ friend. None of this would have happened if Harry had left Malfoy alone… or if he had been a better friend.

            Bill and Charlie shared guilty looks again. Neither one of them had noticed any of the things that Harry had mentioned. Some of them were questionable things anyways. Who watches what someone eats that closely? But a lot of the things shouldn’t have come across as a surprise. Bill was guilty of always getting them the same things because he assumed that they liked the same things. They were always together, it had just made sense that they were into the same stuff. But now it seemed rather silly to just assume that. It wasn’t like they were one being split into two bodies.

            Molly was horrified to realize that she didn’t know any of the things that Harry had mentioned. What else had she been overlooking? How could she have not known her baby was allergic to raspberries? Had George always disliked onions? She felt like she had failed at being a mother. Was it because she just had a lot of children that she tended to not notice the little things? Or was this something bigger?

            When the twins sat back in their chairs an awkward silence filled the air. “How come you didn’t tell me you were allergic?” Molly wailed as she wiped her eyes. Fred and George scoffed as they made their way back to their seats. She made it seem like this was somehow his fault.

            “I did!” Fred cried out angrily. “On quite a few occasions. Remember the summer Harry was here? You had us all out picking raspberries? I tried telling you again that I couldn’t do that but you said that I was just being lazy and that I needed to pitch in wherever I could. My hands tripled in size! I had to have Percy brew me an anti-allergy potion!”

            Molly flinched at the memory. She had said that. She had just assumed that he was trying to get out of it. The twins always tried to get out of their chores so she thought this was just another instance where he was trying to trick her.

            “Anaphylaxis Paralysis.” Harry and Draco corrected at the same time. Everyone turned to stare at them.

            “Huh?” Fred asked confused. “That is the potion that he would have made. You called it anti-allergy but that isn’t the correct term.” Draco said shifting in his seat.

     Harry nodded. “Quite a difficult potion to make too. It is combining the shrinking potion with restoration potion. The shrinking solution is needed to target the inflammation from allergic reaction while the restoration potion is designed to go in and target the areas that were affected due to the raspberries. If not made correctly the shrinking solution can be too potent and could shrink your organs internally. But if the restoration potion is not strong enough it won’t have any effect on restoring your body.”

            Ron, Hermione and Ginny shared confused looks. As far as they were aware, Harry didn’t know much about potions at all. Was this Malfoy’s involvement?

            “Even with doing the potion correctly there is usually always a chance of a rash forming on your skin. It is a negative reaction from the Sulphur Vive in the restoration ingredients.” Draco added.

            Fred had been a little frightened hearing that if Percy had made the potion wrong that his insides could have shrunk! Percy never mentioned that! This was his mother’s fault. If she had just listened to him in the first place than they wouldn’t have needed the potion. It is a good thing that Percy had been a nerd like Harry and Draco or else they would have been in some serious trouble.

            “But not if you add a couple drops of Murtlap Essence. That should take care of any rashes but I wouldn’t add more than two drops.” Harry piped up lost in thought.

            Draco hummed in thought. “You know that is a smart idea.” Hermione raised her brows. It was a smart idea and she couldn’t believe that Harry had been the one to think it. “But Murtlap Essence is a solution taken from Murtlap tentacles. It would be more potent to either shave or dice the tentacles and then just add a small quantity ensuring that there really would be no rash.” Draco pointed out.

            “You know I didn’t think of that. You are love are brilliant. You could even-” Harry was cut off by George.

            “You two will be at this all day if I don’t stop you now. Not to mention you are boring me more thoroughly than Binns ever did. Wait till you get home before you start this stimulating conversation of Murtseed tentacles.” George said sarcastically. Fred snorted at the identical affronted looks being sent his brother’s way.

            “It is Murtlap not Murtseed. Murtseed shouldn’t be added to anything unless you are making a salve to treat burns. The volatile way it can react with other ingredients makes it a hazard to work with. I don’t know how you can confuse the two.” Draco explained like it should have been obvious.

            “Unless it is added to deep abrasions that Essence of Dittany can’t reach.” Harry piped up. Draco turned to Harry intrigued. “Do explain that one. I can’t fathom how the Murtseed would help with abrasions, depending on the abrasion Murtlap would be preferable.” Harry opened his mouth to explain but the twins let out giant groans so he closed his mouth.

            “Later.” Harry promised. Draco pouted for a moment but then his face cleared. “Later.” He agreed.

            “I have been an awful mother.” Molly moaned in despair as she ignored the potion conversation. She didn’t want to think that something could have happened with the potion. Why hadn’t Fred come to her as soon as his hands started to swell?

            Fred and George pointedly looked elsewhere. Neither one was about to lie to make her feel better.

            “Nonsense.” Arthur argued as he pat the top of her hands. “It was just an honest mistake.”

            Fred and George made startled noises of disbelief while Harry and Draco shared an incredulous look.

            “Mistake?” Fred asked weakly. A mistake? It wasn’t like it was the first time he tried telling her about his allergy. That had been the last straw for him that day. Once she told him to stop making up lies to get out of chores he had stormed out. Luckily George did all the picking after that day. Goodness it was more than just a mistake. She only saw what she wanted to see when it came to them.

            “Right. It was only a mistake.” Arthur said firmly as if daring them to argue. Fred huffed. He couldn’t believe it, even his dad was sticking up for her. But honestly what did he expect? It’s not like their dad ever went against the status quo around here, just letting his mum run the house.

            “A pretty deadly one.” Harry mumbled quietly. Not quiet enough it seemed. Molly snapped her head up and glared at Draco. Harry furrowed his brows, why was she glaring at Draco? He wasn’t the one who said anything.  

            “What did you say?” She asked putting her hands on her hips, seemingly over her sadness.

            “Nothing.” Draco said in confusion. Harry was the one who spoke! Why was she glaring at him? Draco had more respect than to just blurt out things like that in someone else’s home. Merlin, his mother would have a fit if he had done that. Pureblood etiquette and all. 

     “Don’t you nothing me. I heard you mumble something over there. I invite you to my home and you have the nerve to talk bad about me and my family. I knew you were bad news from the beginning. Bullying my children, Harry and Hermione then worming your way into Harry’s life! Harry has had a hard life and he doesn’t need you to make matters worse. You think that he needs an ex-deatheater to stain all the good work he has done? When people look at him all they are going to see is how he defended your family from Azkaban. They are going to forget all the good he has done. And now you have somehow confunded him into a marriage with you. The horror of that is astounding. Can you imagine what the papers will say about this? And they won’t be wrong! You have ruined Harry and his good name. Your entire family is a black stain on our society. Ugh Malfoys are nothing but evil and vile and you are no different. The longer he stays with you the more his entire work was for nothing!” Molly shouted angrily and eyes gleaming when she caught sight of the flash of pain in the boy’s face.

            “Excuse me.” Draco muttered before getting up and walking out of the room with as much dignity as he could muster. Draco walked into the living room and shakily sat down. He took big gulps of air trying to calm himself down. That hurt. That really hurt. He knew he should ignore the things she had said. He knew this. But… those thoughts have been with him since the start of their relationship. He was always worried about what his relationship with Harry would do to his lover’s name. That had been his main concern. Harry has done so much good in his life and Draco didn’t want to be the one to tarnish his name. Was she right?

            “Mum!” The twins said in outrage. How could she say such things like that to Draco? Kind Draco who had handled a lot shite from the rest of the family. Fred’s heart ached for Draco. He had seen the pain that his mother’s words caused him and he felt awful. Draco has had a rough day, which is the understatement of the year really. He didn’t need all of this family drama. Neither Harry nor Draco deserved the treatment that they have gone through tonight.

            George glared heavily at his mother. He didn’t like the triumphant look that was in his mother’s eyes. How has he never noticed this in his mother before? She was always so kind and loving, well unless it didn’t have to deal with Fleur. His mother liked to control things, everything had to be just her way or she thew a fit. Which is alright for a clean house… mostly. But when it comes to the lives of her children it is not okay. They are people with their own lives, that she has no say in. Which has always been her biggest issue. She wants to bottle them all up into what she deems as the perfect life. It appears that she had included Harry into this as well. George couldn’t believe how cruel his mother had been tonight. Not just with Draco but regarding Fleur and Demetrius as well. What happened to his mother? Why was she so prejudiced?

            Fleur’s heart broke as she watched Draco walk away with tears in his eyes. She leveled the biggest glare that she could possible muster at her mother in-law. Fleur couldn’t understand how someone could be so hostile and mean to someone as lovely as Draco. Harry and Draco had a lot more patience than her, that is for sure. She would have walked out a long time ago and never looked back.

            Bill was stunned speechless. He had heard a lot of horrid things out of his mother before. Usually leveled at deatheaters or dark supporters but to treat Draco like that was uncalled for and he wasn’t even the one who had spoken. It was like his mother was just looking for a reason to explode on him to prove how ‘evil’ he is to Harry. Bill’s heart went out to Draco and even Harry. He sighed sadly. This was not how he had hoped tonight would go.

            To be honest, Charlie wasn’t even surprised. Not after everything that had been said tonight. The only thing he was feeling was disgust for his bigoted mother and pain for Draco. He just wished things could have been different. He wished that everyone could have gotten a long nicely and that Harry would have gotten his family back. Because after everything that Harry has been through, a family is the least that he could ask for.      

            Harry could feel guilt, regret, pain and utter despair from the bond before he stood up so rapidly that his chair went flying backwards. Magic cackled throughout the room causing the hairs on everyone’s arms to stand up. The drinks on the table shattered, spilling the liquid inside all over. Plates cracked in half, silverware flying up as if lifted by wind. The table buckled as if there was a heavy weight pressing upon it. The magic in the room was tangible and thick. It sucked most of the air out of the room and left everyone feeling tight and uncomfortable.

            Molly shrank down in her seat when Harry directed a furious glare in her direction. Perhaps she over stepped her boundaries just a little bit.

            “Who do you think you are?” Harry asked in a dangerous voice that sent shivers down all those listening. Harry’s voice had gone from normal to dark. Very very dark. The sound was deep and gravely, it sounded nothing like Harry’s voice at all.

            Fred and George shared startled looks. What was going on? Was this the darkness? Did their mother push Harry past a point of no return? Had the darkness taken over?

            Draco stilled when he felt something odd coming from Harry. It was like he was there but he wasn’t at the same time. Draco couldn’t pin point exactly what had changed but he could feel a ton of anger and just a sense of wrong. Draco shoved his pride away and walked back into the room. He would do this for Harry. No matter how much he just wanted to run away and lick his wounded pride in privacy.

            Draco froze when he entered the room and saw the floating objects and the nearly visible magic. He took a glance around the room and snorted when he could see Weasel shaking in his seat like a first year who just met Severus for the first time.

            “How dare you say those things to Draco? After everything that you have learned about him today you still have the ignorance to utter the pure shite that you just spewed. _I_ was the one who mumbled not Draco! You fucking moron.” Harry snarled angrily. Molly flinched at her mistake, she wasn’t sure what to make of this very angry Harry. She was honestly terrified of the anger that was rolling off of him in waves.

            Harry’s eye color was rapidly receding. The green was being taken over by black. A deep pitch dark black that had everyone leaning away. The darkness of his eyes wasn’t human.  

            “I didn’t want to come tonight. I was ready to chuck the lot of you away but Draco was the one who convinced me to come. He said that you guys were my family and he was not going to be the one to come between us. He wanted you all to like him. He wanted this dinner to go smoothly so that I could finally have my family back. Draco is ten times the person you will ever be. I don’t want any part of this family. I am so utterly and completely done with you. I don’t give a rats ass what happens to you. I don’t care if we ever see each other again. Family, that is one word that can’t describe you all. Because family would never have done this. Whatever the fuck you guys are I want no part in it.” Harry said forcefully right before all the windows in the burrow shattered.

            Hermione and Ginny screamed and covered their heads. Everyone else just flinched violently.

            Draco stepped up close to Harry. “Love?” At the sound of Draco’s voice, green sparked through Harry’s eyes for a moment before the black came back full force.

            “I wish you could understand how much that man means to me. You are so narrow minded and so far shoved up your arses that prejudiced is simple for you. Oh you are a light family so that means that you can do no wrong. Anyone who isn’t like you must surely be bad. You ignore every single positive thing that has been said today about Draco and choose to spout off the most ridiculous notion that you could possibly come up with. I can’t believe how thick you can be. I see where Ron gets it from. I have never encountered worse people in my life. And that is saying something since I grew up with the fucking Dursleys!” Harry bellowed angrily. The shattering of dishes in the kitchen could be heard.

            Molly was cowering in her chair. She was really wishing she could take back her previous statement. She wasn’t sure what was going on but she didn’t like it. She wasn’t sure what was happening with Harry. She had never seen him so angry before. Actually, she had never seen anyone this angry before. Something dark was inside Harry, of that she had no doubt. The tone of his voice and the way his eyes seemed to stare straight into her soul indicated that there was something other than Harry in there. She was freaked out. Was this a side effect of killing you-know-who? Was Harry now the next dark lord? Was this something that could be fixed? How were they going to get him to calm down before he destroyed their entire house?

            Draco took another step closer. “Can you hear me Harry?” More green started to shine through. That was a good sign. Draco didn’t dare push any feelings through the bond just in case it backfired. As it was the bond was eerily dark almost as if it was laughing at Draco. Mocking him and letting him know that he was now on the back burner. It was asking him if he liked being second now. Draco had to fight the urge to surround Harry in love.

            “I wish I had never come here tonight. I wish that you imbeciles possessed an ounce of knowledge. I don’t think you can even rub two brain cells between the lot of you. Draco is the absolute best thing that has ever happened to me. I count my lucky stars that he found me in the quidditch pitch. He is more than just my partner. He is my everything. When you insult him you are insulting me.” Harry warned as his voice dropped another octave. The walls of the burrow shook violently making everyone look around in panic. Was the house about to come down?

            Draco made the last step up to Harry and wrapped his arms around Harry’s waist.    

            “I love you Harry. Come back to me.” Draco pleaded calmly. That did it. The black completely left Harry’s vision and was replaced with his normal green emerald eyes. Everyone let out a breath of relief as the walls stopped moving and the silverware clanged back down on the now sturdy table.

            It was odd, Harry knew what had happened and what he had done but it wasn’t like he was caught off guard. He meant every word that had been said but he wasn’t intentionally destroying the house. It was like his anger fueled him to actually say it all. He had felt another presence inside him but it wasn’t quite sentient. It was ‘helping’ his anger. Making it higher and more potent. The first time he had heard Draco’s voice he tried to reign it in, he wanted to comfort his love but the presence wasn’t done. The darkness wanted to voice more of its opinions. It wanted more time to speak. The more Harry had struggled the harder it was to control the anger. It was almost as if the anger was being fueled by the struggle as well. Only when Draco’s presence was there did he feel like he could fight it more efficiently.

            The final push that had been needed was Draco’s love. Normally he feels the love but the bond had been quiet. Too quiet. All he could feel had been the darkness. That was all. But this time when he heard Draco’s declaration he could feel the love through Draco’s words. It was like a switch had been turned on, Harry knew what he had to do. He stopped struggling against the hold on the darkness and focused on his love for Draco. Harry was reminded of the time that Voldemort had tried to possess him but couldn’t due to the love and grief he was feeling over the loss of Sirius. The darkness inside him was no match for the sheer depth of love that Harry felt for Draco. Their bond was not going to come in second to this darkness. Draco would always be his number one in everything that they do and that included the bond. The love that he felt for Draco was pouring into every corner of his body and shoving the darkness back into recess of his mind until they could figure out a way to destroy it.

            Harry turned around in Draco’s arms and buried his face into Draco’s neck. Harry let the comforting smell of Draco calm him down just as much as a calming draught would have. Harry loved the smell of Draco, hell he loved everything about Draco.

            Draco ran his hands up and down Harry’s back in a soothing manner and making little shushing noises. “It’s alright my love. I am right here. It is okay.” Draco said over and over until Harry calmed down. “I love you, I am not going anywhere. Everything is okay.” Draco assured him as he nuzzled his cheek into the top of Harry’s head. Holding Harry healed most of the hurt that Molly’s words had caused. How could what they have be wrong when it felt so right? Draco loved the feel of Harry in his arms.

            Once Harry was fully calm and back in control of himself did he remember where they were at. He didn’t flush in embarrassment like he thought he would. No. He was still so angry. Harry kissed Draco’s neck softly and relished the little breathy sigh that his actions caused before pulling away.

            Harry turned around and leveled a glare at Molly and then at Arthur as well. “This is the last time I will ever darken your doorsteps. I would like to thank you for the wonderful times that I have had with you but that is all in the past. I have never had a home before. The Dursleys don’t count. Hogwarts was the only place that I had ever felt truly at peace before until I came here. I was welcomed with open arms and treated like I mattered. You treated me like a part of the family and that was something that I have never experienced before. I was proud to be an honorary member of the Weasley family. But now all the good memories are tainted. I think that one day I will be able to look back on all of this with fond memories and not feel the sting of your rejection but that won’t be anytime soon.” Harry said with narrowed eyes.

            “I never knew my parents and with the way you guys treated me, I had thought that you were a close second. But I was wrong. You are nothing like how a parent should treat their children. I thank everything that I have that I am not actually related to you. I feel bad for your children. I feel bad for the way that you have raised some of your children.” A meaningful look at Ginny and Ron.

            “In your absence I have gained a real family, real friends and was accepted into a home. The Malfoys have given me a place among them in every sense of the word.” Harry lifted his right hand and showed them the heir ring. Arthur and Ron gaped as he stared at it while Ginny made a surprised wheeze. Molly covered her mouth in shock as tears sprang up into her eyes. Arthur’s eyes widened comically. Lucius Malfoy invited Harry into the family? What?

            “They love me for who I am and they accept every single part of me. They adore my relationship with Draco and will support me in everything that I do. I love the Malfoy family. They aren’t your typical family but that is okay. I am a Malfoy and I couldn’t be happier. When I wed, I will drop the Potter name and pick up the Malfoy name. Which is something that I came to on my own. The Malfoy and the Weasley feud has been going on for quite some time. I have no idea what started it and I imagine neither do you. But what I do know is that not one time while I have been with the Malfoys have they uttered a single negative thing about you guys. You want to know why? Because they knew how much you meant to me and they accepted that. They may not like you but they respected the fact that I did. They didn’t make me feel like shite for considering you my family. They didn’t get jealous and demand that I leave you all alone. They didn’t make snide comments or mutter insults. No. They acted like the mature adults that they are. They have treated me more like a family than you guys have. And that is okay. I am happy with this. I don’t need you guys in my life.” Harry said as his eyes began to fill with tears. Arthur and Molly shifted uneasily in their seats to know that the Malfoys had acted more maturely than they had. That knowledge didn’t sit well with them at all.

            “That was a hard decision to come to but it is one that I know I will never regret. Because I can’t be around this negativity. I can’t be around people that would so openly despise my family. Lucius and Narcissa will be my in-laws and I couldn’t wish for better candidates. They have done a lot for me and I love them. So as bitter as my departure from the Weasley family is, I know that I will have a true family waiting for me to pick up the pieces.”

            Draco’s eyes filled with tears as well. Partly at what Harry must be going through to give up people that he once considered family but also at the words he spoke about Draco’s family. He loved Harry so much that it hurt. Every single pore in his body was filled with the love he held for Harry.

            Harry smiled involuntary at how much Draco loved him and he hadn’t even been sending it through the link. Harry could just feel it.

            “So once again, I thank you for all the good times that we have had but this is goodbye and I wish you well.” Harry said before entwining his hand with Draco’s. Harry paused at the front door and spoke without turning back around.

            “Fred, George I will see you tomorrow.” They nodded even though Harry couldn’t see them.

            “Fleur we will see you in a couple days. Bill it was lovely dining with you.” The married couple smiled warmly.

            “Charlie congratulations again on the engagement. Hopefully next time we see each other you will bring Demetrius. We would love to meet him.” Charlie grinned widely.

            “Will do.” Charlie said with emotion.

            Harry opened the door but was stopped. “Harry.” Arthur said tentatively. Harry paused but didn’t turn around. “Are you happy? Are you treated well?” Harry smiled softly. “More than you will ever know.”

            “Alright.” Harry wanted to turn back around but he knew that he couldn’t. So much had been said in that one word. There was an apology, approval, regret and finally acceptance. Who knew so much could be said with single word. Harry took a deep breath and continued onward.

            “One more thing.” Harry said with a pause. “I am not cleaning any of that.” Harry thought it might be a little petty but fuck them. They could clean it all up.

            The door slammed loudly as the duo left.          

     Silence. Everyone was staring around the house a little awed at the destruction. “Well I hope you are happy.” Bill said snidely to his mum.

            Arthur shot a warning look to his son but Bill shrugged it off. “No. All of you have literally shoved Harry out of the family. I feel bad for him because he never deserved this. Harry is such a beautiful person and to know that my family is responsible for even a fraction of his sadness kills me. I think you deserve being walked out on. Fred and George tried to warn you that this was going to happen. They told you that if you didn’t shape up that you would lose Harry. And what did you all do? You alienated his fiancé and insulted everything about the both of them. You treated Harry like garbage and you only have yourselves to blame.” Bill said standing up and offering his wife his hand as they made their way to the floo.

            “Fleur and I won’t be around here for a while. We need some space.” Bill told his mother as he pointedly ignored her watery eyes. “Oh.” Bill paused after throwing in some floo powder. “I’m not helping you clean either.” He said before disappearing with his wife.

            Charlie stood up and cleared his throat before making his way to the floo as well. “Now that this… lovely,” He sneered on that word. “Dinner is over I will be heading back home. I am afraid you won’t see me around here until Demetrius can be fully accepted.” Charlie warned without even bothering to look at his parents. “You can clean on your own.” With a flash of green Charlie was gone.

            The twins stood up as one and walked to the front door. “We aren’t even going to say ‘I told you so’ because it would bring no satisfaction.” Fred said with his back turned to his family.

            “I just hope you are happy and have fun with the mess.” George said before they slammed the door shut. The rest of the family looked at the surrounding mess with despair and resignation. It was going to be a long night.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Burrow part of this is finally done. 40k words later. Sweet baby Jesus that is a lot. There are books less than that! I don't know if I should be concerned that this one part of the story was so long. So much had to be said that I can't bring myself to care that much. 
> 
> I had been rather nervous before I posted the first bit of the burrow chapter. Everyone had been so hyped for it that I was concerned that I wouldn't meet expectations. So hopefully all of this has been what you hoped it would be. If it was too long for your liking then sorry lol. Oh well.
> 
> Now with this chapter I wanted to highlight the treatment of the twins. Everyone else had pretty much aired their grievances so I wanted them to get a shot at it.   
> I did think it was slightly odd that Harry noticed all of the things that he did about the twins but at the same time I liked it. The reason he knows most of that was him trying to find all the ways that they are different. He wasn't watching them for some weird twin kink or anything like that. He just enjoyed the different ways to tell them apart. I thought it was kind of sweet in a weird way. 
> 
> I really enjoy the potions talk. It is fun to come up with different ways of having them change potions. Sometimes it takes me a minute to figure out how I am going to make a potion. Sometimes it is just tweaking a name of one that is already in the books or making one up completely. The ingredients are the same way. Some I make up or some are in the books. I just find it fun. *Grins*
> 
> Now I could have ended this whole burrow episode without any drama considering that the dinner has been nothing but Drama, but I needed the anger to manifest for the plot later on. So I needed more drama to get the level of anger to spike so sorry if it was too much but oh well. 
> 
> DarkInuFan I did take your suggestion and added in the little piece with Arthur. It may not have been all you were going for but I do quite like the effect. 
> 
> So now that the burrow scene is over let me know your final thoughts on the dinner. Did it meet your expectations? Was too much said? And more importantly, did you enjoy it?
> 
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	44. Seriously Sirius

            Harry and Draco apparated directly into the living room startling Sirius awake.

            Harry wrapped his arms around Draco’s waist and buried his face into Draco’s chest. Draco held Harry tightly to him.

            Harry wasn’t sure what to think about the dinner. So many different emotions and things had been explored. It all happened so fast. It felt like they had just left this spot only a couple minutes ago to go to the burrow but at the same time it felt like weeks ago. Dinner had been such an experience that Harry couldn’t wrap his mind around it. He tried to remember all of it but some things were just flashes. Harry could remember feeling nervous to enter, he could remember the awkward silences and the debilitating anger at their ignorance. He could remember the frustration at trying to get them to just _understand._ What was hard to forget was the melancholy, that is the one thing he wished he couldn’t remember. Why did the time blur but the emotions stick out? Why couldn’t he lose track of his emotions like he had lost track of time? Was that some trade off that he wasn’t aware of?

            The hole that their silence had caused him had begun to heal before he even entered the burrow. With the help of Draco and his family the hole stopped being a cavern and was now just a small pothole on the road to acceptance. The closure that going brought him was enough to let him know that he would be okay. The pothole would probably stay that size for a long time until he was completely over it and then hopefully the pothole would be filled with the healing concrete of happiness.

            Even though dinner had been an utter travesty, Harry wouldn’t have changed a thing. He still would have lost his temper in all the right times, still would have raised his voice and still would have told them exactly what he thought of them. Harry _definitely_ would have still defended Draco. The one thing that he would have wanted was for them to have only targeted him. They could say whatever they wanted about him but Harry couldn’t stand to listen to anyone berate Draco. To watch your partner face off against ignorance and prejudice and not knowing how to help was the worst. How do you change people’s minds? How do you show them that they are wrong? Harry wanted to fight that battle for Draco, wanted to take every bad thing the world could throw at Draco and shoulder that burden for him. Was that a side effect of love? Was the love the reason he wanted to take Draco away and hide him from the rest of the world? To keep him safe and protected?

     These protective urges were new to him. For the longest time the only thing he had to worry about was himself and then taking care of the Voldemort problem. There had been no time to worry about anything else. But now Draco was his number one priority. His happiness didn’t even matter as long as Draco was happy. But the wonderful and amazing thing about it all was that Draco brought him that happiness. Everything about Draco drew him in and Harry was hopelessly lost to the sea that was Draco. Harry didn’t want a life preserver, he didn’t need a search and rescue party and he didn’t need the coast guard to come save him. No, Harry was happy to float on the waves as long as Draco was right there beside him.

            Harry nuzzled his face against Draco’s shirt and sighed contently at the feel of those strong arms wrapped around him. This right here made tonight worth it. Harry would walk to the ends of the earth for this man without batting an eye. He would face a thousand Weasley dinners for moments just like this. Harry frowned when he could feel lingering unease from the bond. He wrinkled his forehead trying to figure out why Draco would be feeling like that.    

            “Draco she was wrong.” Harry mumbled finally understanding before looking up into Draco’s eyes. Draco bit his lip and tried to look away but Harry quickly raised a hand to hold his jaw still.

            One look at the two of them and Sirius was wincing. Dinner obviously had not gone well at all. He wondered what was said to make Draco look so sad. He could imagine it had been difficult for the Weasleys to get used to the idea of Harry being with a Malfoy. Especially considering the feud between them. Sirius had been wrong about Draco and he quickly realized that. He just hoped that the Weasleys realized it in time because Harry was not playing when it came to Draco. He had been willing to cut Sirius out of his life over it so he knew that Harry would do the same thing to them.

            Harry could see and feel the guilt that was eating Draco up. “Stop it. You have nothing to be guilty for. Nothing. You know how much I literally don’t care about my fame or my name. The public has always gone back and forth trying to figure out where it is that I belong. Am I a sweet orphaned child with a rough upbringing or am I a Dark Lord in disguise out to destroy the world as we know it?” Harry said with a snort.

            “I killed Voldemort. That put me back in the public spotlight but it wasn’t going to stay that way for long. Everyone wonders how I really did it. They want to know why no one else had been able to do it. Why someone as powerful as Dumbledore who Voldemort was afraid of couldn’t even manage to kill him but a mere 17-year-old did. That alone would have raised the dark lord questions sooner or later. Don’t blame yourself for how the world sees me.” Harry begged. Draco could feel his resolve crumbling.

            “I don’t care what they say about me in the papers. You are my everything Draco. I wouldn’t care if they were making me out to be some crazy mass murderer as long as I got to come home to you at night. There is nothing that they can do to me that will make me regret us. Because I love you way too much to let anyone come between us. Molly was wrong, bitter and vile. Nothing she nor any of the other Weasleys said tonight was true. I wish they could see you as I do. I wish you could see you as I do. You are the most stunning person I have ever met and I don’t just mean your looks. You are beautiful on the inside as well. There is not one thing about you that I don’t like. Not a single thing. I love every single flaw like they were freckles. I love every insecurity like they were scars. I love you Draco Malfoy and nothing is going to change that.” Harry promised with conviction.

            Draco whimpered slightly before crushing Harry tightly to him. “I love you.” Draco rasped thick with emotions. Harry smiled and nuzzled into Draco’s neck. “I love you too my love.”

            Draco didn’t know what he had ever done in life to deserve this man. Merlin knows he is the luckiest man in existence and Draco refused to take that for granted. He would spend the rest of his life showing Harry how much he loved and cared for him. Because being with Harry was the only thing that kept him going. Life without Harry was such a bleak nightmare that sent shivers down his spine. Harry brought colors into existence that Draco hadn’t even realized existed, things could be seen with such clarity now that Draco was tempted to get his eye sight checked. How could one person change so much? How could one person matter so much? Draco had gone from caring about no one to making Harry his whole world.

     Harry changed him in ways that Draco hadn’t thought could be possible. They were all for the better but it didn’t make it any less surprising. Draco was a better man with Harry in his life. Someone worthy. Worth, that is one word that Draco had lost the moment he got marked. He had been unworthy of happiness, unworthy of a happy ending and unworthy of anything of importance. But Harry walked into his life and made him realize how wrong he had been. Harry had shown him the error of his thoughts and improved everything about him. He _was_ worthy. Draco couldn’t imagine a world without Harry in it. He would do anything to preserve their relationship. _Anything._  

            After a couple minutes of just soaking up the love and affection that they held for each other, Draco pulled away slightly.

            “How are you feeling? I know this must be hard on you.” Draco could feel such an array of emotions that it was hard to decipher some of them. The main forefront was love and contentment. Draco knew how much Harry loved to be held. Harry didn’t have to say it, Draco could feel it. And to be honest, nothing thrilled him more than holding Harry close and feeling his heartbeat.

     Harry shrugged in response. “It is difficult. They were my family for many years but I don’t have time for the childish games and the blind ignorance. They couldn’t accept you and that means that they can’t accept me. We are a package deal. I just wish I had realized that this was how they truly were all along. Then maybe things would have turned out differently.” Harry said sadly before resting his head on Draco’s shoulder.

            “Do you wish you had not gone?” Questioned Draco. Harry shook his head. “No. I am glad that we went. I needed to see and hear them for who they are. You were right to suggest that I go with you. In a way it brings me closure. I had for the most part already moved on from them. Even if they had apologized from the beginning I don’t think I would have accepted it. Things were already so different. So an apology wouldn’t have made things go back to the way they were but now I know that I made the right decision. I can fully move on with my life and enter into a new chapter with my new family.” Harry explained.

            Draco felt a rush of affection for Harry. “You know my mother would be thrilled to hear you say that.” Harry grinned for the first time since leaving the burrow.

            “Yes, I imagine she would. I meant it though. You guys are my family and I really do love your parents. Both of them.” Sirius wrinkled his nose in disbelief. Narcissa was one thing. He could see that… sort of. But Lucius Malfoy? Just no. Sirius could not understand any affection that Harry could have towards that man but he wasn’t going to voice that though. No. Harry deserved his support whether he agreed with it or not.

            “I think my father would be quite surprised to hear that. Please tell me I get to tell him this.” Draco begged. Harry looked up to see wide grey puppy dog eyes and an adorable pout. How could he say no to that face? Harry smiled slightly. “Oh why not.” He caved.  

            Draco grinned in triumph as he leaned his forehead on Harry’s. “It has been one hell of a day. Why don’t we go to bed and not move till midday tomorrow? You know, I am almost tempted to postpone going to the Manor tomorrow. I want to sleep for days.”

            Harry sighed ruefully. “I second that but you know if we don’t show up they will all converge upon us, right?” Harry said with a smirk. Harry really didn’t need an invasion of eight disgruntled family members in their bedroom, nine if you count Teddy.

            Draco huffed in annoyance. “Geez you would think dying would grant a couple days off from the family.” Harry shook his head and opened his mouth to speak.

            “What do you mean dying?” Sirius’s sharp tone interrupted whatever Harry had been about to say.

            They both jumped and looked around till they caught sight of the painting. They had actually forgot that Sirius was here. That would take some getting used to.

            “You meant that as some type of joke, right?” Sirius stressed. As much as he was denying it in his head, Sirius was 99% sure he was not about to like this.

            Draco shot Harry a considering look. Should they tell him? They could easily laugh it off as some inside joke and not bother telling him anything. Or they could tell him and maybe he could offer some help or advice. Draco shrugged slightly. It didn’t matter to him what they did in the end.  

            “It is a long story so I will give you the shortened version.” Harry said a little sleepily as the events of the day were catching up with him. “I touched the sorcerer’s stone and the dark magic lay dormant inside me in response for many years. It attacked the soulmate bond earlier today and killed Draco. I unknowingly used a combination of sacrificial, wish and dark magic to bring him back to life. Along with tapping into the magic left behind from the stone. If that is all then we will be heading to bed.” Harry said all in one breath.

            Sirius choked. “Whoa whoa wait a minute.” He ordered holding up a hand. “You have to give me more details than that! You can’t unload that much information and expect me to not have any questions.” He said exasperated. Sirius was pretty sure that his mind just exploded with the information that he had just been given. The Sorcerer’s Stone? Why the hell had Harry ever touched that? He could still remember the loving tone his mother used when she taught him and Regulus about the Flamels. She praised their wit and cunning to create something so dark. Her tone of voice creeped him out even as a young child, it was like she was caressing the idea of such darkness. Even Reg who was more inclined to dark things recoiled at the thought of something so vile. Sirius had prayed he never ever meet the Flamels, he was pretty sure he would run away at the first sight of them. Sirius shivered just thinking about how many lives had been lost in the process of creating that horrid artifact.

            Sirius couldn’t wrap his mind around the prospect that Harry had actually touched it. When would he have come in contact with something so dark? Was this during the war? Had he somehow come across the Flamels and found the stone? He hoped not. Sirius was worried about Harry now. He had hoped that since the war was over that Harry could move on with his life and not have to worry about anything dark ever again. His heart ached for Harry. Why was it his lot in life to have everything go wrong? There had to have been some horrid side effects from touching something so dark. He worried his bottom lip with his teeth trying to figure out what might have happened. Would Harry be okay?

     And what was this about Draco dying? The backlash of the stone sought out Draco through their bond and killed him? Merlin, he couldn’t even imagine what that would have done to Harry. Losing the ones you love are never easy but to lose the one that has been fated to you? That would be unimaginable. Sirius was mildly horrified that he wasn’t upset with the ritual that Harry performed. He should be disgusted that Harry had somehow brought back the dead with obvious dark magic but he just couldn’t. After seeing the type of person that Draco is and how happy he makes his godson, Sirius was thrilled that Harry had somehow managed to bring Draco back. The two of them deserved to be together. Their love was something that should never be separated. Sirius prayed that this knowledge never got back to the Ministry. They would already be on the spotlight being soulmates but they would be hunted if it was known that Harry had brought Draco back from the dead. They would see it as proof that Harry was the next Dark Lord and attack before Harry could gather forces.

            Draco shook his head. “Not right now. Harry is dead on his feet. I promise we will tell you all about it at a later date. For now that will have to be enough unless you would like to talk to Kreacher about it. He knows a lot of the details.” Draco said trying to hide a smirk at the affronted expression on Sirius’s face. Harry snorted. “God I love you.” He said in admiration through a yawn. Draco’s smirk turned into a smile of fondness.

            “I love you too my sleepy angel.” Harry pinked up at the new endearment.

            Sirius huffed out as he crossed his arms. “Fine but you better give me the details tomorrow. I am serious about this.”

            Draco’s lips twitched rapidly. “You hear that Harry?” Harry furrowed his brows. “Sirius is seriously serious.” Sirius groaned at covered his face with his hands.          

            Harry snorted loudly. “Sirius is serious huh? Well that is news to me. I wasn’t even aware that serious was in Sirius’s seriously lacking vocabulary.” Harry laughed when there was an indignantly ‘Hey!’ from Sirius.

            “Now now Harry that isn’t very nice. I am sure that Sirius is always seriously serious. I mean with a namesake like Sirius how could you not be serious? His mother seriously knew what she was doing when she named him Sirius.”

            “Just stop it.” Sirius moaned at the awful puns on his name. Even in death he was still paying for his parents’ lapse of judgement in naming him.  

            “If you are serious Sirius? Then we will seriously stop. Seriously.” Harry said trying to keep a straight face. Draco was chortling under his breath at the glare that was being leveled their way.

            “Oh I am serious.” Sirius said before wincing at his own slip up. Harry and Draco busted out laughing. Sirius huffed. “Just go to bed you lot.” He ordered.

            Draco saluted Sirius before picking up Harry into his arms. “Right away Sirius. I know when to take things seriously Sirius. Harry is in good hands with me… seriously.” Sirius growled loudly causing Draco to laugh loudly again.

            “Draco.” Harry squeaked when they started moving. “What are you doing?”

            Draco laughed warmly. “I am carrying you to bed. What does it look like I am doing?” Harry shook his head. “I get that but why not just apparate us?”

            “I like holding you.” Draco said with a blush. Harry’s heart skipped a beat. “Oh well in that case, carry on.” Harry demanded haughtily. “Right away my beautiful consort.” Draco said with a flourish.

            Sirius watched them walk up the stairs with a smile before he frowned at the title that Draco used. Consort. Why did he keep calling him that? Sirius made a mental note to ask them about it tomorrow when he questioned them about this ‘darkness’ that killed Draco. Sirius scoffed at the suggestion to ask Kreacher. Like he would be asking that ugly little thing anything. No thank you.

            Draco gently placed Harry on the bed and wandlessly vanished their clothes. Harry’s eyes were drooping but he wanted to stay awake a little longer with Draco.

            Draco crawled into bed and pulled Harry to him until Harry’s face was pressed into his neck. Harry nuzzled his nose against Draco and purred contently, reminding Draco of a cat. Draco squeezed Harry tightly to him and pressed a kiss to the top of Harry’s head. Draco was pretty sure Harry had fallen asleep when the grip slackened and he felt Harry’s warm breath ghost against his skin.

            “I know today isn’t how either one of wanted it to go and I am sorry for that. I love you so much Harry. I don’t know what I would do without you. I just want you to know that I will always take care of you.” Draco bit his lip at how sappy that was and shook his head slightly. He nuzzled the top of Harry’s head and started to drift off.

            Draco had almost been sleep when a whisper interrupted his foggy brain. “I love you too Draco. Any shitty day will always be a million times better with you by my side.” Draco fell asleep with a small sweet smile on his face.

 

     --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------      

 

            Remus and Severus exited the floo after leaving Grimwald place. Severus had to grip Remus’s arms to stop him from falling over. Severus wasn’t sure if it was due to his emotional state or if that was just his usual stability. And when did he start thinking of him as Remus instead of Lupin? Severus scowled internally.

            Remus offered a shaky thanks in reply and walked over to the nearest couch. He looked around and was a little surprised at Severus’s décor of his private quarters. He thought for sure the place would be dark and filled with potion ingredients but he was pleasantly surprised to find that not to be true. The room was spacious and homey. Plenty of bookshelves filled to the brim with tomes. He itched to explore them and discover what kind of texts that Severus had. The walls were a lovely shade of light blue and the furniture a dark shade of onyx. The place instantly put him at ease and he was feeling better already.

            Severus watched Remus with interest. The man was looking around the room with a small pleased expression. He must find his quarters satisfactorily. Severus wondered what Remus had been expecting. Probably Slytherin colors and the room to resemble the dungeons? Severus scoffed internally at that. He spent enough time in the dungeons thank you very much. He did not need his private quarters to resemble his torture chamber- er classroom.

            Severus sat down on a chair directly across from Remus. “Are you alright?” Remus jumped a little at the question. Well this was most unexpected. Severus Snape actually cared what he was feeling? Remus looked up through his lashes and was surprised to see the open concern in those fascinatingly dark eyes.

            Remus nodded once and looked down at his restless hands. He was embarrassed that he had lost control of his emotions like that. That wasn’t something that has happened to him in a really long time. “I just wish that I hadn’t have panicked like that.”

            Severus scoffed. “Don’t be thick.” Remus arched a brow at the insult. “You obviously had been suppressing your emotions to where it can become debilitating. It was going to come to fruition sooner or later.”

            Remus hummed in thought. “I get that. It was just embarrassing really.” Remus explained as his cheeks stained pink. Severus tilted his head to the side. What was it about the werewolf that always left him confused? He had never met someone that did things so differently.

            “Because you were lecturing a painting or because I was there to witness your speech?”

            Remus huffed a little and looked away. “A little of both.” He said clearing his throat. Severus arched a brow and watched in amusement at how quickly Remus was growing flustered.

            “I never knew.” Severus stated bluntly not wanting to beat around the bush. Remus laughed humorlessly, a sound that Severus didn’t like.

            “You weren’t meant to Severus.” Severus ignored the thrill at the way his first name sounded coming from Remus. “You have always fascinated me.” Severus had to bite his cheek to stop from showing any reaction to that admission. Some form of surprise must have shown on his face for Remus nodded vehemently.

            “I mean it. Ever since we were first years. I think it was the way you never let James and Sirius get to you. The way that you held yourself and never succumbed to their taunts. You would fight back but you never started them. You never sought them out. Not to mention that your insults were a work of art. They never could understand what you were saying. The words too elegant and articulate. I would catch them looking through the library at times trying to understand just what it was that you were insulting them with.” Severus snorted in surprise. To be honest it didn’t surprise him. It wasn’t like Black or Potter had ever been the wisest wizards. They certainly lacked the proper finesse it required to be cultured young adults.

            Remus’s mouth twitched. “I wanted to befriend you even as a first year.” Remus sighed sadly. “But as I said earlier I was a coward. I literally had never had a friend before. I had hoped that maybe I would make one friend at Hogwarts. Just one. That was all I wanted and then suddenly I had three. I was overwhelmed and afraid to lose them. I should have realized that if I was to lose them over that then they weren’t the right friends for me. I was selfish though. I needed them.” Remus said blinking rapidly to keep the tears at bay.

            Severus was horrified to discover that he wanted to comfort Remus again. That was not something that he was used to. Severus didn’t know what to say so he said nothing and waited for the man to continue with his story or to burst into tears. He preferred the former, tears were not his thing.

            Remus sighed. “I saw that you had Lily as a friend and I figured that was enough. So I let that go and pretended to be busy whenever James or Sirius started in on you. I hated that they bullied you but I hated the thought of losing them more. That makes me awful doesn’t it?” Severus could tell by the question that Remus wasn’t looking for false reassurances that he did the right thing. No, the man was just curious.

            Severus tilted his head lost in thought. “In a way yes. To say nothing in the face of adversity is cowardice.” Remus flinched at the brutal honesty but he had been the one to ask. “However.” Remus looked up in earnest. “You never participated and that does count for something. At least to me.”

            “I am sorry you know.” Remus said softly looking into Severus’s eyes fascinated at the spark of emotion found there. What that emotion was he couldn’t tell but he reveled in it nonetheless.

            “Curious.” Severus mumbled as he took in the seriousness to Remus’s face. “You really do mean that.” Even though it wasn’t a question, Remus nodded regardless.

            “I could have used a friend after Lily.” Severus mused out loud. Remus flinched. That much he knew. It was obvious in the way Severus had held himself. The previously somewhat confident teen had been replaced with a thoroughly depressed teen. One that had become even more surly than before, if that was even possible. “I know.” Stated Remus looking down at his lap.

            “I can’t tell you honestly if I would have accepted your hand in friendship. I might have feared it was a ruse concocted by your _friends._ ” Severus was insanely proud that only a tiny sneer had escaped.

            “That had been another worry.” Remus admitted softly. “I really do wish I could change that. That was always my biggest regret from our school years.”

            Severus waved his hand in the air dismissing the statement. “Regret from the past only haunts the present.” Despite the serious conversation, Remus couldn’t help but marvel at the way Severus spoke. As a child, he just thought that Severus was more mature than the other children. Which was true but it was more than that. Even now no one talked like that. It was fascinating and he loved to listen to him talk.

            “I had thought that I had moved on from all of this but hearing the hypocrisy from Sirius brought it all back and I realized that I never did get over it. You are right the regret is haunting me now.” Remus couldn’t look into Severus’s eyes any longer.

            “Then release it.” Severus advised. Remus looked up at him in confusion. “Are you saying you forgive me?”

            Severus huffed lightly. “You speak like you require forgiveness.” Remus furrowed his brows. Was he trying to say that they were okay? That there was no need to apologize?

            The confusion on Remus’s face was slightly amusing. “Remus.” Remus jolted at the use of his name. Merlin, he had never heard Severus speak his first name. Not once, not ever. Severus’s amusement grew. If he had thought he would have gotten a reaction like that, he would have said the man’s name sooner.   

            “As much as I detest your silence regarding their enjoyment at my discomfort, I understand it.” Remus’s eyes lit up in hope, which Severus found distracting. The way the amber eyes lightened to a honey topaz was mesmerizing. “You would think that a Gryffindor would know when to speak out against injustices.” Severus enjoyed the guilty way Remus shifted on the couch. Being a bastard was his trademark, he wasn’t about to make this easy on the man.

            “Again, I understand. There is nothing to forgive, so kindly save your apologies for when you do mess up in the future.” Remus couldn’t help but smile at the insult. That was the Severus that he knew.

            “Thank you.” Remus muttered with feeling. Severus acknowledged this with a tilt of his head but said nothing.

            “Are you feeling up to doing some research? Or did you have to get back to your offspring?” Remus chuckled. Offspring?

            “Teddy is spending some time with Andromeda. Since Tonk’s death she has been having a hard time.” Severus shifted uncomfortably, he hoped this wasn’t about to turn into a ‘feelings’ conversation.  

            “My condolences.” Remus smiled slightly. “Thank you Severus.” Remus sighed and bit his lip. “It has been hard without Tonks. She was a great mother despite our differences.” Remus had to blink back tears.

            Severus frowned as he considered Remus’s words. “Pardon?” Remus looked up and discovered that a confused Severus just might be his favorite kind.

            Remus was wishing he hadn’t spoken up at all though. “I loved Tonks. She was courageous and incredibly loyal. She was a wonderful mother for the short time that she had with Teddy. But the age difference had always been an issue with me. I was able to overlook that because of how much I loved her but she was still young. She wanted to have fun and enjoy the world. I have already experienced the things that she was longing for. I have already seen too much of the world to appreciate the wonder that she held for it. Fun wasn’t something that I have ever had nor actively seek. There was so much that I couldn’t relate to her with. I feel awful just thinking about it. What kills me is that I fear if she lived we would have eventually split.” Remus was finding it harder to speak.

           “That makes me feel so horrid to think like that. She is dead but yet I can’t help thinking these things. I miss her and wish that she was still here but more for Teddy’s sake then mine. Is that wrong? Teddy will have a difficult life without his mum and I can do the best I can to fill in the gap but it won’t be the same. I feel so guilty thinking like this.” Remus said blinking rapidly.

            Severus winced. This is not the conversation he wanted to have. Damn he had jinxed himself. Feelings were not his thing. At all. It was his own fault really, he shouldn’t have brought up Remus’s child.

            “I disagree. You can wish her alive without wishing to be married to her. Just because you loved her does not mean it was meant to be. I think being guilty is frivolous. Mourn her life and the all the good that she could have done but release the self-reproach.” Severus said firmly hoping that would stop the tears because that was as nice as he knew how to be.

            Remus tilted his head as the considered this. Severus was right. He couldn’t focus on this or it would eat at him for the rest of his life. Tonks wouldn’t want him to be guilty over this, she would have slapped him for being so silly and then they would have discussed the problem and most likely separated.

            “I will try.” He conceded smiling at the relief in Severus’s eyes. Remus found it funny that Severus Snape was the one who was comforting him right now. Odd turn of events for sure.

            “Do you think Draco will be safe?” Remus asked changing the subject. He was not ready to go home nor did he really want to look through a bunch of old books either.

            “As odd as this will sound, I think that Harry is adequate enough to protect him now that he is aware of the problem.” Remus’s mouth twitched. It was so strange to see Severus not saying negative things about Harry. He wondered if this truce would last.  

            Remus nodded his agreement. “That was awful.” He whispered as he thought back to witnessing Draco’s death. That was something that would haunt him for quite some time.

            “Agreed.” Severus conceded with a frown. He had never given thought to the possibility of outliving his godson. That had never crossed his mind until today. Draco had a promising life ahead of him and to witness that life die right before him was difficult. Severus was almost ashamed of the loss of emotions that he displayed but under the circumstances it should be expected.

            At the time Remus hadn’t given it much thought but now that it was over he realized that Severus truly cared for Draco. He wondered if it was just because it was his godson or if Draco had wormed his way past his defenses.

            “Tell me about him.” Remus requested softly. Severus was pulled from the depressing thoughts his mind was making him relive. “Hmm?” He asked with confusion.

            “Tell me about the Draco you know.” Remus was curious, he knew the Draco now and he knew the spoiled Draco that he had once taught but he didn’t know the Draco that Severus would have known. Remus grinned when he caught sight of a small smile on Severus’s face.

            Severus leaned back in his chair and stared at the fire kindling in the distance. “Draco was always a smart child.” Remus could hear the pride in his voice and he melted. “He was always reading, it was unusual to catch sight of him without a book shoved under his nose. He never did read children books either. Always wanting to read history. I asked him once why he didn’t like the books of fantasy that other children were into and he leveled a glare that was uncommon on a five year old straight at me. He told me, ‘Uncle Sev that is nonsense for the weak. Facts are where the knowledge is. Fantasy is for children, I am not a child.’ The tone of his voice was a Malfoy haughty even then.” Severus chuckled at the memory.

            “I am positive that he has read every single book in the Manor by now. I was sure that he would be a Ravenclaw but Lucius insisted that no child of his would be anything but a Slytherin.” Severus glared before shaking his head. “Draco had to grow up with a lot of pressure on his shoulders. From the moment he could talk, Lucius made sure that Draco knew that he would never live a life of his own choosing. That wasn’t the pureblood way. I always made it a mission of mine to take Draco away for one weekend a month. It wasn’t much but I wanted to give Draco the time to just be a child. I wanted to give him the opportunity to do other things besides learning which dinner fork he should use or how many eligible pureblood girls he would eventually have to choose from to wed.” Remus frowned. That was no way to raise a child. Why were purebloods so weird? No wonder Draco had been a little shite in school.

            “No matter how hard I tried he was still the proper child at my house. No amount of bargaining or demanding could make him comfortable enough to let loose. He was prim and proper and I hated it but there wasn’t anything I could do. Lucius had the right to raise his child however he wanted and I wasn’t about to overstep my welcome. Draco did however take a liking to Pansy and Blaise which I will always be grateful for. Those two helped him more than I ever could.” Remus was fascinated with this story. He relaxed the more that Severus lost himself in the memories.

            “Draco was always looking at things from different perspectives. His mind works in a way that I envy. I could give Draco a problem and he would give me at least two solutions that I had never considered. He thinks outside of the box, his mind never stops at one answer. He is always asking ‘what else’ what else is out there? What else can he think of? What else can he do? He was a fascinating child but an even more fascinating teenager. I could see the way his eyes would show the disgust of his father’s teachings. I could see how much he didn’t like the way things were going but he kept it to himself. Some would consider that a form of cowardice but not me. Speaking out against his father would do nothing but anger the man. In this instance going against the status quo would have done more harm than good. It would have made Lucius look at him closely, he would have started reconsidering things and start teaching Draco harder things. More intense things that a teenager shouldn’t know. Draco knew this and kept quiet. There are many ways to rebel and sometimes saying nothing is the smartest rebellion of all.” Remus was impressed and thoroughly saddened at the same time. He just didn’t understand why a child had to grow up like that. Why would Lucius want to bring Draco up like that?

            “Draco...” Remus put his hands under his chin and listened to Severus talk about Draco till the fire dwindled and burnt out. He listened until the normally harsh tone wilted into a soft soothing resonance. Remus listened until his lids began to droop and he couldn’t focus any more. And then he half listened into his dreams until there was nothing but the blank feel of fogginess that only deep slumber brought.

            Severus stopped talking when Remus slumped over and nearly fell off the couch. He snorted lightly as he righted the man before laying him down so that he would be more comfortable. He considered waking him up but Remus had said that his child was with his Grandmother. There would be no harm in allowing the man to sleep on his couch. They could always look up what they needed to another time. Severus conjured a duvet and a pillow so that Remus would not wake up cold or uncomfortable. He told himself it was only because he didn’t want to be woken up later by Remus asking for these items, not because he actually cared about the man’s wellbeing. The small bit of denial allowed him to walk into his own room and sleep soundly as his dreams were filled with the soft color of honey topaz.    

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay what are your thoughts on today's chapter? I know in reality a lot really didn't happen. Hey, do you ever say a word so many times that it starts to look and sound wrong? Like it no longer sounds like a word anymore? Well that happened to me with the word serious. When doing that little scene I damaged my abilities to take the word seriously. 
> 
> Cheshire_Tomlinson I managed to find a time to add in the Sirius jokes. I know you wanted it during the burrow but it didn't makes sense then. :)
> 
> Strugglingwithin23 I had some room to add Severus and Remus getting closer. It is not the smut that you wanted but we are slowly getting there. :)
> 
> I just thought it was adorable that Severus was talking about Draco like a proud parent would. Writing Severus is difficult. You have to get the characteristics right or his character just falls flat. I hopefully still managed to pull him off. I know he is a tad softer than cannon but I am wanting to see this as him showing his family and friends a different side of him than what he had to show during the war. I think he is still snarky and stuff so hopefully his character is still believable. His way of talking is hard too but I think I did him justice. Ah well. 
> 
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	45. The Inner-workings of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I can't remember who suggested another chapter showcasing the twins. I apologize greatly for my lapse in memory. So this chapter is longer than I intended. It was actually long enough to be split into two chapters but I felt like that was a bit too much. So I hope you enjoy the long chapter and I hope that you can offer me something in return. Vague I know. More details on that will be in the notes at the bottom. Enjoy the chapter. :)  
> -XxTheDarkLordxX

            Fred and George apparated right out front of their shop and checked to make sure that Verity had closed things correctly.

            As tired and exhausted as they were, they still walked through the store and started cataloguing everything. Fred stifled a sigh, ugh he just wanted to crawl into bed and wrap his arms around Blaise and not get up for weeks. Dinner had worn him out completely. He was pretty sure that he experienced every single emotion possible during dinner. His family sure was something else.

            George registered the tired look in his brother’s eyes and tried to work faster. He wasn’t as tired as his brother, mainly because a part of him thrived off of conflict. George knew how much tonight must have frazzled Fred’s nerves so he started going through some of Fred’s checklist to help him out. At least no one could say he wasn’t a nice brother.

            “We should probably give her a raise.” George said happily as he noticed that she even cleaned up their office. Verity was the best thing that could have happened to their store. Awful attitude, unapproachable and rude to the customers but definitely got the job done. Perfect recipe for a successful store.

            “Agreed. Maybe even promote her to store manager while we focus on getting the shop in Hogsmede up to standard.” Fred said as he looked over the sale records for the day. He was mildly impressed with the traffic in and out of the store. Good to know that they didn’t _have_ to be here for things to run smoothly. Damn Verity was good.

            “That is a brilliant idea.” George started waving his wand and summoning product to restock the shelves as he looked everything over. “Hey Freddie I thought that we had more Everlasting Eyelashes stashed somewhere.” He frowned as he made his way over to check the storage. They would have to be out, Verity always placed the rotations in front. 

            “Fuck.” Fred exclaimed. George looked around curiously. His brother wasn’t usually one to get upset. “Sorry George I wasn’t thinking. The sticking solution needed for the eyelashes was out of stock when I tried getting some from our dealer. He said he could get us some out of the country for double but that was just too high to make a decent profit. I was going to talk to Draco and see what he thought about making some if it wasn’t too difficult or maybe see if he knew someone but with everything that happened the past couple of days it slipped.”

            George hummed in thought. “Hmm. That is our most popular product from the WonderWitch line. We are completely out. That’s alright. We can talk to Draco tomorrow and for now replace it with Everchanging Eyeshadow.”

            Fred raised his brows. “Are you sure? We were going to wait until we completed Lingering Lipwear and market them together.”

            George shrugged. “I know but we need something to fill the gap or we will lose profit. Witches like all this gunk on their faces for some reason.”

            Fred snorted. That was an understatement. Just another reason why he was into men. “Alright. I suppose we can figure out something to go with the Lingering Lipwear later or just market it alone.”

            George frowned as he carried the Everchanging Eyeshadow boxes to replace the empty spot. “I don’t fancy marketing it alone. We did that with the Flirting Fancies and it took ages to see a profit.” George pointed out. Fred paused looking over the sales parchment and frowned in thought.

            “What about Blushing Beauties? The one that covers up every time you flush in embarrassment? I think that would be a hit with the Lingering Lipwear.” Fred offered with furrowed brows.

            “Genius.” George complimented. He hadn’t even considered those. This is why they were the perfect team. “But we would need to start the final trial stages soon if we want them marketable in time.”

     Fred groaned. “Ryker quit after the Fungus Fingernails grew fungus instead of clearing it. We need more testers.” He moaned pitifully. It was so hard to get people interested in testing out their products. And George was no help, he just made everything worse by laughing at them all.

            George snorted at the memory of the angry guy. If he hadn’t sprouted fungus on all of his nails and the edges of his palms George might have taken him seriously. But he found the entire thing hilarious and he supposed that was when Ryker walked out.

            “That was priceless _and_ it led us to make Fungus Fingernails a joke instead of trying to clear fungus. It is a huge money maker. ” George said with a nostalgic sigh. Fred shook his head but he had to agree that it had been the highlight of his day. “Think we can get him to come back?” George wondered. Ryker had been their best tester, he complained constantly but he never turned down a product. Even the ones in the early stages that they hadn’t even tested fully yet.

            Fred considered this. “Possibly. We would have to up his pay and probably not laugh at him when things go wrong. He wouldn’t talk to you for a month after you laughed yourself silly when our Happy Hairless Haunting cream took off _all_ his body hair instead of just the target area. 

            George busted out laughing. “That was the best part. His face still cracks me up just thinking about it. He had been growing that beard for _years_.” Fred sighed at his idiot brother.

            “That was exactly his point when he was complaining.” He pointed out. George waved away the statement. “Yeah but that is what makes it so funny.” Fred rolled his eyes.

            “It is probably best that we find someone else. I doubt you could stop yourself from laughing at him.” Fred warned.

            George smiled slightly. “You are probably right. You know I miss ole Ryker.” Fred snorted. “No you don’t. You miss someone to laugh at you wanker.” George didn’t even bother denying it.

            “What about that one girl? You know the one that drowned herself in that puke water?” George asked pausing in his stocking duties to look at his brother.

            What? Fred shook his head, he had to have heard him incorrectly. Fred looked up at his brother with his forehead wrinkling. “Puke water? What are you-” Fred’s eyes widened before he started laughing uncontrollably. “George that was her perfume you moron.”

            George huffed. “Is that what girls are calling it these days? Great Aunt Muriel’s wrinkly skin smells better than that girl. I swear every time I got a whiff of her my nostril hairs were singed off.” George relaxed when he saw the way the tension left his brother’s shoulders and he knew that Fred was alright. He didn’t mind playing the idiot if it cheered his twin up.

            Fred covered his mouth as his body shook with the force of his laughter. “I am not even going to ask about Great Aunt Muriel. I don’t want to know. It would probably give me nightmares. You are right though, Charlotte did smell horrid. It might have been a tactic to keep the boys away.” He said with a smirk.

            George snorted loudly. “Well then it did a bang job of it. Is it rude to tell someone they reek?” George wondered out loud.

            “I don’t know. I tell you all the time and you don’t take offense.” George rolled his eyes. “Yeah but you are my brother so it doesn’t count.”

            Fred shook his head. “Well it doesn’t matter because she quit too.” George whined. “Why? What did you do to her?” Fred snapped his head up to glare at his brother.

            “Excuse me? You are the one who told her that the Bloating Bellies really did make her look fat.” Fred pointed out before smirking at the way George winced.

            “She was the one who asked! Why ask if you don’t want an honest answer?” Sometimes the inner workings of the opposite sex eluded George.

            He really had to wonder how George made it this far in life without someone hexing body parts off of him. “How in the world does Pansy put up with you?” Fred said shaking his head at his clueless brother. “Don’t answer that!” He said quickly when George started waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

            George laughed warmly and got back to stocking the rest of the shop. Sometimes running a business wasn’t all that it was cracked up to be, but he would rather do this than to pay someone else to.

            “Alright, since puke water girl is out.” George ignored Fred’ mumbling of ‘her names is Charlotte.’

     “What about the guy with the funny voice? Mark… Marvin… Maverick… or something like that.” George questioned.

            Fred sighed heavily. “Are you talking about Jason?” George made a triumphant noise as he carefully started to feed the Pygmy puffs. “That’s it! I knew I was close.” Fred stared at his brother incredulously.

            “How in the world does Jason sound like any of the names you said?” He questioned George. George waved his hand in the air. “Details. You are getting caught up in the details. Yes, what about Jason? He was decent, sort of. His voice always distracted me.”

            “Well that would be because he was from the states.” Fred said dryly. Honestly, sometimes he worried for his brother. George stopped tickling the tops of the Pygmy puffs to stare at his brother in surprise.

            “Was he really? Huh, go figure.” George said ignoring the way Fred smacked his face. It was fun baiting his brother. You would think that after all these years Fred would figure it out.

            “Jason moved back after you launched a Rocket box at him during the final testing stages of our Sleepy Snoozing Sachets.” Fred reminded him with a scowl. George was the main reason they couldn’t keep employees around here.

            George grinned unrepentantly. “I had to make sure he was really asleep or the data would have been compromised.”

            “Right.” Fred said sarcastically. “Because setting off Rockets straight at his crotch was a surefire way to control our data.”

            “Now you are getting it.” George said proudly before quickly kissing the top of the nearest Pygmy puff when Fred wasn’t looking. He loved these little guys.

            “There has to be some employees left over that you haven’t scared off.” George pondered ignoring the indignant squawk that Fred released. Geez, his brother was such a drama queen. “Why are we still selling these ugly things?” George asked pointing at the Pygmy puffs. George waited till he was sure Fred wasn’t going to turn around before leaning in to whisper apologies. “Daddy didn’t mean it. You are my pretty babies, aren’t you?” George cooed softly stealing glances at his brother.

            Fred snorted not even bothering to turn around. “We both know that you will never stop breeding them. You have a weird obsession with them.” George pointedly ignored him knowing that he was right. They were just so fluffy.

            “To answer your first question, we still have a couple left.” George stopped petting the animals to look at his brother curiously. Fred could practically feel the interested gaze on his back.

            “There is still Imogen, Lucas and Finley.” George scoffed.

            “Fred! Imogen is in her eighties. We don’t need her breaking a hip and suing us for malpractice.”

            “I don’t think malpractice is the right term but I see your point. When we had her test out the Galloping Gears that were _supposed_ to make her as fast as a centaur, she over did it and couldn’t walk properly for weeks.”

     George was disgruntled at the correction of his grammar. Did Fred pick up any lingering intelligence from Hermione from dinner? George sure hoped not. If intelligence was contagious then he wanted no part of it.  

            “We could keep her on for simple easy tests. Like the Geriatric line. I mean who better to test old people products than an old person?” George offered. Fred wrinkled his nose at George’s lack of consideration. Imogen could do more than just ‘old people’ products.

            “Fine.” Fred conceded reluctantly. You have to pick your battles when it came to George and arguing about Imogen would be pointless. “What about Lucas and Finley?” George shook his head.

            “I don’t like either one of them.” He said crossly while glaring at the floor. Fred stepped away and put a hand on his brother’s shoulder.

            “I can understand not using Lucas. I shouldn’t have even have brought him up.” Fred said apologetically. George grunted inelegantly. George knew his brother meant well but he really shouldn’t have mentioned Lucas. George was still peeved that the same day Angelina dumped him for not choosing her over Fred, he caught her making out with Lucas in the supply cupboard. Technically they had been broken up already but only by a half hour! Here he was gutted over losing his longest relationship and she just moved on to the next pair of lips.

            “Lucas is definitely out… unless we have something really dangerous to test.” George said with a feral grin. Fred laughed in part humor and part horror knowing that his brother was serious.

            “What about Finley?” asked Fred as he looked at his brother who was frowning. “There is just something about him that I don’t like. I can’t put my finger on it but I don’t like it.” George said with a shrug. There was something… off… about Finley. The teen had this creepy way of staring at you, George always got the impression that his entire soul was being seen and judged every time he caught the guys eyes. Not to mention there was just this darkness about him that irked George.

            “Do you have anything concrete against him? Because we are in desperate need of more testers.” Fred bit his lip in indecision. George and him almost always saw eye to eye when it came to a person’s character but Finley is where they disagreed. Sure, the guy was plain creepy but he was a decent tester and never complained. Even when he would have been in the right to do so. They needed people and Fred was willing to keep using Finley.  

            George sighed. He knew Fred didn’t understand it and he couldn’t really pinpoint it either there was just something about Finley that made his gut clench and his stomach roll. He just didn’t like him… but they were in a crunch for testers. He sighed again this time more pronounced. “Alright. We can keep using Finley but I am keeping my eyes on him.” George warned

            Fred quickly nodded his agreement. “Should we put an ad out in the _Daily Prophet_? That is the only way I can see us getting more people.”

            George wrinkled his nose. Putting an ad out would attract all kinds of weridos. But honestly there was no getting weirder than Finley. “I guess we will have to.” He conceded after giving it some thought.

            Fred agreed and looked around the store in surprise. “George you didn’t have to do my share.” Fred was a little embarrassed at the rush of affection he felt for his brother.

      George shrugged not meeting his brother’s eyes. “Yeah well I knew that dinner took a lot out of you so I picked up some of the slack.” George was not prepared to have an arm full of his twin.

     “Thank you.” Fred said warmly. Honestly, he had the best brother out there. People really should be jealous.

     “Yeah alright.” George said before shoving his brother back to the counter so he could finish with the report.

     Fred went back to looking at the sales list and groaned heavily. “There is so much that needs to be done. We have a lot of product to make to cover the sales.” George frowned as he plucked the parchment out of his brother’s hands.

            “Damn. We are going to be up all night making all of this. Think we have enough pepper up potions to last us through the night?” George really really didn’t want to do this tonight. He just wanted to fall asleep and hopefully that would be with Pansy if she was still upstairs.

            “It is a good thing you have us then isn’t it?” The twins looked up and smiled when Blaise and Pansy came into the room.

            Blaise wrapped his arms around Fred’s waist and kissed the tip of his nose. “Missed you.” Blaise breathed. Fred smiled widely and leaned down to kiss his boyfriend properly. Blaise sighed into the kiss as he eagerly moved his lips against Fred’s. This was a small piece of heaven. The way that Fred’s slightly chapped lips molded perfectly to his own was breathtaking. He loved the little sighs and breathy moans that Fred would release. He would never get enough of this.

            When they broke apart Fred ran his nose across Blaise’s cheek. “I missed you as well.” Blaise grinned and blocked out the noise of his best friend tossing spit back and forth with her boyfriend somewhere in the background. Gross

            “How did it go?” Blaise asked tentatively. There was a wet sucking noise that made them both wrinkle their noses in disgust as Pansy and George broke apart.

            “Yeah I want to know too.” Pansy said ignoring their grossed out faces. Fred and George shared a look before they both sighed.       

            “It was a disaster.”

            “It was awesome.”

            Pansy and Blaise chuckled at the warring answers. Fred looked at George incredulously. “Did you go to someone else’s house for dinner? Because I don’t see how that was awesome.”

            George shook his head and gave his brother a mock pitying look. “Freddie, they totally got their arses handed to them. I have never seen mum so shocked before.”

     Blaise raised his brows. That didn’t sound promising for Harry though. Blaise bit his lip as he worried about what Harry was going through. It was funny, he never would have imagined that in just two months Harry Potter would be one of his best friends. Blaise had never been one to openly mock or publicly taunt Harry. With his mother being a dark sympathizer and not ever actually on a side, Blaise had never felt the pressure to fit in like the others had. There was no Slytherin reputation to live up to. He didn’t like or dislike Harry. He was just the golden boy that got away with _way_ too much. Anyone else would have been suspended in their first year and kicked out by their second. That always irked him but not enough to get involved in any of the bullying.

            So every time that Draco would start something with Harry he would always make himself scarce. Pansy had an issue with Hermione more than Harry but he avoided those conflicts as well. He wasn’t a fan of muggleborns but he didn’t see the point in harassing them. Conflict and confrontation just wasn’t his thing. Which is why he loved that Fred was the same way.  

     Draco thought he was fooling everyone with his ‘hatred’ of Harry but Blaise had always been able to read Draco better than he let on. Draco must have had a reason or he wouldn’t do it, so Blaise just pretended to believe that Draco really hated him as much as he said. There was definitely some dislike going on but hatred? Nah. Blaise knew a lot about hatred. Hatred was something his mother did very well when it came to her spouses. There was just this raw power to hatred that was always missing in the way that Draco spoke about Harry. He figured it was something residual from his father. Maybe Lucius was the one that put him up to it. He never asked Draco, that wasn’t his business. Besides, Draco never would have told him the truth. _Slytherin Rule #15:_ _The truth is a weapon that can be used against you. – Lie whenever possible._

As they got older Blaise would see the lingering looks that Draco would send Harry when he thought that no one was looking and that was when a lot of things started making sense. Draco _liked_ Harry. At the time, Blaise still couldn’t see the appeal of Harry. He was still breaking rules and getting away with it and in some cases getting _rewarded_. What kind of message does that send? As long as you have a good reason it is okay to break every school rule imaginable? Or as long as you are Harry Potter it is okay to break the rules? Blaise just chalked it up to a case of hormones gone wrong because there was nothing likeable about Harry that he could see.

            But after actually getting to know Harry and not what everyone else sees, Blaise can’t help but feel guilty for all of the things that he used to think about Harry. Because Harry is honestly one of the bravest people he has ever met. Within twenty minutes of an actual conversation with Harry, Blaise could completely understand why Draco was so smitten. Harry was kind, considerate, loyal, generous, dependable, strong and brave. He could list positive attributes about Harry all day. Even in the early stages in the great hall, Blaise knew that Harry was going to stick around with them. The way that he looked at Draco had been adorable. It was like a kid that couldn’t believe his parents had gotten him the gift that he had asked for. There had been this lingering want between the two of them and it surprised him. For two former enemies they really got along well.

            Then when they had met again at Grimwald Place Blaise had been blown away at how incredibly close they had gotten. It wasn’t until later that the soulmate bond explained that. But their relationship still astounds him. The love that they have for each other makes him ache with positive and negative feelings. Blaise is over the moon that they both have found such happiness with one another but at the same time his heart wants that. His soul yearns for that. But seeing them happy and having Fred by his side almost makes up for it. _Almost._

            Blaise could honestly say that Harry was one of his best friends. One that would always be in his life. Blaise goes to Draco when there are things he can’t talk to Pansy about. Some things shouldn’t be discussed with a lady present. But now Blaise also had Harry to go to and that thrilled him. Harry was a lot of things that Draco wasn’t but not in a totally bad way. They were so alike but vastly different at the same time. Blaise knew that no matter what he brought to Harry he would never be mocked or judged for it. He could bring the same issue to Draco and Draco would help him in the end… after judging him completely and laughing his arse off. So it was nice to keep his options open.

     He loved Draco and Harry a lot and couldn’t imagine better friends if he tried. Which is why he was worried about this dinner. He could tell by Fred’s expression that things had not gone as they hoped. To be honest, it had been a fools dream to think the family would have gotten over their issues. But considering they are fools they had hoped anyways. He was worried about Harry’s emotional state. Blaise knew that Draco could handle Harry any day… but with Draco’s death already happening, Harry was probably not all the way there and he really didn’t need anything else messing with his emotions. So Blaise was crossing his fingers that it wasn’t a total loss.

            “Yes I will admit that was a little satisfying but think about Harry, George. I imagine he is gutted.”   

            Pansy winced. “So things didn’t go too well then.” Blaise rolled his eyes at the obvious statement.  

            “Definitely not. A lot of things were said and it got pretty heated. They couldn’t accept Harry’s decisions in the end.” Fred said frowning sadly. His heart went out to both Harry and Draco. He wished things could have gone differently.

            Pansy frowned lost in thought. Part of her was incredibly glad that she had not been invited because she would have had a lot to say to that family. How could anyone treat her best friend like that? Because yes Harry was now her best friend just as much as Draco was. Harry didn’t deserve the horrific treatment that they were bestowing on him. Harry was too kind and gentle to be treated like that. Pansy knew that if things had been reversed that there would have been nothing that Granger and Weasley could have done to make Harry stop talking to them.

            One of the first things you discover growing up as a Slytherin is that you can’t expect people to treat you like you treat them. If you are always looking for the best in people, then you will always be let down. That might be cynical or pessimistic but it was true. People tend to disappoint you and if you stop expecting the opposite then when it does happen you can never be caught off guard. That was obviously something that Harry had never been taught. Pansy wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. Harry was one of a kind and she loved the different warring personalities inside him. He could be terribly naïve at times but it bordered on adorable. Then there were moments where there was just this incredible clarity to him that made you sit up and take notice. She loved how there was always something new to discover about him. Every time Pansy thought she had Harry figured out he would do something to surprise her and then she would have to start back over at square one. It was frustrating but liberating at the same time. He was a puzzle that she loved to attempt to solve. Pansy figured that Draco was the only one with all the answers to the mystery of Harry Potter.

            “We should do something to cheer him up.” Blaise declared suddenly and then fidgeted when three surprised pair of eyes landed on him. “If dinner went as bad as it sounds then he is probably a little crushed. I just think that it would be nice if we did something for him.”

            Fred couldn’t help it. This was the moment that he knew without a doubt that Blaise would always be the person meant for him. It didn’t matter that he had a soulmate somewhere. No one could compare to the man in front of him. No one. His soulmate could go fuck themselves for all he cared. “I love you.”

            Blaise’s heart started beating fast and he blinked rapidly trying to get his brain to register if he was hearing things or not. But the nervous glint in Fred’s eyes jolted him back to reality. Did Fred worry that he didn’t love him back? Silly redhead. Blaise threw his arms around Fred’s neck and peppered kisses to every possible freckle he could see. “I. Love. You. Too.” Each word was punctuated by a kiss.

            Fred wrapped his arms around Blaise and twirled him around with a freeing laugh. Every last bit of the tension that came from tonight melted away. Fred felt as if he had been freed from all of the stress with Blaise’s presence alone. Blaise leaned down to press his lips against Fred’s and he smiled softly when he could hear Pansy and George cheering in the background.

            Pansy laid her head on George’s shoulder and sighed softly as she watched the two of them. Her heart was bursting in pride and joy knowing that Blaise was taken care of. Blaise was in a way her whole world. Despite there being no romantic interests, she loved him more than she ever thought you could love a friend. When she had been younger it confused her. Why did she care for Blaise more than she did Draco? She had gone crying to her mother stressing that she was a bad friend, only to have her mother smile at her and tell her that she wasn’t a bad friend. Just that she cared about Blaise in a different way than Draco. To this day she still isn’t quite sure why that is. Or what way that even is. She knows without a doubt that Blaise was going to be in her life forever but not the way that people expect. Her mother keeps asking when they are going to get married, her mum refuses to believe that there is no romance between them. Everyone always expects that they are a couple and she can understand that even if it does frustrate her. Blaise held a piece of her heart that she didn’t want back. He was more than her best friend and she was so happy to see him happy. Pansy loved that Fred was the one who brought him this happiness. They both deserved this. Pansy sighed again but this time with happiness.

            George knew he was grinning like an idiot but he couldn’t help it. They were just so adorable together. George had seen his brother go through date after date and his heart had ached because it was just so hard to get someone to be okay with the twin thing. Fred was the best brother that he could ask for and it killed him that no one else seemed to realize this. He had been tempted to post an ad in the _Daily Prophet_ but he figured Fred wouldn’t appreciate that. How could people not notice the great catch that his brother was? George decided that people must be blind because Fred was a real winner. So finally seeing him find happiness with Blaise thrilled him. Blaise saw everything in Fred that George had known was there all along and more, some things a brother just shouldn’t know. Blaise was alike Fred in so many ways that at first it worried him. Shouldn’t opposites attract? They almost seemed identical in their beliefs and characteristics but for those two it didn’t matter. Fred liked the way that Blaise was just like him. Whatever works for them, George supposed.

            George could see the love in Blaise’s eyes as he stared at Fred, and George knew that he would remember this moment because this is the dream that he had hoped for his brother. This was the moment that he knew his brother would be okay. This was the moment that he knew Fred had definitely found the one he would be with for the rest of his life. Blaise would eventually become his brother in-law and George was ecstatic at the prospect.

            “They are adorable.” Pansy cooed as Fred started twirling Blaise again. Blaise’s happy laughter was music to her ears.

            George looked down at his girlfriend’s happy face and smiled softly. “That they are.” He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer. “But we are way cuter.” He told her conspiratorially.

            Pansy let out a little giggle that George adored. “Of that I have no doubt.” She said a little haughtily, channeling her inner Draco. 

            George looked up at was startled to see two identical glares being sent their way.

            “One, we are manly men and words like adorable should never be used to describe us.” Fred said folding his arms across his chest. Blaise also had his arms across his chest and he was nodding along.

            “Is that so?” George asked highly amused.

            “Our sincerest apologies. Does gushingly sweet sound better?” Pansy offered with a straight voice. She couldn’t hold back the smile when they both winced.

            “Er on second thought we will keep adorable.” Blaise said quickly before they could come up with something else revolting. Gushingly sweet? He shuddered.

            “Two, there is no way that you two are cuter than us.” Fred said sternly gesturing between Blaise and himself. “I mean I am the better twin, that much is obvious. So it only makes sense that we would be the better couple.”

            Pansy and George scoffed. “In your dreams lover boy.” Pansy said in amusement. “You two wouldn’t know cute if it smacked you in the face.” George piped up.

            Fred and Blaise shared a look before grinning wickedly at Pansy and George. Pansy shot an ‘uh oh’ look at George before gripping his hand tightly.

            “Since you must be the expert on things smacking people in the face...” Fred trailed off suggestively.

            “Run.” George told his girlfriend before he ditched her in an attempt to escape whatever his brother was about to plan. Pansy huffed. Some boyfriend he was! She ran and hid behind one of the shelves.  

            “You now Blaise what luck is it that we just happen to be surrounded by all of these _products_?” Fred said loudly. Pansy cursed, it sounded like he wasn’t that far away.

            “Lucky indeed.” Blaise said right behind Pansy making her scream. Fred wasn’t far behind.

            “Hey Georgie we have your girlfriend. We will hold her for ransom till you meet our demands.” Fred yelled loudly.

            “Keep her.” Came the muffled voice from somewhere. Blaise and Fred busted out laughing.

            Pansy made a squawk of disbelief. “I swear you are dead George when I get out of this mess!” Pansy warned darkly.

            A large bang caused Fred and Blaise to jump sideways to avoid any attacks. Fred cursed when he recognized the black cloud caused by Peruvian Instant Darkness powder. Fred grabbed Blaise and hid behind the next shelf over. As soon as the smoke cleared they realized they made a terrible mistake. Pansy had escaped.

            “Clever George. You may have won that battle but you won’t win the war!” Fred bellowed before looking around the shelves for anything that they could use. Blaise shoved a box in his hand and Fred read the title before kissing his boyfriend quickly on the cheek.

            Fred lit the entire box on fire before pulling out the separate items and launching their Weasleys’ Wildfire Whiz-bangs in different directions. A scream let them know where Pansy was at least.            

            “That came from the back of the store.” Blaise whispered near Fred’s ear. Fred shivered and sent a weak glare at Blaise but his boyfriend had a cheeky grin on his face, knowing exactly what he was doing to Fred. “Later.” Blaise said suggestively causing another shiver to go through Fred.

            “No! Pansy don’t try stunning them!” Fred snickered as the giant dragon exploded with a loud roar that shook the building.

            “How the hell was I supposed to know?!” Pansy yelled indignantly. She was seriously reconsidering this whole dating thing now that she was involved in some twisted prank war. But she had to admit her veins were pumping with excitement. She couldn’t remember having this much fun in a long time.

            “Whatever you do don’t-” George was cut off by the nearest rocket splitting into ten giant fire breathing dragons. “-try vanishing them.” He finished weakly.

            “Oh gods.” Pansy moaned pitifully. What in the world did she get herself into? George ignored the raging fireworks and grabbed the nearest box. “Do you remember where they were the last time you saw them?”

            “Yeah.” Pansy breathed eyeing the fireworks closely. “They were near the front of the store by the WonderWitch display.”

            George grinned widely. “Perfect.” He pulled out a shiny square object that confused Pansy. “On.” George said as he pointed his wand at the object before chucking in the direction Pansy had said.

            Something landed a shelf or two over from them opposite duo. “That will be George’s counter attack. No sudden movements.” Fred warned Blaise.         

            “Resistance is futile. Assimilate or be destroyed.” A tiny creepy voice said coming closer and closer to their hiding spot.

            “Oh no.” Fred groaned as he recognized their Rambunctious Rebel prank. It was modeled after muggle robots. “Don’t let it touch you. It sends out a mild stinging curse that shocks the blood pathways and freezes you for a moment.”

            Blaise looked at Fred with wild eyes. “Why the fuck did you invent that?” He asked a little hysterically. Merlin this was an odd situation but at the same time he was loving it. Life with Fred would never get boring.

            “It was George’s idea!” Fred offered weakly. To be honest he thought they were rather funny. As long as they weren’t coming for him!

            “Is there a way to turn it off?” Blaise asked quickly as he caught sight of red eyes coming from a tiny rectangular head as the barely one foot tall _thing_ came into their line of vision.

            Fred shook his head rapidly. “No. Once activated it will stay on until it catches interest in something.”

            “Fuck.” Blaise swore before looking around to try and find something of interest. He caught sight of the trick wands and started waving them around until he had a handful of rubber chickens. Fred arched a brow as he watched his boyfriend mess with the fake wands. How was that going to help?

            Blaise ignored Fred and threw the rubber chickens at the _thing_ and watched as it came to a halt and inspected them.

            “Resistance is futile.” The robot quoted before poking the nearest chicken. The chicken caught fire and exploded from the hex. “Holy shit.” Fred breathed out. Maybe they needed to reevaluate selling this to children. Blaise’s eyes went wide. What the fuck were the twins thinking?

     “Assimilating did not work.” Came the confused response from the toy. “Resistance is futile.” The robot told the next chicken. Blaise whimpered when that one caught fire as well. What would happen when it ran out of chickens? Would it come for them next? As the robot tried chicken after chicken it became more confused and more frustrated.

            “Assimilations have stopped working. Product is defective. Product is defective.” It kept repeating the same sentence over and over. Blaise shared a confused look with Fred. Fred’s eyes widened when the robot’s head started circling around and around. That wasn’t supposed to happen!

            “Product is defective. Product is defective. Assimilations have stopped working.” Each word the robot spoke became slower and slower till it just stopped talking. Blaise watched in relief as the eyes dimmed and the toy keeled over on its back.  

            “Thank Merlin.” Blaise whispered before angrily grabbing a box off the self. No way were they losing this war. Blaise quickly read the instructions and made sure that he didn’t have to do anything to it before chucking it in the direction that Fred had sent the fireworks.

            Fred’s eyes widened. “Blaise wait!” But it was too late. The opened package was already being lobbed away.

            A dull thud had George and Pansy looking around wildly trying to figure out what they would have thrown. “You have got to be kidding me.” George whispered. Pansy did not like the tone of her boyfriend’s voice. She took a step away in worry.

            “Pansy no! Don’t-” Pansy let out a loud shriek when she felt something touch her leg and the shock of energy set her hair to frizz. “move.” George finished sadly.

            Pansy looked down in horror as tiny little bugs were crawling all over her and zapping her! “What are these things? Get them off me!” Pansy shrieked.

            Fred and Blaise could hear her shrieking and had to muffle their laughter.

            George stepped up and starting beating the creatures with his hands sending them scurrying across the ground. “They are Electric Shock Shakers. The creatures send pulses of electric energy into your skin.” Pansy whimpered as she pulled one from the top of her head and gritting her teeth when it sent a last bolt of energy into her. George watched in admiration as her previously panicked expression morphed into a very angry look and she stomped on the nearest Shock Shaker, the sickening crunch making him wince.

            “That. Is. It.” She warned before just ripping open several boxes and throwing them. George watched with raised brows as she opened dozens of boxes viciously. “We are ending this war right now.” She growled deeply.

            Fred saw the sheer number of boxes being thrown at them and he grabbed Blaise and started running. Blaise scoffed and managed to grab a hold of some boxes as Fred was yanking him around. Blaise ripped off the lids and threw them as hard as he could, hoping that they would find their target. The scream from the pair of them let Blaise know that he had been spot on. He had no idea what he was even throwing but he knew that he was having the most fun of his life.

            George grabbed Pansy and ran the opposite direction of where they were. He wasn’t paying attention to where he was going, all he could care about was getting away.

            SLAM. George and Pansy smacked hard into Fred and Blaise causing everyone to fall over onto one another. They all scrambled to get up, panting harshly and glaring at each other. “Watch where you are going.” Fred and Blaise said at the same time.

            “Us? What about you?” George demanded angrily. Fred scoffed. “You were the one who ran into us!”

            “Do you have proof? Because I say that it was the other way around.” George argued as he tried to gain control of his breathing. Merlin, he really needed to start working out more if he was this out of breath.

            “Guys.” Pansy tried interrupting.

            “Proof! Are you kidding me?” Blaise asked incredulously. “You smacked into _us._ ”   

            “Guys.” She tried again.

            George scoffed. “You would say that wouldn’t you? Well since there is no proof to back up your claim than it matters none.” He said smugly at the furious looks he was now receiving.     

            “GUYS!” Pansy shouted as loudly as she could. “What?!” The three of them bellowed at her.

            “We have a problem.” She said pointing at the approaching toys and pranks now making their way towards them.

            Fred’s eyes widened. They were surrounded. “Oh my.” Blaise whimpered stepping up closer to Fred. George let out a surprised gust of air. “Holy fuck.” He whispered.

            “We have to fight them together.” Blaise reasoned. George and Pansy shared uninterested looks at teaming up with Blaise and Fred.

            Fred rolled his eyes. “We don’t want to work with you either but it makes sense. If we fight back to back and form a circle than nothing can get in between us.”

            Pansy sent George a brief nod. “Fine. But when this is done we can discuss how Pansy and I won this battle.”

            “In your dreams.” Fred retorted before they all got into position.

            “Don’t go for the obvious spell! The more creative the better it will work.” George told Pansy and Blaise.

            Fred caught sight of a Demon Box and gripped his wand tighter. It was supposed to work like a boggart would but it was only programmed with the most popular fears. Blaise’s eyes widened as a thousand tiny spiders started coming from nowhere. Fred had to remind himself that they weren’t real. It was a good thing Ron wasn’t here or he would probably wet himself.

            Fred shot a stasis charm surrounding the box so that he could deal with it later. Stunning the spiders would only make the next fear come out. He didn’t have the time to stop all five of the fears. They had other things to think about.

            Pansy furrowed her brows when she saw a little doll making its way toward her. The doll looked normal other than the fact that it was walking. The doll had on a light blue dress with lace edges, white tights and pretty pink shoes. Her hair was in blonde pigtails and she had a small smile on her face. “Play with me.” A little childlike voice said. Pansy thought it was adorable. She reached her hands out to pick it up but George slapped them away. “No!” He warned.

            “Don’t you like me?” The little voice said in sadness. Pansy glared at her boyfriend. “Why won’t you play with me!” The little voice suddenly shrieked in an angry voice. Pansy gasped in horror and shoved herself backwards forgetting that Fred and Blaise were behind them. She ignored their angry cries. She couldn’t keep her eyes off of the doll. It _warped_. It was no longer an innocent little doll. The eyes turned black and the smile turned into a snarl that showed pointed and jagged teeth. What the fuck was that thing? “I will make you play with me.” The doll growled before raising an elegant little hand.

            Pansy wanted to stand there and just stare at it in horror but there were so many other things in the distance and she knew she didn’t have time to dawdle. She could hear Fred and Blaise wrestling with something behind her and her interest was piqued but she knew it would be a bad idea to take her eyes off of the twisted doll.

            She raised her wand and shot a severing charm right at the dolls head. The doll screamed loudly before the sick thud of the head landing somewhere in the distance reached her ears. George was panting from having to take down more the Electric Shock Shakers. He winced when the head of the doll landed near him. “Remind me to never piss you off.” Pansy let out a startled laugh.

            “What was that thing?” She asked as she sent a severing charm at another one of the dolls.

            “That was Crazy Cassie. She is a doll that is meant to be a prank on a younger sister.” Pansy shot George a look of contempt. “I suddenly feel sorry for your sister.” The admission cost her a lot of pride. George snorted but wisely said nothing.

            Blaise could hear the tinkling of glass near him. He looked down and was surprised to see teacups with mouths trying to bite his ankles. He didn’t even bother with a spell, he just stomped the glass cups with his feet. He vaguely remembered that he had been the one to release that. Nose Biting Teacup, that is what the box said but they definitely weren’t picky on what they got their razor-sharp teeth on.

            Fred was breathing a sigh of relief as the products started to wind down. Geez had they needed to open so many of them?

            “Brace yourselves!” George warned the others before a strong gust of wind signified that a Tiny Twister had been released. Pansy caught sight of the swirling cyclone and let out a breath of disbelief. Goodness they sure didn’t mess around with their pranks.

            The good thing about the little tornado was that it was picking up a lot of the toys and jokes and spinning them out of control before they fell hard on the ground.

            Just when Blaise had started to relax a stream of bubbles started foaming everywhere. He had to swat some of them to the side so that he could see. He looked around and his jaw dropped when he realized that the _entire_ store was covered in different shades of colorful bubbles.

            “What is going on?” Pansy asked as she was moving her hands all over the place trying to pop all of the bubbles near her.

            “A bubble machine has been activated.” Fred shouted as he popped a big bubble and then wincing when extra liquid from the bubble got on his head.

     “They are time activated, there is no stopping them. We have to wait it out.” George added.

            “Well that-” Blaise was cut off when he slipped and grabbed hold of the nearest thing to steady him. Unfortunately, he grabbed Fred causing a chain reaction. Because Fred grabbed a hold of George who then grabbed onto Pansy. Soon they were all on the floor panting and groaning.

            Fred started moving his arms and legs. “What are you doing?” Blaise questioned. He didn’t have the energy to move and apparently neither did anyone else as they all laid sprawled out on the floor watching as the bubbles took over the room.

            “I am making a bubble angel.” He said as if that was the most obvious thing in the world.

            “I want to make one.” Pansy piped up before she started mimicking Fred’s actions. Soon George and Blaise joined in and the laughter of the group could be heard reverberating off the walls.

            “This was fun.” Blaise said with a sigh. He had never imagined that this is where life would take him but impromptu prank wars in the middle of their shop was now one of his favorite memories. He could get used to this. Blaise reached over and stilled Fred’s moving arm to entwine their fingers.

            “Agreed.” The other three said in unison.

            It is safe to say that no paperwork was finished that night, no products were made and the store was trashed. The next morning when Verity came in and saw the sheer wreckage of the store she briefly considered walking back out and not coming back.

            “I don’t get paid enough for this shite.” She grumbled before resigning herself to cleaning up the store. At least the twins were having fun, but even that thought wasn’t enough to stop the murder plots that were swimming in her head as she picked up the severed doll heads. “What in the world do they get up to?” She wondered before turning the open sign to closed. It would take a bit before the store was even remotely presentable. “I just cleaned this place last night!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Verity. Haha. ;) 
> 
> Okay what were your thoughts on this chapter? I wanted to show some insight to how they run the store. (ignoring the prank war) I wanted to show a serious side to them because they are successful business owners. But also wanted to show more of their mischievous nature as well. 
> 
> I think that the twins have an interesting relationship and I wanted to show that with this chapter. Their bond is sweet and I loved how much George showed that he cared about his brother. I wanted to focus more on them and the relationships with Pansy and Blaise as well.
> 
> I told you guys a while back that there would most likely be more character depth showing Pansy and Blaise and hopefully this met your interests. I loved adding in the bits of Pansy and Blaise's mindset. Blaise had like two lines in cannon. Disappointing. So there is not much to base him off of unless you take account of other fan fictions. So I hope that you like my Blaise as much as I do. I adore Pansy as well. I wanted to show a soft side of her that was never seen in the books but that made sense to my story. I think that Pansy and Blaise are the perfect candidates for Fred and George. Do you have a favorite couple between the four of them? I think I am leaning more towards Fred and Blaise but I love the teasing between Pansy and George. 
> 
> With the actual pranks and joke ideas, that was difficult. The names were the hardest part. I did find some of the titles in the books and just tweaked them or gave them an actual definition. The rest of the names I just made up. In the chapter I only explained what the products did that the title didn't really explain. Some titles like Lingering Lipwear was obvious what it did so I didn't feel the need to explain. But if there was a product that I mentioned that you are curious about don't hesitate to ask. 
> 
> The prank war actually was impromptu for me as well. I hadn't intended to write that until I was already into the chapter. But that is how writing goes sometimes. It writes itself. So hopefully you enjoyed that part. I do think that life with the twins will most likely have tons of impromptu prank battles in them. 
> 
> Now to get to the comment that I made in the Author Notes in the beginning. I have the next two or possibly one chapter if I condense it down, done. But I wanted to add in the retelling of the burrow at the Manor and I am having an incredibly hard time. I have been working on that for days and it is frustrating me. The help that I was hinting at was advice. What are you looking for in the retelling? I could cop out and just have them do a pensive memory of it but that doesn't sound good to me. Or I could have a recap but that would be a lot to recap and I suck at summarizing. Any suggestions regarding that are most welcome. If not then I will just figure something out.
> 
> Also I would also like to ask something. Do you guys feel like the summary for the story is good enough? I don't feel like it matches what the story is actually about. I have toyed with the idea of rewriting the summary, again. But I am unsure of what I want to put in there. I don't want to mention the soulmate bond because I would like the readers to discover that on their own but any advice regarding that would be welcome as well. 
> 
> Suggestions are always welcomed. I can't promise you that I will always include it but if it fits to my plot or how the story is going then I will try and squeeze it in somewhere. :) 
> 
> So hopefully you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. :)
> 
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	46. The Last Sacrifice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So not exactly sure what kind of warning I should be putting on this chapter. This is a dark chapter and may have triggers in it. So yeah, this is about the best warning I can give ya.

_ Ethan started running towards the front door before a little voice in the back of his mind reminded him of Noah’s words. ‘Walk with dignity love. Running is beneath you.’ Ethan shook his head with a fond smile. Even if Noah had a funny way of doing things, Ethan couldn’t help but listen to the man. Ethan closed the door quietly just in case Noah was working. _

_“Noah are you home?” Ethan asked as he put his coat up. No answer. Hmm, that was odd. Noah was usually always home at this time. Ethan walked further down the hall and had to cover his nose with his hands. Yes, Noah was definitely home. Nothing but the stench of his potions would make that smell. Ethan pushed open the door leading to Noah’s work station._

_Ethan smiled softly as he watched his husband busy at work. Noah’s normally pristine blond hair was falling into his face. Noah puffed pushing his hair back unaware of the audience. Ethan watched as Noah made an angry noise and crossed out something on his parchment before adding more ingredients to the bubbling potion. It was grey and looked ghastly. He hoped Noah wasn’t going to ask him to taste it. Ethan loved his husband, he really did but that was **not** something he would be doing. Lines had to be crossed somewhere. _

_Whatever his husband was making it was not turning out the way he planned. Noah scrunched his eyes and thrust his hands into his hair in frustration. “Bloody hell.”_

_Ethan walked all the way into the room holding up a hand to block the sun from his face. “Language love. I thought that cursing was against your pureblood morals or something like that.” Ethan said with a chuckle._

_Noah looked up and smiled widely at Ethan causing Ethan’s heart to start beating faster. Even after ten years of marriage that smile never ceased to make him weak in the knees. Noah walked to Ethan and pulled him into a hug._

_Ethan gripped his husband tightly loving the feel of his strong muscled arms around him. He inhaled deeply expecting to smell the rich aroma that was just Noah but instead coughed heavily when a foul odor reached his nostrils._

_“What is that smell?” Ethan asked taking a step back from Noah and waving his hand through the air. Noah frowned, he couldn’t smell anything._

_“Could be my potion.” Noah offered with amusement coloring his voice. Ethan glared at his husband, shooting nervous glances to whatever was in that cauldron. He was afraid to ask. Some things are better left unsaid._

_Ethan frowned when he noticed how much tension was in his lover’s stance. He stepped forward and started rubbing Noah’s shoulders. Noah groaned and dropped his head back to rest on Ethan’s shoulders. Ethan smiled softly as he could feel the tension leaving the straining muscles. “What is the matter?” Ethan said nuzzling Noah’s neck before placing a kiss underneath his ear._

_Noah was making little content noises so it took a moment for him to form a reply, much to Ethan’s amusement. “My potion, angel. It isn’t turning out how I had hoped.” Despite Noah’s sad tone, Ethan couldn’t help but sigh when his husband called him that. It sent a little thrill through him every time._

_“What are trying to make this time?” Ethan asked curiously. Noah was brilliant at potions, the world was turning a new leaf and potions were on the up rise. Alchemy just wasn’t cutting it anymore and his husband wanted to change the world with potions. Ethan knew that Noah could do it, he was a master with his hands. Give him a couple ingredients and a cauldron and Noah would walk away with something incredible._

_Noah leaned away and looked at his potion with a mix of excitement and bitterness. “I had this idea this morning when you went off to work.” Ethan smiled fondly, Noah was always having an idea. “I was thinking about a way to enable the mind of a werewolf during the full moon. I was hoping that there could be some way for the person to retain their human tendencies during the transformation making them relatively safe.”_

_Ethan raised his brows in surprise. “That is brilliant.” He breathed out impressed. Noah flushed with the praise._

_“I just want to find a way to help. Maybe with a potion like this people would treat werewolves better. They are people too. Maybe it could finally put a stop to the hunts.” Noah said narrowing his eyes. Ethan fell even more in love with his husband. How could he not? Noah was such a gentle soul. Werewolf hunts were at an all time high as people feared what they could not understand. To be a werewolf was worse than a criminal these days._

_“How is it going?” Questioned Ethan. Noah moaned pitifully. “Horrid angel. Just horrid. It isn’t doing what I want it to. Every time the Bitterroot and the Baneberry make contact in the cauldron it sours the whole thing. But I need them both. I want this Ethan. I just know that this is possible. I know it.” Noah said with conviction._

_“I know you can do this. I believe in you.” Ethan told him firmly. Noah sent him that same smile that makes his heart skip a beat. “I love you.” Noah told him before launching at Ethan._

_“I love you too.” Ethan managed to get out before Noah slammed their mouths together in a bruising kiss. Ethan wrapped his arms around Noah’s waist and groaned at the wonderful taste of Noah. He could never get enough of this. Noah was his whole world._

_Noah pulled away and panted against Ethan’s lips. “Oh before I forget, Nicolas has offered me a significant amount of money if I participate in one of his experiments.” Ethan said quietly._

_Noah jerked and looked at Ethan with wide eyes. “Please tell me you told him no.” Ethan had to look away from the startling grey eyes. “We could use the money.” Ethan said quietly._

_Ethan looked up to see Noah biting his lip as his eyes filled with tears. “It’s because of me.” Ethan was horrified to see his lip tremble and tears fall from Noah’s face. “No love no.” He tried to reassure him. Noah let out a dark laugh and wiped furiously at his face._

_“Don’t lie.” Noah said harshly. “If I wasn’t so desperate to change the world with my potions then you wouldn’t be working so many hours.” Ethan closed his eyes, he knew this would be the reaction but it didn’t change anything._

_“I don’t mind working.” Ethan reminded him as he wiped more tears that have fallen. “You wouldn’t have to if I had a normal job. One that actually brought us money.” Noah said not meeting Ethan’s eyes._

_“Noah look at me.” When Noah shook his head, Ethan forced Noah’s chin up till he could see his beautiful eyes. “You are so intelligent and so brilliant. You **are** going to change the world with your potions and until then I do not mind working so many hours. I will do anything to make your dreams come true.” Noah trembled before burying his face into Ethan’s chest.    _

            _Ethan sighed and waited patiently till Noah stopped the tears. “I love you.” Noah choked out when he looked up. Ethan’s heart broke seeing the red rimmed eyes and sadness lurking in the silver pools. “I love you too Noah. So much.” He pulled Noah back into his arms and squeezed hard._

_“Is there another way to do this? I don’t trust Nicolas, he is dark Ethan. Nothing good can come from this.” Noah begged._

_“You only say he is dark because your father is friends with the man.” Ethan pointed out._

_“When does my father make friends with anyone good? Never. My father is as dark as they come. You know this. You are the one who saved me from him. Which is why you are my angel, you saved me from the darkness of my family. My own guardian angel.”_

_Ethan bit his lip in indecision. Noah was right in saying that Larson wouldn’t befriend anyone that wasn’t of his same mindset. But… they really needed the money. Ethan had been telling the truth when he told Noah that he didn’t mind working extra hours. He did enjoy making it possible for Noah’s dreams to come true. Noah was made to make potions, he would never be happy doing something else. Noah was meant to create things._

_“It is a lot of money.” Noah scoffed in response. “Doesn’t that tell you something? Why would an alchemist need to hire help for experiments? There are plenty of people in his field that would gladly partake in his ideas.” Noah argued._

_Unease filled Ethan’s gut at Noah’s words. “He said it was something that he and his wife were wanting to do that didn’t involve the alchemy community.”_

_Noah arched a lone brow. “Doesn’t that sound wrong to you? Please don’t do this. I have a really bad feeling about this. His wife Perenelle is just a frigid loiter-sack. And Nicholas just irks me.” Ethan snorted at the insult before sighing._

_“Doing this would mean that I wouldn’t have to work extra hours for **years**.” Ethan stressed. Noah looked more troubled than before. _

_“That just proves that you should not go. Please angel. Please don’t do this.” Noah begged._

_Ethan closed his eyes tightly before shaking his head. “I am going to do this.” He warned. Noah slumped his shoulders. “What if I took my father up on his offer? I could work for him and still have time for my potions in my spare time.”_

_Ethan growled. “No!” He said more loudly than he intended. Noah jumped and looked up at him with a startled expression. “Noah working for your father entails far more than just employment. You know this. He disowned you for marrying me and if you go back he is just going to stick his claws into you. I took on these extra hours so that you wouldn’t have to go back to him. No. You aren’t working for your father.”_

_“But I could-” Ethan cut him off. “No. Let me do this. Let me take care of you.” Ethan begged with wide eyes. Ethan could tell that this time when Noah slumped his shoulders it was with resignation. The win was hollow however. Ethan would never tell Noah but he also was not feeling right about this._

_“Just come back to me, okay?” Noah asked biting his lip. Ethan smiled. “Always.”_

 

_\----------------------------------------_

_It was too late to turn back now, not if he wanted to provide for Noah. Ethan squared his shoulders and apparated to the destination that Nicholas told him to meet at._

_As soon as he arrived his stomach dropped. This had been a mistake. A terrible mistake. The room was pitch black, the only light emitting from a single candle. Ethan could make out a sacrificial alter that was covered in blood and what looked like ancient runes. He covered his mouth and took a step back before letting out a whimper when he touched something wet._

_Ethan spun around and had to fight the urge to scream. Bodies. Bodies everywhere. Their eyes were open wide in terror and their mouths open in an endless scream. They had cuts on their wrists and necks where they were drained of their blood. The smell permeating off of them was the worst thing he had ever experienced. Worse than every single one of Noah’s potions combined. His stomach was churning but he couldn’t vomit. Not now. No. Something caught his eye and he moaned softly at the sight of thousands of insects crawling in and out of the bodies. He could detect maggots, beetles and blowflies. There was probably many more but he needed to get out of here. He attempted to apparate but swore when he realized that they put a dampening spell on the room. By the feel of it, it had alchemy infused into the spell work. It would take **hours** to break it. Something was telling him that he didn’t have that long. _

_He turned around to inspect the rest of the room and really did let out a scream when he came face to face with a young adult, he could barely be considered an adult.. A loud cackle reverberated around the room. The teenager looked so similar to Nicholas that it was eerie. He hadn’t been aware that Nicholas even had a child. The lad was taller than him, but Ethan had always been on the short side. He had sandy brown hair and brown eyes to match. The brown eyes weren’t warm or cozy like most brown eyes. No. These eyes belonged to a madman. How could someone so young already possess an air of madness?_

_“Oh I like you.” The adolescent whispered before running a finger down Ethan’s cheek in a caress before plucking Ethan’s wand right out of his hand. “First one out **hundreds** to not throw up. There is something about you that is intoxicating.” The boy said before nuzzling into Ethan’s neck. Ethan recoiled before thinking about it and was quickly backhanded. Ethan had to focus on not falling over from the impact. _

_“Don’t look at me like that.” The boy snarled before the anger was quickly wiped away and replaced by a sinister smile. “You are quite handsome. The eyes are what I like. So green. Anyone ever tell you how beautiful they are?” Ethan couldn’t help but think back to the first time that Noah had told him the same thing. Noah. Just the thought of his husband sent a shiver straight down his spine. He wished he had never come here. Noah had been right. This was a giant mistake._

_“Ah someone has told you.” Ethan wasn’t sure if he detected a hint of envy or if he imagined it. He didn’t even know this teenager. “I want to keep you.” The boy whispered before looking all around the room and dragging Ethan to the far side. They had almost made it to a tapestry that Ethan hadn’t noticed the first time he looked around when a voice rung out._

_“Where do you think you are taking him Finneus?” Came a sharp female tone that Ethan recognized as Perenelle’s. Finneus swore under his breath and spun them around. Ethan could hardly believe that this was the same woman. Her normally slicked black hair was wild and frizzy nearly resembling an afro. Her eyes lacked the normally warm gentle care inside the blue irises. These eyes were cold and vicious. These eyes were the eyes of a predator that has seen to many deaths. A skilled hunter who thrills in the hunt more than the kill. Dangerous._

_“I want to keep him mother.” Finneus said looking down at the floor. A smack sounded as she backhanded him. Ethan furrowed his brows. Why would a mother raise a hand to her child?_

_“I told you to look at me when you speak!” Perenelle snarled angrily. “You can’t keep him because he is not a pet. We need him to complete the ritual. He is the last one and the only person so far with so much power.” Finneus’s nostrils flared as he took another whiff of Ethan._

_“He smells so good.” Finneus sighed in delight. Ethan scrunched his nose in disgust and confusion. What power were they talking about? He was just a normal wizard like them._

_“Well if you want him so badly then you can keep his corpse.” She said dryly. Finneus tilted his head to the side as if he was considering this. Ethan’s blood ran cold. Corpse? Oh Merlin they were going to kill him. He was never going to see Noah again. His eyes filled with tears but he refused to let them fall. They were not going to get the satisfaction of breaking him too._

_“I don’t want his corpse. I do want his eyes though. They would make a lovely addition to my collection.” Finneus breathed out in excitement. Ethan’s stomach lurched in horror._

_“Then you shall have them.” Came the authoritative voice of Nicolas. Ethan looked up and winced at the pure evil that was radiating off of him. How had he never noticed this? Why hadn’t he listened to Noah? Nicolas had the same sandy brown hair of Finneus and the same cold brown eyes only less wild as his son’s._

_Perenelle scoffed. “You spoil him.” Nicolas shot his wife an apologetic smile. “Sorry love but it is healthy for a growing boy to have interests.” Ethan almost made a noise of disbelief. What?? Did he just hear that correctly? The whole family was insane._

_“Welcome Ethan. Apologies that we couldn’t be meeting on other circumstances. You see I don’t have a problem with you but you are needed to complete a project of ours.” The family shared sinister grins. “Not to mention that I have been **hired** to deal with you. Why not get paid for something I was going to do anyways?”_

_Ethan scrunched up his face trying to figure out who could possibly have a grudge against him enough to wish him dead. “Larson.” Ethan breathed with wide eyes. Nicolas let out a chuckle._

_“Yes you upset him quite dearly when you whisked away his son right out from under his nose. Under normal circumstances I wouldn’t have even considered killing you for him but since I already decided that I needed you for my experiment it was just taking money from a child really.” Ethan looked around the room uselessly again knowing that it was of no help. He wasn’t going to make it out of this room alive._

_Nicolas laughed darkly. “There is no escape for you.” He whispered before pulling Ethan out of his son’s grasp and shoving him towards the alter. As soon as his body made contact with the stone, thick black ropes sprung out and grabbed him in place and laid him on his back. Ethan struggled but it only caused the ropes to tighten._

_“Struggle all you want. It won’t do any good.” Perenelle said with a loud cackling laugh._

_Nicolas swiped his wand and Ethan grunted as his wrists were cut open. The grooves in the alter collected the blood and sent it down into what Ethan thought looked like a lump of coal. Nicholas made a show of putting on gloves before picking up the object._

_“Do you know what this is?” Nicholas asked. Ethan refused to play their games so he said nothing. Nicholas tsked before making another swipe with his arm causing another deep cut into his wrist. Ethan whimpered in pain._

_“No? I didn’t expect you to. This is a special work of art. This is the Sorcerer’s Stone.” Ethan had no idea what that was but he knew that it wasn’t anything good._

_“This will allow the drinker to turn any metal into pure gold and live forever.” Ethan raised a brow. Live forever? That was impossible._

_“I see that you are curious. Why wouldn’t you be? You see the bodies around the room?” Ethan refused to look, he had already seen them once. Another vicious swipe to his arm had him crying out._

_“To have this I need lives. I needed sacrifices.” Ethan gaped. “So you murdered all these people?” There had to be at least twenty bodies lying on the ground. Ethan cried out when Nicolas cut him deeper this time. He watched in horror as blood gushed out of a nicked vein. He was feeling lightheaded and sick to his stomach. He was going to pass out soon._

_“They are just a fraction of the lives that were required.” Nicolas said with a smirk. “Hundreds. I have lost count over the years just exactly how many. This isn’t the first stone that I have tried making. The first three failed. I didn’t have enough power to synch the creation. This stone alone has required 300 bodies.” Ethan’s eyes widened and he gasped._

_Nicolas nodded. “I know it was quite a feat to take the bodies without alerting the authorities. Luckily the Ministry is ran by incompetent fools. It was easy to fake records and take people from Azkaban, hospitals and even straight from the Ministry themselves. No one was the wiser. Not all of them were wizards so that helped too.” Ethan couldn’t believe that someone could be so callous to take the lives of so many people without even caring. They were killing people so that they could live forever. That was repugnant and selfish. If you had to kill to live forever than it just wasn’t worth it._

_“How do you know it will work?” Ethan tried to spit but he was already losing some consciousness. It was getting harder to concentrate on his face._

_“Because of you.” Perenelle said with glee. “You have such power inside of you and you waste it. You go to work every day and waste the potential inside you. Why? For mundane things? For your precious Noah?” Finneus growled at the mention of Noah’s name which made Ethan worry. They better leave his husband alone!_

_“It is such a shame that you wasted all of this power… well that is until now.” Nicolas said with a wide grin. “Your power will be the last thing that is needed. With your death, we will finally be able to live forever.” The whole family started cackling, the noise causing hairs to stand up._

_Perenelle and Finneus started chanting in a language that Ethan couldn’t recognize. He tried as hard as he could to stay awake, to fight the foggy edges that were trying to lull him under._

_Ethan knew that this was the end for him. He could tell by the way that the chanting was slowing down. He could tell by the way Nicolas gripped his wand tighter. Ethan had maybe seconds left before his death. He closed his eyes and pictured the one thing in his life that brought him happiness. He pictured the one thing that he hoped and dreamed that he would be able to see again one day. He pictured the only thing that could make dying okay. Noah. Ethan pictured the gentle way Noah would kiss him when he was happy or the rough way when he was excited. He pictured the hundreds of times Noah told him that he loved him. He pictured the way Noah’s sparkling grey eyes would light up when he entered the room. Ethan pictured the pale gorgeous skin that was for his eyes only. He pictured how handsome his husband had looked on their wedding day. He pictured the moment they confirmed their vows and they were bound together. Ethan pictured the way Noah’s hair lit up under the sun. The blond strands seemed more pale and delicate under the rays of the sun. To Ethan, Noah looked like the angel not him. Sometimes Ethan would imagine that he could see a halo and wings when he looked to Noah. Everything about his husband was good. Everything in Noah was beautiful and stunning. From his looks to his personality. Noah loved life to the fullest and saw things in a way that fascinated Ethan. He wished he could look at things the same way. He wished he could see half the things that Noah sees. Ethan wished he could see Noah’s face one last time. He would tell him how sorry he was that he didn’t listen. He would tell him to be strong and that he could live without him. He would tell him not give up on his potions. He would tell him that he was going to change the world and that he was sorry he wouldn’t be there to see it happen. But most of all he would tell him how much he loved him._

_“I love you Noah.” That was the last thing he said before the final swish of Nicolas’s wand severed into his neck. The last thing Ethan saw was the way the lump of coal lit up a bright green before turning into a ruby red as bright as his blood had been. “Noah.” Was the last word Ethan ever spoke._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright I know that this chapter wasn't very long. Apologies. Some of you might be groaning a little at another past life being mentioned but as you have read it is very important to the story. This past life did not have a happy ending like the first one as you have discovered. I changed their names completely because there is only so much you can work with before it becomes silly. So hopefully you like their names. And yes, I am aware that I spelled Finneus oddly. No it has no relation to Phineas Black. Same name different spelling. 
> 
> I don't know about you guys but I was awfully touched with Ethan(Harry) and the way that he was determined to make Noah's(Draco) dreams come true. It might be because I am just a big softie but it hit me right in the feels. I found it utterly adorable. 
> 
> There was some key points in this chapter that I hope you all picked up on. I won't say anything though. 
> 
> What your thoughts on this chapter? And I would love to hear your predictions on what you think it all means. 
> 
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	47. Who the hell is Noah?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. There will be smut at the end of this chapter. You have been warned. Technically it has only been about half a day since they last slept together. Buttttttt that was like eleven chapters ago. Sounds like it was needed to me. It had been so long that I had almost forgot how to write smut. If that sounds like an excuse that is because it is. Lol just kidding! :)

            Draco woke to Harry tossing and turning on top of him. “Harry?” Draco asked trying to rub the sleep away from his eyes. Harry started thrashing like crazy, Draco could feel sweat pouring off of Harry. Gross. He gently laid his fiancé down off of him.

            “Harry.” Draco said more firmly. Nothing. No response. “Noah.” Harry moaned in pain. Draco froze. Who the hell is Noah? Why was Harry mumbling some blokes name? And why did it sound familiar? He couldn’t remember ever meeting a Noah. Harry began whimpering and crying. Draco tried to shake him awake but Harry recoiled at the touch. Draco pushed aside the flash of hurt and focused on getting Harry to wake up.

            The emotions from the bond were all over the place. He could feel love but also despair and a lot of pain. What was Harry dreaming about?

            “I love you Noah.” Harry whispered as tears rolled down his face. Draco stilled as his heart ached at the pure love in Harry’s voice. What was going on? That was the same tone that Harry would take when he told Draco how much he loved him. Draco _knew_ that there wasn’t someone else. So who was this Noah and why did Harry love them so much?

            Harry sat up suddenly head butting Draco. “Ow.” Draco grumbled as he rubbed his head glaring darkly at Harry. 

            Harry startled awake as he sat there panting harshly. He could feel it. He could feel the ritual and hear the chanting. Harry could still feel the pain of his body being drained, the sting of the cuts on his skin and the cold hard surface of the alter. It wasn’t going away. Harry knew that this wasn’t a normal nightmare. This wasn’t his imagination, it had been real. It had been another past life. Harry closed his eyes and he could still see the manic look that Nicolas had in his face when he was slowly murdering him. He could still see the creepy way Finneus longed for him. He could still see the contrast of Perenelle’s eyes. But what tore at him the most was that he could still see the pleading of Noah’s eyes as he begged him to stay. Harry whimpered and he couldn’t hold back the tears.

            Draco wasn’t sure what was going on. None of Harry’s other nightmares had ever been like this. Harry’s emotions were so chaotic that he wasn’t sure which emotion to focus on. He could feel a lot of guilt coming from the bond and he swallowed heavily. He wasn’t going to jump to conclusions and ask why Harry was guilty or who Noah was. That could wait. He needed to focus on getting Harry to calm down.

            “Harry.” Draco whispered nervously. Harry’s eyes sprang open at the sound of Draco’s voice. “I’m so sorry!” Harry wailed before jumping out of bed and tearing out of the room.

            Draco blinked and then blinked again. What was he sorry for? Had Harry done something wrong? Draco bit his lip in worry. He sighed heavily before conjuring robes. Harry hadn’t even noticed he ran out of the room stark naked.

            Harry ran to the library and started frantically checking through books. He was getting more and more frustrated when he couldn’t find what he was looking for. Draco stepped into the library and his brows raised as Harry started looking through book after book and then throwing them behind him when it didn’t have whatever it was he was interested in. Draco stared at the books on the floor with a disgruntled expression. Would it kill him to at least put the books back where they belonged?

            “Harry what are you looking for?” Draco asked a little exasperated. Harry looked up and ignored Draco’s question. “Where can I find a book on old potion experts. Like 700 years ago old.” Draco stared at Harry like he had lost his mind. It took him a moment to register that yes, Harry was indeed wanting to know.

            Draco walked two shelves over and pulled out an old tome. He handed it to Harry and winced when Harry wasn’t careful with the pages. It was very old book.

            Harry made a noise of triumph when he found what he was looking for. Draco peered curiously over Harry’s shoulder.

            _Noah Ainsworth was in many ways credited with the success of changing the course of potion brewing. In 1318 after the death of his husband Ethan Ainsworth, Noah published all of the findings he had previously collected over the course of his lifetime. Noah Ainsworth paved the foundation for potion brewers across the world to reevaluate the way that potions were handled. Due to his discoveries thousands of potions have since been created off of his findings. Prior to his studies, potions were home remedies that cured small ailments but held no great significance._

_With Ainsworth’s lifework, the Wizarding world was led into a new era leaving behind many other practices, such as Alchemy. Ainsworth was gifted many titles and public funding to open a place of business for wizards to buy his potions. Unfortunately, before any such shop could be opened, Noah Ainsworth took his own life six months after the body of his husband was found. For more information on Ainsworth and the potions that led to-_

Harry fell to his knees as he dropped the book. The loud thud echoing around the room. “Oh god.” Harry cried as the tears came back. Draco carefully picked up the book and set it on the nearest chair. He sat down on the ground opening his legs before pulling Harry’s back against his chest. Harry turned around till he could bury his face into Draco’s chest.

            “I am so sorry Draco. You were right. I shouldn’t have gone!” Harry cried. Draco furrowed his brows. What on earth was Harry mumbling about? Gone where? They haven’t left since dinner.

            Harry looked up into Draco’s concerned eyes and he melted. He took a deep breath trying to calm himself. “I-I had a dream, well more like a flashback, it was- we- ugh.” Harry said in frustration. “We lived another life together Draco.” Draco’s eyes widened comically.

            “What?” He breathed in wonder. Harry nodded his head. “Yes. My name was Ethan Ainsworth and you were my husband Noah Ainsworth.” Draco smiled softly at the fact that they were married before he jolted. Harry had been calling out to him in his sleep, sure it was a different name but it was his past self. Draco felt a little ashamed for thinking that it could be something else.  

            “I was Noah Ainsworth? Like _The_ Noah Ainsworth?” Harry smiled warmly at Draco. “Yes. You were.”

            Draco grinned, he couldn’t believe it. He had been someone so important in the potions field, it was hard to wrap his mind around. Severus used to give him potions lessons as a child and they would always talk about the importance of Noah Ainsworth’s studies. He can remember being in awe that one man had brought about the changes in potions that affected what they still used today. Draco frowned and then swallowed. “I took my own life.” Harry closed his eyes and a whimper escaped.

            “It’s my fault. I am so sorry!” Draco was about to tell Harry that he had nothing to be sorry for when he was slammed with memories of another time. Talking about his own death had made the familiar feeling of when Harry said Noah’s name come to fruition.    

            Draco’s head began to spin with excess of memories. He watched as Noah was raised in a _very_ dark household, darker than his current family. He watched as Noah grew up unloved and hardly cared for until he ran into Ethan. Literally. Noah had been running from his father for weeks, hiding out low and trying to go unseen until he bumped into Ethan, who had the wonderful heart to recognize that he was in trouble and helped him hide from his father. The two of them fell in love in the process and tied themselves together in a marriage that his father could never break.

            Draco watched as Ethan picked up any odd jobs on top of the ones that he already had just to make sure that Noah’s dream of potions would remain alive. He watched as Ethan came home tired and beat but never once complained. Ethan never talked about his day, only ever wanting to talk about the potions that Noah had come up with or ideas to try out later. Ethan refused to allow Noah to put his life ambition on hold, he wanted Noah to have the life that he had always wanted. Draco watched the years they spent together fly by, the happy memories and the silly fights. He watched as each day they fell more and more in love with each other. He watched as Ethan always helped out with Noah’s potions whenever he could. He watched as Ethan did everything possible to make Noah’s life wonderful. He watched as Ethan cherished every little thing about Noah and making the best life they possibly could together.

            Then he watched the inevitable day that Noah begged Ethan not to go. He watched as he tried everything he could for Ethan to understand that he had a bad feeling about it. He watched as nothing was working. He watched as Ethan sacrificed another part of him just so that Noah could continue on with his dreams. He watched as Ethan promised to be home shortly. And then he watched as Ethan never came back. Draco watched Noah’s whole world crash and burn when days turned into weeks and still no word of Ethan. Noah knew that Ethan had died. He knew that the Flamels had done something awful to him. But the Flamels were in the wind with their new discovery. Noah had known that whatever the stone did it had something to do with Ethan’s disappearance.

            Draco watched as Noah stopped eating and taking care of himself. He watched as the once alive eyes slowly dimmed and when Ethan’s body had been found sans the eyes, he watched as Noah had a new purpose. Noah gathered all of his work and perfected what he could and wrote down the ideas that he couldn’t perfect but still had merit. He watched as Noah approached several different fields of study to showcase his work. He watched as Noah was hailed as the best thing to happen to the potion community. He watched the awards pile up dust on a chair in the kitchen. Draco watched as Noah couldn’t take it anymore. A life without Ethan wasn’t a life at all. Everything that made him who he was died with Ethan. So Draco watched as Noah Ainsworth made one final potion. Poison. He watched the last moments of Noah’s life and wept as Noah only imagined seeing Ethan one last time.

            Harry hadn’t been expecting Draco to go stock still. He panicked when Draco wasn’t responding to touch or sound. Draco gasped when the last of the memories faded. He wasn’t aware that he was crying until Harry was wiping the tears from his face.

            “I remember.” Draco breathed. Harry’s lip trembled. “I’m sorry. You were right and I shouldn’t have gone! It’s my fault that you killed yourself. I-” Draco placed a finger to Harry’s lips.

            “Shh angel.” Harry closed his eyes at the endearment. Oh gods it felt too real. It was so hard to distinguish one life from the next. He was Harry Potter, Ethan Ainsworth and Harland the kings consort. He held the memories from the other two and this one. The common denominator between all three lives was the undying love that he held for Draco, Noah and Dracott.

            “It’s not your fault. You were doing what you thought you had to.” Draco had to blink back tears. “I can’t believe you would do so much for me. You worked yourself ragged to keep my dream alive.” Draco whispered all choked up.

            Harry looked up at Draco with a fond smile. “Of course I did. You were a brilliant potions brewer. Brilliant. I knew that one day you would change the way potions were made and I was right. Every long day and tough shift was worth it. Your dream was one that I knew I had to keep alive.” Draco’s heart felt like it was going to jump out of his chest. No matter which life they lived in, Harry was the best thing that had ever happened to him. He couldn’t believe that he could be so lucky to have Harry in his life over and over again.

            “I am so proud of you.” Harry whispered before kissing Draco on the nose. “You did it.” Draco flushed pink. “I couldn’t have done it without you.” Harry smiled and laid his head back into Draco’s neck.

            “We knew the Flamels.” Draco breathed in shock as his mind caught up with everything. “And they killed you.” He growled in anger.

            “It was horrible.” Harry said wishing he could forget what it felt like to die. Draco hugged Harry to him tightly. “You remember it?” He asked horrified.

            Harry nodded into his neck. “I apparated into a dark room with dead bodies everywhere.” Draco tightened his hold. “They had a son. Did you know that?” Draco shook his head rapidly. He tried to think back and remember if Noah’s father had ever mentioned a son. He came up blank.

            “Finneus.” Harry shivered in remembrance. Draco felt the revulsion and he panicked. “He didn’t do anything to you did he?” Draco feared the answer. Harry shook his head. “No but he told me that he wanted to keep me. I think he would have done _something_ if the rest of the Flamels hadn’t needed me. Perenelle said that I was needed to complete the ritual on the stone and she suggested that he could keep my corpse.”

            Draco was horrified. What the hell was wrong with her? “He said that he didn’t want my corpse, he wanted my eyes.” Draco squeezed his eyes shut. Noah had always wondered why someone would do that. He wondered what they possibly could have gained from stealing Ethan’s eyes. He was sickened.

            “I was tied down to an alter and drained of my blood. They said that the magic inside me was what they needed to complete the stone. I was the final death that created the Sorcerer’s Stone.” Draco whistled. Wow. That was a lot to think about. He wondered what Ethan’s death could have done to the stone.  

            “I pictured you, you know?” Draco furrowed his brows. “My last moments were spent thinking about you.” Draco shuddered and rested his head on top of Harry’s.

            “So did I. I killed myself with poison. I thought about offing myself for months after you disappeared but I couldn’t make everything that you had done for me in vain. I finished what I had set out to do, I changed the potions world and once I was done, I made sure that I would get to be with you again. Whether that meant in death or the next life.” Harry squeezed his eyes shut tightly.

            “I wish things could have been different. I wanted to watch your success. I wanted to watch your dream come to life.” Harry said mournfully. Draco smiled sadly as he brushed his fingers through Harry’s hair.

            “So do I but you got to be a part of the dream itself. Just because you didn’t see the end result doesn’t make what you did witness any less wonderful. You know, you were the only thing that kept me going. Every time a potion failed or an idea hit a dead end and I wanted to give up, I would picture the faith that you held for me. The wonderful regard that you believed in me and it would make me try harder, it would make me strive to be better. Every single potion was made with you in mind. Every single idea was for you. Everything that I did was to make you proud of me. I did it all for you.” Draco said lovingly.     

            Harry scrunched up his face as his heart was bursting with love. “I love you so much.” Harry said as a couple tears leaked. Draco kissed the tears away. “I love you too angel. More than you will ever know.” Harry nuzzled Draco’s face.

            “What do we do now? After what I saw I am not so sure about finding the Flamels any longer.” Harry asked peering into concerned grey eyes.

            Draco bit his lip. He had never been onboard with finding the Flamels in the first place. There had been something telling him it was a bad idea and now he had proof. They had killed Harry once before. Yeah, it was a different lifetime but still! They couldn’t just kill Harry and get away with it. That was not allowed. But… they were _so_ dark. Draco had no qualms about considering them a bigger threat than Voldemort. Voldemort had been a threat to the entire world but the Flamels were a different type of threat. They were dangerous because of the wild factor. They could kill hundreds of people without anyone knowing. Who knows if they have made more stones or not. They could have a bunch of Sorcerer’s Stones out there. That could explain why they would let Dumbledore have it in the castle, _i_ _f_ they had more than one. People like them shouldn’t be allowed to walk amongst the rest of society.

            The main problem was that only the pureblood families believed that the Flamels were even alive. To the rest of the wizarding world, the Flamels died close to 700 years ago. If they were to have the manpower to actually do something to the Flamels, they would need people. They would need a following. But there was no way to do that if no one believed in them. Draco sighed. That sounded like a lot of work. What was the end goal? What did they need to do? They needed to get the darkness out of Harry, what the Flamels do with their long life technically didn’t involve them. It didn’t need to turn into a battle against them.

            “We find the Flamels.” Harry jumped and looked at Draco like he had lost his mind. What? Draco had been the one to raise the most alarm regarding the Flamels in the first place! Harry was not wanting to come in contact with them ever again. Once had been enough, thank you very much.

            “We need to eradicate the darkness inside you Harry. We have to. They would know how to get rid of it.” Draco told him firmly.

            “Why would they help us? They would sooner kill me again then help. They already did it once.” Harry said frowning.

            Draco tilted his head to the side. “We don’t let them know that we were reincarnated. We act like it is the first time meeting them and we ask for their help. They would have to want something in return.”

            Harry shook his head. “I can see a million faults in that plan. It is dangerous to show them our hand without even knowing what they want in return. Who is to even say that we can even give them what they require. I will not lose you to them Draco. We are not going to have our lives ended again due to them.”

            “What else can we do? What other options are there? Because in case you have forgotten, the darkness nearly took you over at dinner. I had to bring you back.” Draco pointed out. Harry glared at the reminder, of course he hadn’t forgotten!

            Harry sighed. Doing nothing would just leave the darkness open to a chance to take him back over. But going to the Flamels would surely end in death again. He wasn’t sure what was the right answer. Harry didn’t like this one bit. Why couldn’t they have a happy life? Why couldn’t they be together without there being a problem? Why couldn’t they just live out the rest of their lives in utter bliss? It wasn’t fair. It just wasn’t.

            “I know.” Draco whispered picking up on Harry’s emotions. “I know it’s not fair and I wish that I was the one that had to deal with the darkness. I wish I was the one that had to shoulder this burden for you. I know that you have a hard life already and anything else just isn’t fair to you. I wish that I could change things, I wish that we could just be happy for the rest of our lives. I wish that we could spend every day just huddled together and never leaving. I wish that the world could always be in peace. I wish for things that just can’t be managed. This isn’t the life I wanted us to have but it is the life that we have been given and we are going to do the best that we can.”

            Harry looked up at Draco with admiration and a little awe. “Goodness when did you get so wise?” Draco snorted openly. “Well when you live three lifetimes you pick up on some things.” Draco reasoned. He wondered if that was the extent to their reincarnations. Did they have other lives out there or was this it? He kind of hoped that this was it. It was rather difficult to cypher through all of the memories.

            “I’ll say.” Harry sighed heavily. Merlin, it was weird thinking about past lives. No one would believe all of this. “Should we tell the rest of the family?” Harry wondered.

            Draco frowned. They hadn’t wanted to tell anyone about their first life together because that had been a private thing between them. It was something treasured and wonderful. Why did anyone else need to know? But now with the second life it was something that they needed to discuss. The family couldn’t research the Flamels without the extra knowledge. Everyone needed to know what they were up against.

            Draco sighed disgruntled. “We will have to.” Harry bit his lip. He could tell that Draco didn’t want to and he had to agree with him. This was just so private. This was something that was revered for the two of them. If there was a way to do this without telling them then he would rather do that. But this was serious and they couldn’t afford to go into this without all of the information.

            “I guess so.” Harry said with a pout. Draco thought it was adorable, he leaned in to kiss that cute pout. Harry grinned against Draco’s lips before kissing him soundly.

            Draco tilted his head slightly to deepen the kiss. Harry moaned when Draco’s tongue came to tangle with his own and he reached his hand up to entwine into Draco’s silky hair. His other hand gripping into soft fabric. Harry opened eye and realized that Draco was wearing a bath robe. When Draco’s hand came to rest on his back, Harry realized that he was naked. Well. Shows how much situational awareness he has.

            Harry moved till he was straddling Draco’s lap, careful not to break the kiss as he slid Draco’s robes off his shoulders. Draco could feel the budding lust from Harry and it was so intoxicating. It heightened his own desire till it was a raging fire of lust. It was enough to make his head spin. With Harry straddling him it made things easier for when he bucked his hips up making contact with Harry.

            Harry tossed his head back breaking the kiss and letting out a deep guttural moan. Harry ground down and loved the feel of Draco’s thick hard cock pressed up against his own hard member. The slick feel of their precum making it wet and hot.

            Draco latched onto Harry’s neck, licking and sucking at the pulse point. He knew there would be a mark but he didn’t care. He wanted to mark Harry, wanted to show everyone how much he was loved and cared for. Draco wanted to possess him.

            “Mmm. That feels so good Draco.” Harry moaned as they continued to thrust against each other. Draco grunted against Harry’s neck and moved on to another spot to mark him there too.

            Harry rutted against Draco with growing pleasure. It all felt so good. But it wasn’t enough. He wanted more. He needed more.

            “Fuck me.” Harry demanded stilling his hips. Draco’s hips slammed up at Harry’s words, he shuddered at the sounds coming out of Harry’s lips. “Yes.” Draco breathed before latching back onto that gorgeous neck in front of him. Harry trembled as he summoned the lube and waited impatiently for it to arrive.

            When it finally smacked into his hand. he quickly uncorked it and shoved it into Draco’s palms. Draco leaned away from Harry’s neck reluctantly and pushed Harry onto his back. “I want to watch you as I pound into you.” Harry shivered at the promise in the statement. Harry opened his legs widely in an invitation.

            Draco stared down at his flushed and panting lover with half lidded eyes. Harry really was a vision of beauty. Draco ran a hand up and down the creamy golden skin. “Gorgeous.” Draco breathed and licked his lips when Harry flushed a pretty pink at the words.

            Harry closed his lids to get away from the adoring look in Draco’s eyes. He wasn’t sure what was so special about his body but he thrilled with how much he pleased his fiancé.

            Draco leaned forward to kiss along Harry’s jaw, trailing his tongue down a path to Harry’s chest. He swirled his tongue around one of Harry’s nipples before sucking it into his mouth. Harry arched and started panting. Draco smirked at the reaction as he set the lube down and used his other hand to pinch and roll his other nipple. Harry moaned loudly.

            Harry’s mind was blanking with the pleasure that Draco was giving him but at the same time he was growing frustrated. He wanted Draco inside him. Now.

            “Draco.” Harry meant it to come out as a demand but it came out as a plea. Draco lifted his head and stared into Harry’s lust blown pupils.

            “What do you want me to do Harry?” Draco asked before lavishing the neglected nipple and pinching the one he just left. Harry cursed. “I want you to fuck me.” Harry managed to make out between moans and pants.

            Draco’s cock throbbed and twitched. He ached to buried into Harry’s tight heat but he wanted to _wreck_ Harry first. “Oh I will.” Draco promised. “But first I am going to explore every inch of you.”

            Harry groaned in frustration. That sounded wonderful but couldn’t Draco do that another time? He wanted Draco’s thick cock inside of him already.

            Draco left Harry’s nipples and started kissing and licking every piece of skin that he could. His hands trailing up and down Harry’s arms mapping them out before moving on to the rest of his body. Harry sighed and gave himself up to the sensation. It felt wonderful.

            Harry could feel Draco grin against his skin when he relaxed to Draco’s ministrations and he huffed out. Draco chuckled before moving down Harry’s body and sucking on the inside of Harry’s thigh. Harry let out a surprise moan. “ _Oh._ ” Harry moaned and arched again. Draco bypassed the hard leaking member in his face and moved on to Harry’s other thigh and leaving a mark there as well. He wanted to leave marks all over Harry’s body that would stay there for days. He wanted Harry to see them and flash back to this moment.

            “Please.” Harry begged. He needed more. He needed Draco to do something else. “Please Draco.” Draco closed his eyes briefly at the pleasure that Harry’s word brought.

            Harry smirked at the spike of lust. “I need you Draco. Please fill me. Stretch me with your cock until I am screaming for more. Please.” Harry begged breathlessly.

            Draco breathed heavily through his nose. That was just unfair. What was he doing again? Why was he not already inside Harry? He was losing his concentration.

            Harry knew he was succeeding. Finally. “Pound me Draco. I need that thick gorgeous cock inside me. I want to be full of you, full of your cock and then full of your come. **_Please._** ” The last word was spoken in parseltongue.

            Draco’s resolve snapped. He couldn’t wait. He had no idea why he had waited so long but he was going to fix that. Now. Draco reached over and dipped his fingers into the lube and quickly trailed them around Harry’s puckered entrance.

            Harry shivered in anticipation. Fucking finally. He moaned appreciatively when Draco went straight to two fingers instead of one. He didn’t want slow and gentle. “ ** _Yes_** ” Harry hissed out not aware of the slip in parseltongue.

            “Fuck.” Draco panted, Harry was making this difficult. He didn’t want to hurt Harry so he was going to at least stretch him properly. Draco scissored his fingers quickly before pressing against Harry’s prostate.

            Harry arched his back with a shout. “Now.” Harry growled. Draco shivered and was about to tell Harry that he was going to stretch him with another finger but Harry started shaking his head. “I can’t wait. I need you now.” Harry said forcefully. Honestly, if Draco didn’t hurry up he was going to finish himself off.

            Draco swallowed and tried to control his lust as he applied lube to his shaft. The touch felt amazing after all of the sexual tension but he needed to be inside Harry. He lifted one of Harry’s legs and set it over his shoulder as he lined himself up to the perfectly slicked up hole.

            Harry felt Draco slowly breach him and pause to give him time to get used to it and wasn’t that just sweet? Harry didn’t want sweet. He slammed his hips up moaning when Draco’s cocked jammed all the way inside him.

            “Harry.” Draco groaned. Fine. If Harry didn’t want to go slow then he would show him how hard he could be. Draco lifted Harry’s other leg before pulling back and thrusting in as hard as he could. Harry screamed when his prostate was brutally hit. Yes. This is what he wanted. Harry attempted to thrust his hips up in time with Draco’s but the pace was too fast so he gave up and just let himself be taken.

            “Yes.” Harry moaned. “ _Oh_ Draco!” Every single hard thrust was hitting his prostate dead on and he was loving it. The sensations were almost too much to take. He closed his eyes and listened to his lover’s harsh pants as Draco’s cock slid in and out of him.

            Draco set Harry’s legs around his waist and leaned forward so that he could put his hands on the ground and put weight on to his arms and began thrusting himself deeper and harder into Harry’s arse. “So good.” Draco slurred as he became lost in the need to find release with Harry.

            Harry wholeheartedly agreed but talking was so difficult to do when every time he tried all that could come out were moans of appreciation. The stinging slap of Draco’s thighs when they made contact with his body brought a shivering pleasure that had Harry writhing. Draco looked down at Harry’s closed eyes and constantly tossing head with satisfaction. He leaned forward slightly till he was right above Harry’s face.

            “Do you like that Harry?” Each word was punctuated by a hard thrust. “Do you like being filled by me?” Harry opened his eyes and moaned at the sheer lust in Draco’s eyes. He forgot the question and chose to kiss him instead. Draco thrust his tongue inside Harry to the same rhythm of his hips.

            Draco knew that Harry was getting close, he could tell by the muffled moans that Harry was releasing through the kiss and the way that he was already beginning to clench around him. He continued the assault of Harry’s mouth as he picked up the pace going impossibly faster.  

            Harry broke the kiss and arched as best as he could. “Draco! I-I’m going to… ergh!” Harry screamed Draco’s name as he spilled between them cock untouched. Harry swore that he saw stars as his orgasm hit.

            The beautiful expression on Harry’s face as he came and the way that he screamed Draco’s name was enough to send him over the edge as well. His cock twitched and pulsed as he shoved as deeply as he could, coming so hard that his mind blanked.

            Draco slumped forward ignoring the mess that he just smeared on his stomach. Harry felt so lethargic as he wrapped his arms around Draco and just held him. Draco tried to regain his breath as he panted into Harry’s neck. “Fuck you are amazing.” Draco praised.

            Harry smiled as he sighed in satisfaction. “That is definitely the best way to end a stressful night.” Draco lifted his head and blinked at Harry. “I think it is sometime in the early morning actually.” He pointed out.

            Harry huffed. “It is just like you to get caught up in the details.” Draco mock glared at him but couldn’t hold it for long as he stared into Harry’s eyes. He held onto Harry and apparated them straight to their bed.

            “Woah!” Harry stated in frustration. “Is there any point in telling you to warn me first? I swear I repeat myself constantly when it comes to you.” Draco grinned unrepentantly.

            “You can say it all you want but we both know I will just do whatever I want anyways.” He said with a cheeky grin. Harry rolled his eyes as he pushed Draco’s heavy body off of him.

            Draco wondered if Harry was upset with him but then smiled when Harry just rolled over so that he could lay his head on Draco’s chest.

            “Just be lucky that I put up with you.” Harry warned tiredly as he closed his eyes.

            “Oh I know.” Draco said reverently as he ran his fingers through Harry’s hair. He didn’t have to be told. He was the luckiest guy in the world and he would cherish every minute of it. “Goodnight angel.” Draco said as he kissed the top of Harry’s head. Harry attempted to respond but it came out as mumbled nonsense. Draco smiled fondly before settling down and falling asleep himself.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay what do you guys think? You don't have to give thoughts on the smut. Totally ignore that if you are so inclined. 
> 
> But on the actual little bits of information that was given what do you think? Totally crushing that Noah killed himself. But honestly I am not that surprised. I adore that his dreams came true and my heart breaks that Ethan never got to witness that. 
> 
> Thoughts on the reversal of opinion on finding the Flamels? I am with Harry on this one. I think finding them is not a very good plan. Especially after discovering what they are like... buttttt doing nothing will accomplish absolutely nothing. I find it funny that they changed opinions. 
> 
> Who else was creeped out that Finneus actually took Ethan's eyes? Fucking weirdo. 
> 
> Okay so hopefully you liked this chapter. <3


	48. Explanations

            Harry and Draco flooed directly into the Manor sometime in the afternoon. They had just got done talking to Sirius and that hadn’t been the most pleasant conversation. Reliving Draco’s death in the slightest wasn’t something that he had ever wanted to do. Harry just wanted to put it past him, so talking about it was hard. Luckily he had a sweet and loving fiancé who was there for him every step of the way and shouldering most of the conversation anyways. Draco had seen the pensive memory so he knew just as much about it as Harry did.

            Sirius predictably had been worried. Harry knew enough about his godfather to recognize the fear in his eyes. He didn’t want Sirius to worry but offering false words of assurances just wasn’t his thing and he knew Sirius wouldn’t have appreciated it. So he had said nothing in regards to things hopefully being okay. Sirius had stressed his opinion that they should not ever go willingly seek the Flamels. Harry and Draco decided to tell the others about their past lives before bringing it up to Sirius. It wasn’t personal but they wanted to share with the other’s first. The ones who had been there for them since the beginning. Harry was pants at lying so he ended up having Draco deflect the questions about why they talked like they were from the past sometimes. Draco laughed it off as if it were an inside joke but Harry caught the suspicious gleam and knew they would have to answer him sooner or later.

            Harry knew he probably should have just told Sirius but the part of him that just wants to keep their past lives to themselves didn’t want to bring it up. He was still having reservations about telling everyone else. If this wasn’t so serious, he wouldn’t be mentioning it at all. Like ever. Harry was just glad that Draco was also feeling uneasy about doing this too. It felt like they would be giving them intimate information, parts of themselves that were just precious. It was the vulnerability that bothered them.

            This time when they flooed, Harry was prepared. Draco however was not prepared to have Harry grab on to him as soon as they landed, it caused Draco to lose his balance and they both tumbled. Draco spluttered before laughing at the frustration coming through the bond.

            “I thought for sure that would work.” Harry said disgruntled. Draco lifted a hand to his cheek. “Face it angel, you will always have a hard time flooing. This isn’t the only means of transportation you have trouble with either. Remember that time when you first learned to apparate and you miscalculated the landing and nearly smacked into the barn?”

            Harry furrowed his brows at a loss for what Draco was talking about before his eyes widened. Ethan. He _remembered._ Noah had already been taught how to apparate, it was a brand new mode of transportation and Noah had spent ages trying to teach it to him before he got upset and announced that he could do it without all of the lectures. That had not gone according to plan. It was a miracle he hadn’t splinched himself. Harry scowled. “And you were of no help either, laughing your arse off before seeing if I was okay. Lovely husband you are.”

            Draco’s hand was still cupping Harry’s face so he brought his other hand to hold it as well. Draco was biting his lip but it did nothing to hide the amusement he was feeling. “You got your revenge though didn’t you?” Draco asked bemusedly.

     Harry grinned remembering that he had locked Noah out of the house till he apologized with a promise to make dinner. “You cook so well when you actually try.” Harry replied remembering all of the times that he could coax Noah into making something that wasn’t a potion. It was funny that some things were the same between lives, like the love they held and the difficult family problems. But there was subtle difference in a lot of things as well. Dracott never cooked a day in his life, benefit of being a king. Noah could actually cook when he set his mind to it and Draco… well Harry wouldn’t trust Draco in the kitchen at all. The personalities stayed pretty much the same. Draco and Noah were both purebloods from rich families so there was this haughtiness that never quite went away. But Harry adored that about the both of them so that was never a problem. Dracott hadn’t been a wizard but you would think there would have been a sense of entitlement from a king, but there wasn’t. Dracott had been by far the most subdued of the three lives. Harry loved them all. He loved every life he had with Draco and cherished every moment that he could.

            Draco could feel the abundance of love and didn’t have to ask what he was thinking about. They both had been thinking about the past lives constantly since the appearance of a new one. Draco still wasn’t positive that this wasn’t a dream. This was the stuff of fantasy and silly dreams. Stuff like this didn’t happen in real life and if it did then it certainly wouldn’t happen to him. Draco ignored the cooking comment. Harry knew that he was pants at it, possibly if he tapped into the tips and tricks that Noah used to use he might be able to manage it. But Draco had no desire to learn to cook. He would leave that up to Kreacher and then Harry when Kreacher wasn’t looking. Heaven forbid someone other than Kreacher cook, the elf took it as a giant insult to his abilities.

            Harry rubbed his nose up against Draco’s and closed his eyes contently. He loved moments where they could forget about everything else and just relax. “I love you.” The pair said at the same time. Harry grinned widely before nuzzling Draco’s nose again. Harry leaned slightly away. “It’s kind of fun to explore all of this all over again.”

            Draco scrunched up his face again in confusion. “Explore what?” Harry removed Draco’s hands from his face so that he could place his hands to Draco’s face. “Life.” Harry was pretty sure that his current life was his favorite. Maybe it was because he was currently alive had a big part in that. Living life with Dracott had been wonderful and he cherished that life greatly. After Dracott retired from the crown they did travel the world like they wanted. It took pretty much the rest of their lives considering that boats and horses were the only way to travel. But they couldn’t openly show their love for one another unless in private. The only family they had were with each other. In that life that was all they needed but they had yearned for a family nonetheless. Life with Noah had been just as wonderful but so stressful. Being wizards during that time period wasn’t difficult and there weren’t any dark lords, sure there were dark wizards. Very dark wizards. But no one had been actively trying to do anything at the time. They had fallen in love at a young 16 and wed at 17. They were married for ten years before his death. They had had a beautiful life together but Harry was hoping for more than 12 years together this time around.

            Draco smiled softly. Yes, he was quite looking forward to reliving milestones that he had already once passed. It was odd. Two months ago he had been a regular depressed 17 year old and now he was 18 going on 90 if you count all three lives. There was so much knowledge in his head and it was hard to accept at times. It was almost like waking up. His previous 17 years he was Draco Malfoy, just a part of his mind had been locked away. He was still Draco Malfoy but now he was so much more. He had lived before and he held every single one of those memories. So it was hard to relate to things that he should be feeling. It was hard to relate to other people when they could never understand what was going on with him, except Harry.

            “Yes.” Draco breathed softly before pressing his lips against Harry’s in a soft gentle kiss. Harry made it a little difficult because he couldn’t stop smiling.

            “Um are you guys going to sit on the ground the whole time?” They looked up to see everyone staring at them with smiles but also confusion. What exactly had they overheard? Pansy had been the one who spoke.

            Draco stood up and held out a hand to help Harry up. Harry smiled sweetly at Draco in response. “It was Harry’s fault.” Harry’s previous gratitude vanished. He leveled a glare at Draco who just smirked in response.

            “We saw.” Lucius said dryly. “You both are late so we came to wait for you.”

            Draco and Harry stiffened at the sound of Lucius’s voice. Which confused everyone there. Draco shared a look with Harry. Draco knew that it wasn’t a response that came from his experiences but more from Dracott and Noah. He knew it wasn’t his father’s fault that he was a major arse in other lives but he had to fight the urge to panic at the sound of his voice. Draco had to push aside all of those feelings and focus on only this lifetime. His father was much better than he had been in any other life. That was something. His father may be a bastard but he was a decent bastard now.

            Harry swallowed heavily fighting the bile that was threatening to come out. He knew that he loved this Lucius Malfoy but Larson had hired the Flamels to murder him. Larson had hated him so strongly that murder was the best option to get rid of him. Harry had to fight to control his emotions. He knew that Draco was experiencing the same issue so he didn’t feel bad for his lapse of judgement. Harry closed his eyes briefly and focused on this lifetime. He focused on all of the things that Lucius Malfoy has done for him in this life. He focused on the heir ring and that he was welcomed into their family. When he felt calm he was able to open his eyes. The bond was also calm, good. That meant that Draco was okay.

            Lucius was confused. Had he done something to them since yesterday? He hadn’t even left the Manor since they left Grimwald Place. So that couldn’t be it. Had something been uncovered while at the Weasleys? He couldn’t remember any plots against them since Draco was in his second year. So what was going on?

            Harry and Draco turned back to the group and plastered fake smiles on their faces. The twins scoffed. Like that was fooling anyone.

            Remus could see the tension in Harry’s shoulders and he was worried. Had dinner gone that badly? They were acting like something awful had happened. Remus shot Severus a look and could see that the man was equally as confused.

            Harry raised a brow when he noticed that Remus and Severus were standing closer together than they usually would. There had to be a story in there somewhere. Harry’s strained smile melted into a real smile when he caught sight of Teddy on Remus’s hip. Harry waved slightly and laughed when Teddy broke out into a smile. Remus smiled down at his son.

            “Let’s go in the study.” Narcissa offered with a slight frown. She didn’t like the energy of the room. She knew that this was not going to be a happy visit at all.

            Once everyone was seated did they all look expectantly at Harry and Draco. Harry fidgeted in his seat, he didn’t like being the center of attention. Draco could feel the apprehension coming from Harry and he opened his arms. Harry immediately left his seat and sat down on Draco’s lap. He sighed already feeling worlds better.

            Draco rested his chin on Harry’s shoulder and wrapped his arms around Harry’s stomach. He was surprised to feel a lot better with Harry in his arms. He smiled at that. Everything was easier as long as he had Harry.

            “We don’t have all day.” Severus said snidely. Harry chuckled and he felt the awkward tension disappear. Leave it to Severus to be impatient.

            “Something happened last night.” Harry began nervously. “Well actually it happened twice.”

            Fred and George shared confused looks. Was he talking about dinner or something else?

            Harry paused. This was harder than he thought it would be to talk about this and he already knew that it would be difficult. Draco cleared his throat. “Harry and I have lived more than one life.” Might as well get straight to the point.

            They watched the jaws drop all across the room. If they hadn’t been nervous then they might have found this funny. Harry loved seeing a slack jawed Severus and Lucius.

            “Are you suggesting reincarnation?” Narcissa said in wonder. Her mind was spinning with the possibilities. Reincarnation was something that was never proven but widely believed in. It was why the torques used to be so important.

            “Yes. Before dinner we remembered most of our first life together. Well at least I think it was our first life.” Harry said biting his lip. There really was no guess at how many lives they have lived. It could just be three but who knows.

            “Then after dinner Harry had a flashback in a dream that made him remember the next life and that unlocked the rest of the memories from the first life as well.”

            “You spent them _together_?” Lucius said with wide eyes. Harry and Draco smiled. “Yes. We were married in the second lifetime and just together in the first. We were muggles the first time around and two men together wasn’t something that was done.” Harry told him sadly.

            “I can’t even begin to tell you the odds of that. One lifetime is beyond rare as it is. Add in finding each other three times goes against statistics. But to think that you found each other as _muggles_ goes against all logic.” Severus said blinking rapidly. This was… hurting his brain. For the first time in his life he now knew what it felt like to be Black or Potter. His mind rarely failed him but it was not coming up with any rational explanations.       

            “They have to be fated or something.” Pansy said with a romantic sigh. Blaise loathed to agree with that but he couldn’t help but think that she was right. It was the only thing that was making sense in his mind.

            Lucius ignored Pansy and her whimsical statement. “You said Harry remembered the second lifetime. Do you not remember?” He asked his son.        

            “At first he was the only one who could remember it but as he began telling me things about our life together, my memories came back to me. I remember both lifetimes before this one.” Draco said quietly.

            “So are you like someone else?” Blaise asked with no tact. Pansy smacked him on the arm ignoring the glare Fred was sending her.

            “Ow. It was just a question.” Blaise said rubbing his arm and switching seats with Fred. Pansy snorted but said nothing.

            Narcissa frowned. She wasn’t sure what to think about this. Her son wasn’t really her son? Is that what they were trying to say? The Draco that she had raised, from a distance, wasn’t her baby?

            Harry and Draco rolled their eyes. “It depends on how you look at it. I am still Draco but I am not exactly the same as I was two days ago. I have two lifetimes worth of knowledge inside me plus the things that I have learned in this lifetime. I still am the Draco you know just with some extra stuff.” He explained with a shrug.

            Remus was blown away. He hadn’t really given much thought to reincarnation until he learned that Harry and Draco were getting married. Remus wondered what past lives he might’ve had. He was stunned that Harry and Draco could remember the lives. They had been together in all of them. Was it because they were soulmates? But that didn’t make sense or other people would find their soulmates faster too. This was all confusing.

            “What was your first life like?” George asked curiously. He couldn’t imagine what it would be like to constantly find your other half. He was beyond envious of his best friend.

            Harry grinned. “Draco was a king.” Pansy and Blaise choked while George and Fred gaped. Draco was thoroughly amused by their reactions. He could see that his father was proud of that. Of course he was. Severus had arched brows so that only showed some surprise. He wasn’t very good at reading Remus but the man did look surprised. His mother however still looked concerned.

            “You are joking?” Fred and George asked when they regained their equilibrium.

            Draco shook his head. “Nope. I was a king and Harry was my consort.” Draco said fondly.

            Remus was impressed. King. He wondered what kind of King Draco had been. Was he a kind ruler? Or was he more of a dictator? Were his people happy? He figured Draco would’ve had to have been a nice king because he doubted that Harry would have been with him otherwise.

            The quartet shared surprised looks. “That is why you call him that!” Pansy said in excitement. The adults seemed confused at that.

            Blaise noticed their confusion. “The two of them are always calling each other weird things. Harry calls Draco ‘My Lord or My Liege’ and Draco always calls him his ‘great consort’. We just thought it was some weird kink that they indulged in.”

            Harry and Draco choked causing Blaise to smirk. Harry knew his cheeks were pink. “It isn’t a kink. To us it was just a game or something sweet that we did. We didn’t know that was why we did it until yesterday.”

            “Your subconscious had been aware of the past lives whether your waking conscious was aware or not.” Severus mused fascinated. He wondered if there was a way to tap into that and see if they had other lives as well.  

            Lucius rolled his eyes and spoke up before Severus could start boring him with theories or a need to experiment. “What was being a king like?” He wondered curiously. He was awfully proud of the fact that his son was a king.

            Draco snorted. “I absolutely hated it.” Pansy made a surprised noise. “How could you hate being a king?” She asked in a scandalous tone. Being a leader like that sounded like a dream come true. She could picture herself sitting on a throne barking out orders and all the adoring peasants smiling at her. Now that was definitely something that sounded amazing.

            Draco shifted a little uneasily. “It was partly the way that I was raised.” Draco refused to look to his parents, instead focusing his gaze on the floor. “I didn’t want to be king but I was an only child, so after the death of my parents I had to take over. Homosexual couples weren’t something that was done back then so I couldn’t openly show my relationship with Harland. After several years on the throne I retired the crown to a cousin and then traveled the world with Harland.” Draco finished with a small smile.

            Harry patted the tops of Draco’s hands. He could see the curious looks that Draco’s parents were shooting them.

            “Harland?” Fred asked with a snort. Harry glared at him. “Hey it was a nice name. Better than Dracott.”

            “Hey!” Draco cried in mock anger. Everyone chuckled lightly.

            “What did you mean it was the way you were raised?” Narcissa asked biting her lip. Were they his parents in their past life? It could be possible. Past lives didn’t have to be repeated like that, some scholars believe that your parents could be a past sibling or a best friend. Life won’t always repeat the things exactly the same.

            Draco sighed. “I was raised to be a cruel king who cared naught for his people. That wasn’t who I was. So when I took over I got rid of everything my father set in motion and I made sure that the kingdom was taken care of.” He said a little proudly. Draco knew that he had been a wonderful king, the way the village flourished under his rule had proven that. The kingdom had been despondent when his father was in charge and nearly at a breaking point. But after his father had died, may he not rest in peace, it was like everything was now in color. The villagers smiled openly and began enjoying life. The kingdom had become what it should have been all along.

            Lucius was uncomfortable. Was Draco implying that he was his father in this past life? Had he messed up his son’s life more than once? This lifetime was hard enough knowing that he wasn’t the father that he should have been but to know that he did it more than once was a little crushing. Why couldn’t he seem to get it right? “Were we your parents?” He asked not really wanting to know the answer but needing to know regardless.

            “Yes.” Draco asked still not meeting their eyes. Lucius clenched his fists. He shouldn’t have even asked. Narcissa frowned, she was hoping that they had not been the cause of Draco’s distress again. She sighed sadly.

            Harry could see the guilt on Narcissa’s face and he didn’t like it. “There is no use being upset over it. We can only live in the present. Something that you did in a past life can’t be held against you in this lifetime. Maybe the purpose of reincarnation is giving people another chance. You didn’t fare well in that life so you get another shot at making amends in the next life. Don’t feel bad for something that you have no control over. Just be good parents from here on out.” Harry advised.

            Remus raised his brows. That had been rather profound, when did Harry grow up? Time was working against him. Harry was engaged and so grown up. Next thing he would know it they would be having children. Harry was growing up too fast. Remus wanted Harry to stay young, he had already missed Harry’s childhood he didn’t want life to move too fast just yet. He wanted time to really appreciate his honorary godson.  

            Narcissa smiled weakly at Harry. She was hearing what he was saying but it is hard knowing that you had a negative effect on your child’s life. Whether it was in the past or not, it was hard to swallow. Lucius looked at Harry with respect. He was grateful that Harry was in their lives. He wished that they could’ve had him sooner but that was okay. Harry was right. There was nothing they could do to change the past. So they could only focus on this lifetime.

            “I still can’t believe you were a king.” Pansy said a little awed. Blaise snorted. “I can. He is entitled enough for it.” Everyone laughed when Draco let another indignant ‘hey!’

            “You guys were in our past life too.” Draco told Pansy and Blaise. Their faces lit up excitedly.

            “No way!” Pansy said in wonder. Harry and Draco laughed warmly. “Yes. Blaise was one of my guards and Pansy worked in the castle. You guys were my friends when we were children, your parents worked for the castle too.” Draco said with a smile.

            Pansy and Blaise grinned. “You were also married.” Harry piped up smirking when their grins faded and was replaced with disgusted grimaces. “Way to ruin the moment Harry.” Blaise huffed out.

            Harry laughed unrepentantly. “What about us?” The twins asked with identical pouts. Harry bit his lip from laughing and had to let Draco tell them.

            “You were there.” Draco said smiling at the way their faces lit up. “You were the court jesters though.” Severus and Remus snorted loudly. The rest of the group had no idea what that was.

            “You guys were entertainment for the king. Some people called court jesters the fools. You were really good at your job if that helps any.” Harry offered weakly.

            The twins shot him glares. “It doesn’t.” George said dryly. He thought it was kind of funny. At least they were still entertaining people no matter what life it is. Fred wrinkled his nose. He had been hoping for something cool but a fool? Yeah no thanks. What a crap life. He was quite glad that he had no recollection of it.

            Harry looked to Severus and Remus. “You guys weren’t in any of our past lives.” He said a little apologetically. Severus was a tad disappointed but he would take not being in a past life over being a fool. He shuddered internally at that thought. He knew without a doubt he would have made the worst court jester imaginable.

            Remus waved away the statement. That didn’t matter to him. He was just grateful to have one life that involved Harry. Who was to say that he even had a past life? This could be his very first life for all he knew.

            “What about your second lifetime? What was that one like?” Blaise asked curiously. This was way cooler than talking about what happened at the burrow. He kind of wanted to put off that conversation. The twins hadn’t said much at all on the subject but he knew it wasn’t good.

            Harry and Draco shared a long look, feeling out the bond. This was the one that they didn’t want to talk about but was the most important. Harry bit his lip. “What you guys have to understand is that we wouldn’t be telling you about any of this if there wasn’t a reason. Our past lives are something that the both of us really cherish and it is rather personal.”

            Everyone sat up straighter. This didn’t sound so good. Pansy didn’t like that if there wasn’t a good reason they wouldn’t have told her. Why was a past life personal?

            Draco sighed, might as well get it over with. “I was Noah Ainsworth in my second life.”

            Severus dropped his mouth open in shock and had to grip the arms of the chair tightly. “Pardon?” He asked weakly. The quartet, Narcissa and Remus had no idea who that was. It might have sounded familiar but they weren’t sure of the name. Lucius let out a startled noise.

            “ _The_ Noah Ainsworth? The father of potion brewing?” Lucius asked in open awe. Everyone gaped at Draco causing him to flush under the attention. Harry smiled proudly. A little thrill went through him every time he thought about it.

            “Yes that Noah Ainsworth. I wouldn’t go that far as to call him the father of potion brewing. Potions existed back then they just weren’t of anything concrete. I just changed some things.” Draco explained humbly.

            “ _Some things_?” Severus said weakly. “Draco, Noah Ainsworth paved the foundation for every potion that is out there to this day. Without the work that he published _so_ many potions never would have been created. Even the unfinished ideas of his that he published eventually became something down the road. His ideas are _still_ being tweaked and worked on.” Severus said looking at Draco in a new light.

            Draco flushed but he had a small pleased smile. Harry was grinning. “I knew you could do it love.” Draco hid his face in Harry’s neck and kissed his skin softly.

            “Woah. My best friend is famous.” Pansy said smirking at Draco’s discomfort. Draco lifted his head to roll his eyes at her. “That was a long time ago Pans.” He pointed out.

            Remus tilted his head to the side, now that they started talking about Noah Ainsworth little pieces of memory were starting to form from his school lessons. “Wasn’t Noah credited for the idea of the wolfsbane potion?” He asked hoping he remembered that correctly. Severus shot him an impressed look.

            “Yes. He had the idea but the process eluded him and it eluded many generations until Luther Belby was able to discover the uses of Fluxweed to act as a constricting barrier for the Baneberry so that it didn’t sour when it came in contact with the Bitterroot.” Severus explained. Remus bit his cheek to stop the fond smile threatening to form on his face, he had not needed the little lesson.

            Draco scowled. “Fluxweed. Why didn’t I think of that?” He said disgruntled. “I had this perfect vision too. I was going to find a way to make the werewolf mind safer so that the population would treat them better. If I could show that the mind could be taken care of then it would show that werewolves were just like everyone else.” Draco was happy that his idea eventually happened but he hated that he hadn’t been able to actually create the potion. It was bittersweet.

            Remus was choked up that Draco was the reason that the potion existed today. He was touched that someone back then had even cared, the prejudice in the past was worse than it is today. No one even cared about magical creatures back then. Werewolves were hunted on a daily basis. “Thank you.” He said quietly.

            Draco jerked from the praise. “I- It was just an idea. I couldn’t even complete the potion.” He said regretfully.

            Remus smiled warmly at Draco and rocked Teddy to his chest who had fallen asleep. “But without you, who is to say that there would ever be a potion out there like the wolfsbane? So thank you.” Remus’s tone was firm, he didn’t want to hear an argument.

            Draco smiled but didn’t say anything to him. Narcissa was so proud of her son. She knew that in this lifetime Draco would do great things but to know that he was so special in his past lives filled her with warmth. Oh she loved him.   

            Lucius was frowning at Draco and staring at him uncomfortably. Draco noticed the look and he tilted his head to the side in confusion. “What?” He asked exasperated when his father just kept staring.

            “Noah Ainsworth committed suicide.” Lucius said with pain in his voice. What on earth would cause his son to commit suicide? Especially after succeeding in life with his potions.

            Narcissa covered her mouth with her hands. The quartet looked at Draco with horrified eyes. Remus gasped. Severus frowned, he had forgotten that part in the excitement of the potions aspect of Noah Ainsworth.

            Draco closed his eyes and nodded once as he felt the pain of losing Ethan all over again. Harry’s lip trembled. “It’s my fault.” He said in despair. Everyone looked to him in confusion.

            “Wait.” Severus said slowly. “Noah was married wasn’t he Lucius?” Severus wracked his brain trying to remember, it was on the tip of his tongue but he just couldn’t think of it.

            Lucius furrowed his brows trying to think back. Noah was the famous one so any information on spouses wouldn’t have been a whole lot. “Yes but I can’t think of who.” He complained in frustration.

            “My name was Ethan Ainsworth.” Harry said quietly. “Draco and I were married.” He said with a sad smile.

            “That’s it!” Lucius said with a snap to his fingers. His triumph faded when he remembered. “But Ethan Ainsworth was murdered.” He said sharply looking at Harry in worry. Everyone let out gasps of surprise.

            Harry looked into his lap. “Noah killed himself because he couldn’t stand living without me. It’s my fault.” Harry’s eyes filled with tears and they slowly rolled down his cheeks.

            Draco squeezed Harry tightly to him and grasped his chin so that he could see Harry’s face. Draco gently wiped away the tears. “Don’t blame yourself angel.” Harry trembled.

            Narcissa looked at the duo sadly. Couldn’t they have happiness? Why did their past lives have to have all of these issues? Her heart ached with the knowledge that her son killed himself. The mother in her was screaming out in pain. Then to think that someone would murder Harry was unthinkable. She didn’t care what life it was, Harry would always be a gentle sweet soul. Anyone who could murder Harry was a monster.

            “If you were murdered Harry then how is it your fault?” Fred asked gently. He knew that Harry tended to blame himself for things that were out of his control but this seemed like common sense to him. George reached over Pansy and smacked him when his words caused more tears to fall. Fred shifted guiltily. He thought it was a normal question. He hadn’t meant to make Harry feel worse.

            Harry sniffled trying to wipe his eyes. “Because Noah told me not go and I didn’t listen. It’s my fault.” Harry turned and buried his face in Draco’s neck. Draco rubbed soothing circles on Harry’s back.

            “Harry we talked about this last night. None of this is your fault. They would have come for you eventually. Saying no would only have delayed the inevitable. This isn’t your fault.” Draco told him as he began to thread his fingers through Harry’s thick strands.

            Draco waited patiently for the tears to fade, he thought that Harry would resume his previous position but it looked like Harry needed more comfort. That was alright. He loved holding him. Draco continued to run his hands up and down Harry’s back and through his hair. Harry soaked up everything that Draco was willing to give. Draco was wonderful and Harry thanked the gods that he had been granted these lives with him.

            When it seemed like the duo was going to stay quiet indefinitely Severus spoke up. “I think you should start at the beginning. Do you know who murdered you?” Remus arched a brow at the gentle way Severus spoke. Well that was new. He knew that he was sporting a soft spot for the surly man but when Severus did things like that it was hard not to.

            Harry couldn’t speak. He wasn’t ready yet. He just wanted to stay in Draco’s arms and not move. Draco kissed the top of Harry’s head and looked at his godfather.            

            “Ethan was murdered by Nicolas Flamel.” Draco said quietly as he held Harry tighter when Harry trembled.

            Fred and George wheezed as if they inhaled wrong. Pansy and Blaise started hitting them on the back but their attention was on Harry. They were looking at him in concern. Lucius was pretty sure he had just been hit with a confundus charm. He had to have been. One of the darkest wizards ever to exist had killed Harry? Oh goodness. His mind felt like it had stopped for a moment and then tried to think in overdrive to make up for it. Narcissa just stared in horror.  

            Remus and Severus shared a startled glance. Remus only knew what they had told him about the Flamels. There wasn’t much that he had known about them before they explained it all. He was horrified that Harry was murdered at all but to learn that it was by the Flamels somehow made it all worse. Severus wasn’t sure what to think about this. Why would the Flamels have killed Harry? Did he interfere in their plans somehow? Or did they need him for something? Why would they have done that? What could they possibly gain from killing Harry?

            Harry sighed and turned his head to where he could see everyone but keep his head on Draco’s shoulder. “Nicolas Flamel offered me a lot of money to participate in an experiment of his. Noah told me not to go but I did anyways.” Harry’s voice was filled with pain.

            “Why would you want to do anything with him? Wasn’t he a dark wizard back then too?” Blaise asked curiously. Harry flinched and Blaise felt guilty. Pansy shot Blaise a look of contempt but didn’t smack him… this time.

            “We needed the money.” Harry said quietly. He felt a flash of guilt from the bond and he snapped his head up to glare at Draco.

            “Do not blame yourself. We went over this last night Draco. I would have taken up a million odd jobs if meant that your dreams could come true.”

            Draco sighed. “But you wouldn’t have had to if I had an actual job. You sacrificed so much for me and what did I give you in return?” Harry cupped his cheek.

            “You gave me your love. Which is the most precious thing that I could ever have asked for. Who cares if you didn’t have an actual job? I knew that you would one day change the world, you were a brilliant potions maker. It would have been a crime for you to do anything but potions. I believed in you Draco and I was right. You did change the world with your potions so you hush it with the guilt.” Harry demanded sternly before placing a gentle kiss on his lips.

            Draco bit his lip and tried to let go of the guilt but the feeling of being inadequate was hard to get rid of. He felt like he hadn’t contributed anything to the household. Not working killed him but his dreams had kept him going. Harry knew that Draco would probably always blame himself but he wished that he wouldn’t. Harry really hadn’t minded working so much, Draco’s dreams meant the world to him and he would have done it all over again too.

            “That is really sweet.” Pansy said with a sniffle. She was blown away that Harry would do such a thing for Draco. They were just too perfect for words.

            “Yes.” Narcissa agreed with a small smile. Her heart ached at how wonderful these two were for one another. She couldn’t even imagine having someone like that. It made her ache for her soulmate desperately.

            Harry blushed a little but waved away their statements. He didn’t consider it as something sweet. He just did what he knew he had to. Draco’s dreams would always come first to him.

            “I am stating the obvious here but I am assuming that it wasn’t an experiment.” Lucius said quietly.

            Harry shook his head. “No. I was the last death that created the Sorcerer’s Stone.” The silence that that statement brought was uncomfortable. Neither Harry nor Draco liked it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay my lovelies. The burrow will get mentioned. No worries. I felt like this kind of took precedent on the scale of importance. 
> 
> With all of the fresh memories inside of Harry's head, I can totally see why he would be a little tense with Lucius at first. But since it is a different life that fear isn't really an issue. 
> 
> As far as a whole lot happening in this chapter, I still enjoyed it. I like moments where they can all just sit around and talk. The conversation isn't exactly a happy one but still. 
> 
> So what are your thoughts?
> 
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	49. Uneasy

            Everyone looked like they had been stunned frozen. Harry wondered if they were even breathing. The wide eyed and slack jawed expressions were on everyone. Even Severus.

            “That is why we decided to tell you guys is because of the stone.” Draco added when no one said a word. Were they statues? If he hadn’t been holding Harry, he might have been tempted to check their pulses. Were they still alive?

            “Your blood is in the stone?” Severus breathed. His mind was running rampage trying to figure out if that would’ve had an affect when Harry touched the stone or not. Did his sacrifice mean that the stone would recognize that? Is that why he was able to use the darkness from the stone to bring Draco back? How did this play into stopping the darkness?

            Harry nodded. “Yes. They said that they had tried on three separate occasions before and it didn’t work but that I had a lot of power inside me that they would need to complete the ritual.” Harry explained.

            Fred and George whistled in surprise. “Do you think the darkness came from the ritual?” Pansy asked biting her lip.

            Harry shook his head. “No. Being a part of a dark ritual like that might have affected me if I lived but I didn’t even touch anything but the altar so I don’t think so. The blood was drained out of my body into runes that were etched into an altar and then pulled into the stone. The blood is what gives it the shiny red color." Harry shuddered thinking about it.

            “I think the darkness came from touching the stone when I was eleven. I think every new life would essentially be a clean slate. I don’t think anything like the darkness could have come back into this life. I am connected to the stone do doubt and my magic is definitely all in it. So that would have an effect on me but I don’t think there was any darkness inside me until I touched the stone.” Harry couldn’t be one hundred percent of this but his gut instinct was telling him that he was right.

            Severus thought about it and it made sense to a certain degree. The only problem was that there is nothing to compare it to so who is to say what the actual answers are. They are flying blind and can only speculate at this point.

            “I can’t believe he killed you for the stupid stone.” Blaise said moodily. How could someone be so selfish? How could you take the lives of countless people and not feel any remorse? And for what? So that they could live forever?

            Harry fidgeted not sure if he should mention anything. “That wasn’t the only reason he killed me.” Draco tilted Harry’s head back and looked at him curiously.

            “What are you taking about?” He demanded, wondering why Harry would have been keeping something from him. He tried not to let it bother him but it did.

            Harry could feel the hurt coming from Draco and he kissed his nose. “I am sorry babe. I didn’t mean to not tell you about it. It is just that we were pretty emotional last night and before I could bring it up we… er became occupied.” Harry said pointedly. The quartet snorted while grimaces could be seen on the rest of the groups faces.

            “You have the marks to prove it.” Fred said wryly. Harry furrowed his brows. What was he talking about? George pointed to his neck. Harry couldn’t see his neck so he was still confused until he remembered how affectionate Draco had been last night to his neck. Harry flushed and looked away. He wasn’t about to cover them up though, he liked the reminder that he was Draco’s. The hickeys were meant to be on display.  

            Draco smiled at the way Harry was pleased when he remembered the marks. Good. He would continue to mark Harry regardless. Draco tilted Harry’s head back and pecked him on the lips.

            Harry wanted a longer kiss than that but this was not the place for it. “He was hired to kill me.” Draco furrowed his brows. “As in he had a master?” Draco was horrified at the prospect of someone else being involved too.

            Harry shook his head furiously. “No. I had upset someone and they wanted to murder me and since Nicolas was already going to dispose of me, he figured he might as well get paid for it too.” Harry said bitterly.

            Draco ignored the shocked faces of everyone else. He was more concerned with who would have hired Nicolas to murder Ethan. It would have to be someone who knew that he was a dark wizard. Someone that would have known some of what he was getting into. Draco couldn’t think of what Ethan would have done to piss someone off so greatly. His lover had been a gentle caring person. Everyone Ethan ever came in contact with adored him. Well except for his father. Draco gasped and stared at Harry with wide eyes.

            “No.” He whispered out painfully. “Tell me he didn’t. Tell me my father didn’t hire him. _Please_ ” Draco begged with sad eyes. Harry had to look away from those gorgeously heartbreaking eyes. The emotions in them were too much. Harry couldn’t lie to him no matter how much he wanted to. “He did.” Draco clenched his eyes tightly. He had known that his father hated Ethan, thought that it was Ethan’s fault that he had turned his back on the family name. But to think that his father would have resorted to murder was a bit much, then again his father was darker in that lifetime than he is in this one. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise. 

            Lucius jolted in shock and then raised his hands in defense when the rest of the group all shot him glares, even his wife!

            “We don’t even know if it was me.” He tried protesting. Draco shuddered at the sound of his voice. He had thought that he was past this. He had thought that earlier would be the last time he would be wary about his father’s voice. He _knew_ it wasn’t his father’s fault that he did something in a past life. But it was still all so fresh. He could still picture the way Larson had sneered at him on his wedding day announcing that he would never be welcomed back into the family. He publicly disowned him for finding love and then taunted him that when he couldn’t find work anywhere that he could always be a servant aide to him. Draco was having a hard time separating the two men who looked so much alike. He had to focus on the positive things that Lucius has done. Albeit that wasn’t a whole lot but it was a lot more than Larson ever did. Draco focused on the day that his father had accepted that he wanted to date Harry. He focused on the day that his father gave Harry an heir ring. He focused on the hug that Harry and his father shared and the emotions that were in his eyes. He focused on the fact that his father cared for Harry and welcomed him in the family. Lucius was not Larson. They were completely different people and should not be treated as if they weren’t.

            “It was you.” Draco said looking at his father once he had control of his emotions. Draco watched the pain in his father’s eyes and felt better with his resolve. Larson wouldn’t have reacted like this.

            Lucius felt horrid. He looked to Harry with an apology. Harry smiled sadly. “Don’t even. I don’t blame you. You are not that man. Different life different you.” Lucius looked down at the floor trying to let Harry’s words reassure him but that was difficult. He had already had a hard time accepting that he was not a proper father in the first life and now he finds out that he wasn’t a good father in _any_ of his son’s lives. Why couldn’t he get it right? Why was he such a bastard?

            “Do you know what kind of ritual it was, or what kind of things they did during it?” Severus asked curiously. “Maybe if we know what they did we can figure out a way to counter it.”

            Harry bit his lip. He wasn’t an expert on dark rituals at all, he knew that they had chanted something in a funny language but that was about it. “I don’t.” Harry said regretfully as he watched a disappointed gleam enter the man’s eyes. “But you are welcome to the memory. You all are.”

            Severus and Lucius winced. That was Ethan’s last dying memory. Did they want to witness the life leave his eyes? Did they want to actually see him die? That was gruesome. Even if Harry had known what the ritual was, a secondhand explanation wasn’t as good as actually witnessing it. So they would gain a lot of information if they watched this memory. The only question is could they do it?

            The quartet had identical grimaces on their faces. George blinked at Harry rapidly. They had already witnessed Draco’s death, which had been the single worst moments of his life. So being given the option of witnessing Harry’s death, whether in the past or not, was a big giant no.

            Remus clenched his eyes. He really didn’t want to see that. Harry was family and after the war he really wasn’t looking forward to seeing more death. But… he wanted to do all that he could for Harry. He wasn’t an expert in dark rituals like Severus and Lucius. He wanted to be of some use here, so if witnessing this memory could somehow help in the end he would do it. He would do it for Harry.

            Narcissa thought she would be sick. It was too much. Seeing her son die yesterday and now the thought of watching Harry… er Ethan die was too much. She didn’t want to see that. She looked around the room and noticed that Remus also looked distressed at the idea of witnessing his death but she caught the determined glint to his eyes as well. Narcissa could tell that Remus was going to watch the memory despite his queasy looks. If Remus could do it than so could she. She had to fight down the urge to throw up but she could do this. Hopefully.

            Draco bit his lip. He wanted to know what those fuckers did to his fiancé but the thought of seeing Ethan die wasn’t something he wanted to witness. Just the thought of it sent his stomach reeling and he had to fight the bile that was threatening to come out. No. There was absolutely no way that he would be able to witness it. He just couldn’t.

            “I can’t.” Draco whispered out painfully. “I can’t see you die.” He choked out clutching Harry painfully tight to him.

            Harry turned and kissed Draco’s cheeks then his nose and onto his forehead. Draco sighed and instantly relaxed. “I wasn’t going to suggest that you do so. You will stay right where you are and you will hold me.” Harry demanded with a sly grin.

            Draco chuckled warmly. “Is that so? Are you demanding me great consort?” Harry let out a laugh that was close to a giggle. “And if I am my Lord?” Draco grinned.

            “I am the ruler am I not?” Draco asked nuzzling the side of Harry’s face. Harry sighed contently. “Yes my Liege, you are the ruler but it is my responsibility as your advisor to help you out. I was only suggesting something that was in your best interest.” Harry said with a giant grin.

            “Well then in that case I am more than happy to acquiesce your request.” Draco said with an air of relinquishing his control.

            “You two are too much.” Fred said shaking his head. It was nice seeing them act like this. He had been worried that Harry would be depressed after dinner but he seemed to be handling things fairly well.

            “I think they are adorable.” Pansy said with a little sigh. Narcissa nodded along. Yes they were rather adorable.

            Remus couldn’t help but be envious of the type of relationship that they had. Harry had taken an almost hysterical Draco and turned him around till they could joke with one another. The skill with how much Harry understood his partner was beautiful. He wanted that. He wanted to know someone as deeply as these two knew each other.

            “Ignoring the _cute_ ,” Severus sneered the word. “Display. I think the ones that wish to view the memory should do so.” Remus rolled his eyes, would it kill Severus to act nicely? It probably would now that he thought about it. The man might burst an artery because his body wouldn’t know how to function in such a strange setting as being nice.

            No matter how much Severus thought he was grumpy and rude, Harry couldn’t stop finding his personality endearing. He used to hate that the most about the man. Just hearing his negative voice used to set his teeth to grinding but now that he has gotten to know him, he finds it funny. Severus was a unique person and Harry was thrilled to get to know him. In all three lifetimes, he hadn’t ever met someone that was as equally frustrating as they were intriguing.

            Lucius summoned his pensive and held it out to Harry so that he could drop the memory into it. Once that was done, Harry handed it back to him. Lucius set it on the nearest stand and everyone looked at the pensive a little nervously.

            “I’m not going in.” Fred and George said at the same time. Nope. That wasn’t going to happen. “You can just tell us what you thought.” Pansy and Blaise offered. They didn’t want to go in either.

            Severus sneered at them but didn’t say anything. If it wasn’t for the Flamel aspect of it, he wouldn’t want to see the memory either.

            Remus stood up and made his way to Harry so that he could have Harry hold Teddy. Harry grabbed hold of the sleeping baby and looked at Remus in surprise.

            “You are going in?” Remus nodded his head. “Yes, I don’t know much about dark rituals but I want to know what happened just in case I can provide any help later on.” He said a little nervously. Honestly, he was dreading this. He didn’t want to see Ethan die.

            Harry was impressed and touched at the same time. “Alright. I am getting the better end of this. I get to hold this cute little guy.” Harry cooed staring down at Teddy in delight.

            Remus was sure that his heart had melted some as he watched the adoring gaze that Draco had on his face as Harry talked to his sleeping son. They were just perfect.

            When Narcissa stood up Draco tore his gaze away from Harry. “You are going too?” The surprise in his tone made Narcissa bristle. She wasn’t delicate. She could handle this. Hopefully.  

            “Yes, I am.” She said a little stiffly. “I want to offer any insight that I can.” Draco was unsure of her emotions but he shrugged his shoulders. If she wanted to see it then good on her.

            Lucius reached out to take hold of his wife’s hand, he wasn’t about to insult her by asking her to stay behind. He knew she wasn’t going to like this but his wife was stubborn. What she wanted, she got. They took a deep breath and entered the memory together.

            Severus looked over to Remus and nodded to him. They stepped up and entered the memory just as the previous pair just sans the hand holding.

            “Anyone else think that something is going on between those two?” Harry piped up the minute that he was sure they were safely in the memory.

            Draco snorted softly so that he didn’t wake the baby. “Definitely. I suspected as soon as that potion he gave me yesterday was flavored.”

            Fred and George gaped at Harry and Draco before gaping at the pensive.

            “You are joking.”

            “Snape and Remus?” George asked with wide eyes.

            “They are so different.”

            Harry smirked at them both. “Look at Draco and I. We are opposites. I think that Remus and Severus will be good for each other.” He pointed out.

            The quartet snorted. “No you aren’t.” They all four said at once. Harry furrowed his brows and shot a look to Draco, who just shrugged. Harry didn’t think that they were that similar.

            “You are both stubborn.” George explained.

            “Not to mention pigheaded.” Pansy smirked.

            “You are both powerful.” Said Blaise with a shrug.

            “And Strong.” Fred piped up.

            “The two of you have the same morals.” Pansy said trying to think of more.

            “Oo and same ideas on politics and creature rights.” George said with a snap.

            “Your interests in a lot of things are the same.” Blaise said wrinkling his nose.

            “You both can talk potions and want to be lawyers.” Fred said adding on to his boyfriend’s words.

            “You both know what it’s like to be lonely.” Blaise said a little sadly.

            “Both didn’t have happy childhoods.” George said nodding to Blaise.

            “Both went through dark times.” Pansy pointed out.

            “Both of your lives were ruined by you-know-who.” Fred said shrugging.

            “You both face public scrutiny.” Said George.

            “Loyalty. The two of you are beyond loyal.” Blaise smiled.

            “Love. You two love with all you have.” Pansy said with a happy sigh.

            Harry and Draco’s head had gone back and forth trying to follow along with the conversation.

            “Damnit. This was hard enough when it was just the twins. Now I have to follow all four of you.” Draco grumbled rather put out. His head was spinning trying to keep up with the rapid fire sentences and figure out who said what.  

            The quartet laughed in delight. “Yes.” They said in unison. Harry laughed at their antics. It would take some getting used to. It had taken ages for him to be able to follow along with Fred and George. He wasn’t sure he could do it with all four of them.

            “I suppose we are similar in a lot of ways.” Harry said smiling at Draco who smiled sweetly in return.

            “You really think Remus and Snape will get together?” George asked doubtfully. He was still not seeing what the other two obviously were.

            “I never said that.” Harry quickly said. “Those two are so stubborn that I am not sure what it will take for them to actually get together but the attraction is there for sure.”

            George considered this with a frown. Perhaps he just wasn’t very good at reading people.

            “We could always play matchmaker.” Pansy said with a wicked smirk. Harry wasn’t so sure this was a good idea. He was about to voice this when Draco spoke up.

            “I think that is brilliant Pans!” He said in budding excitement. Harry arched a brow and tilted so that he could see Draco’s face.

            “Why is that brilliant?” Questioned Harry. Draco looked down at him with an exasperated expression.

            “Harry love, who better to get together? They both know each other pretty well. They both are sad, depressed and lonely. They need each other. No one else is going to put up with Sev. This is his only shot.” Harry started chuckling like crazy.

            “Alright, alright. I suppose you are right. How are we going to work this out?” Harry wondered out loud. He was still having some reservations about this. He could just imagine all of the hexes and curses that Severus would use on them if he knew they were discussing his love life.

            Draco paused to frown. “I have no idea.” He deflated slightly. His brilliant plan was evaporating before his eyes.

            “Well we have time.” Blaise reminded them. “It’s not like they have to get together right this instance.”

            Pansy glared at him. “True love shouldn’t be put on hold.”

            Everyone exchanged looks before laughing out loud. Pansy huffed and crossed her arms across her chest. “I fail to see the humor in this.” Which just caused them all to laugh at her harder.

            Harry checked the time when he was able to control his laughter. “I don’t know how much longer they will be in there. So let’s save this conversation for later when Severus can’t accidentally overhear us.” Harry begged them. Draco thought it was funny that Harry was afraid of Severus. He opened his mouth to tell him just that.   

            “Wait a minute!” Pansy said angrily cutting off any reply Draco might’ve begun to say.

            “What do you mean lawyers?” She said to Fred with an arched brow when she remembered what he had sad earlier. Harry and Draco shared a nervous look while the twins shared gleeful gazes.

            “Harry and Draco are going to become lawyers.”

            “They told us so last night.” The way Fred spoke, he was definitely rubbing the knowledge in their faces.

            “You didn’t tell us!” Pansy and Blaise said angrily. Why would they tell those two and not them? There was some favoritism going on and neither one of them were liking it.

            Draco raised his hands in surrender. Harry couldn’t since he was holding Teddy but his eyes spoke for him. “We didn’t not tell you on purpose. It was something that we figured out at Bill and Fleur’s home. Then with yesterday’s events it slipped from us. It came up during dinner.” Harry rushed to explain.

            Pansy was still looking upset, she had crossed her arms and glared at the duo. Blaise seemed to be satisfied with the explanation and gave them sheepish smiles.

            “It wasn’t personal Pans.” Draco stressed with a sigh. He rolled his eyes at her dramatics. Was it a girl thing? Or just a Pansy thing? This was definitely one reason why he didn’t go for girls. They were too expressive sometimes. He was just thankful that he had Harry. Merlin knows what he would do without him.

            “What isn’t personal?” Lucius drawled.

     The group startled, they hadn’t realized that they were back yet. They looked as one and noticed the expressions on their faces. Narcissa had red rimmed eyes and was wiping her cheeks. Remus was blinking rapidly in an effort not to cry, that much was obvious. Severus and Lucius were the only ones in control of their emotions but their face did show some stress and discomfort to them.

            Remus walked forward and picked up his son from Harry, he was in need of some comfort and he just wanted to hold his son. He squeezed Harry’s shoulder before walking back to his chair. He just wanted to make sure that Harry really was alive. Ethan and Harry looked so much alike. Hardly anything had changed really and it was gut wrenching awful witnessing him die. Remus was regretting his decision to watch. He didn’t discover anything other than what the Flamels looked like. Which helped none considering that was 700 years ago and who knows what they did to their looks since then. He couldn’t even stomach looking at the ritual, seeing Harry being drained of his blood made him want to vomit. How could they have done something so wretched to Ethan? Just because they wanted to live forever? How is that okay? Remus had never seen anyone that he thought he could hate more than Voldemort but that changed today. He wasn’t sure which one he despised more. Voldemort had taken the lives of James and Lily and then the battle two months ago because of him took away Tonks. Sirius’s death kind of could be blamed on Voldemort as well. His life had been altered by the actions of one madman.

            But seeing the callous disregard that the Flamels had on life and the people that they murdered had made him reconsider things. Voldemort had been horrendous but he had never been like that. He had no doubt that if Voldemort had known how to create the stone that he would have. But after watching the Flamels kill Ethan, his heart had broken. The Flamels were vile and evil. To take the lives of that many people for no other reason than their selfish desires was awful. He honestly couldn’t tell who was worse.

            Severus sat down next to Remus as his mind began to spin with everything that he had seen. Some of the runes on the alter were recognizable but others were incredibly ancient. It would take a lot of research to try and come up with answers on that. Luckily, he knew an expert in Runes. So they would be able to help out. He shot a glance to Remus but he could see that the man was shaken with what they had all just seen. It had been one of the more gruesome deaths that he has had the misfortune of witnessing. He was intrigued at the way the stone had glowed green for a moment before turning red. Was that something that had to do with Harry? Or was it a normal process? The Flamels hadn’t seemed worried about it at all. The creepy murderers. There was some definite similarities between the Flamels behavior and the way Bellatrix behaved. He wondered if their madness didn’t fall too far from the tree. Perhaps they were related? Or perhaps they were all just loony and had no relations at all.

            He sighed heavily. To think that the world had just gotten rid of one madman to be replaced with a whole family of lunatics was daunting. He was just grateful that the Flamels were sticking to themselves. If they had wanted to take over the world they would have done so centuries ago. It did make him wonder what they have been getting into over the last 700 years. Were they helping out society? Inventing things or contributing in some notion? Or were they continuing on with dark rituals and killing people? Would they be satisfied with just one Sorcerer’s Stone? He wondered if they were still committing grave acts, people like that don’t just stop. The madness in their eyes wouldn’t have been settled with the stone for too long. He wondered if they were inventing other horrific things. He hoped not, for everyone’s sakes. Just because the Flamels have been silent this long didn’t mean that they were going to stay that way forever. If it came down to a battle then he feared they would win. The Dark Lord had been one thing, but to go up against people with 700 years of magical experience was another thing altogether. Who knew what kind of magic they had at their disposal. Severus wasn’t sure what the next steps were but he feared what it would mean for everyone.

            Lucius sat down and made sure that his wife followed suit. He stared down at his lap in silence. That had been one of the worst things he could have witnessed. He wasn’t entirely sure which was worse, Draco’s death or Ethan’s. He considered them both in a way his children. Draco’s death while it had been awful it wasn’t grisly like the one he just witnessed. Death in of itself is an awful thing but the many different ways that one can die is what matters. He hoped the day he dies it will be peacefully in his sleep. Even an accidental death would be preferable to what Ethan had gone through. To think that someone could have such disregard to do that to another living being was reprehensible. Not even just the deaths themselves but the way they discarded the bodies got to him too. Those people were what was making their precious stone and they threw the bodies to the side like they didn’t matter. Like their sacrifice was nothing. Like the life that they had held before coming across the Flamels wasn’t important. Simple disregard for life was horrific. It is called the Elixir of life for a reason. All lives should be treated with care and respect. Even if you were to put aside that they were killing these people for essentially no reason, those people deserved to be taken care of instead of rotting on the ground like that. Lucius just couldn’t wrap his mind around the fact that there were people out there like the Flamels. 

The ritual had not been one that he had seen before. There was some similarities with other rituals with subtle differences. He was going to have to look through the library and possibly make some contacts to get more information. He was no rune expert either, none of the runes looked familiar to him. But then again that had been his worst subject in school. The chanting almost seemed familiar. There was something about it that made him wonder if he had heard it before. He couldn’t place the memory and it irked him. What was it and why did he feel like he knew it? None of the Flamels looked remotely recognizable. They were actually kind of ordinary in their looks. He had thought that such infamous people would be more regal. He was pretty sure he had seen mudbloods look more dignified than them and wasn’t that just an insult. They had such ordinary faces that could get lost in a crowd. He supposed that that would be preferable to them. Standing out could get them recognized, not that anyone other than the purebloods even still taught their children about them anymore. But it did set them back some if they were going to attempt to find them. He wasn’t sure what they were going to do about this. 

What was the next step? They knew a little more about them than they did previously but how was this going to help them find the Flamels? And did they even want to? Finding mass murderers didn’t seem like an intelligent plan. Lucius was worried now more than ever about Harry and Draco. What was going to happen to them if the Flamels found out that Harry and Ethan were the same person? Would they attempt to kill him? Even if they didn’t know that then would they even help him? He couldn’t see the Flamels wanting to do anything to help out anyone unless it benefited them somehow. He was worried and that was one thing that a Malfoy shouldn’t do. Worrying about something that hasn’t happened yet means that you are living through it twice. Not to mention it gives you wrinkles. 

Narcissa wasn’t aware of what she was doing until Lucius sat her down in her chair. Her emotions were all over the place. She was having a hard time breaking reality from the memory. She kept stealing glances towards Harry just to make sure that he really was indeed alive. During the memory Narcissa had tried really hard to look away from the horror but she had been rooted to the spot. She didn’t want to see it, she didn’t want to see the light leave his eyes but she couldn’t will herself to look away. Which is something that she severely wishes she had been able to. How could they do something so horrid to Ethan? When she looked upon him she could see the same gentle soul that she could in Harry. They were so much alike, especially their looks but it was more than that. There was just something so good and wonderful in Ethan that was the same in Harry. Something so good and pure like that shouldn’t be wilted. The life inside him should have been given a chance to flourish not be killed. Ethan didn’t deserve that any more than did Harry deserve the harsh life that he has lived. It just wasn’t fair. Why did he have to go through so much? Why couldn’t he have a happy life? There are millions of people who lead dreadfully boring lives, why couldn’t Harry have one of those lives? Why couldn’t he just be happy? Whoever was in charge of all of this surely needed a new job. 

What killed her more than witnessing his death was the pure love that he held for Noah. The last moments of his life weren’t spent in fear or begging for his life. His last moments weren’t of regret or even denial. Ethan had accepted that he was going to die and spent those last few moments thinking about Noah. When Ethan had told no one in particular that he loved Noah her heart had definitely broken. She could hear the love in his tone almost as if he was talking to her. Narcissa was pretty sure her heart had then shattered when his last words before dying were Noah’s name. Gods… that had been the most agonizing thing to have gone through. The injustice of it all was unnerving. The love that the two of them had went beyond life itself and it was something that she had never witnessed before. She hadn’t even thought that love could be like that. The love she held for her husband was a lot and she didn’t think that there was a higher love than that until she witnessed these two. Every time she thought she began to understand their love something would happen like this and it would make her realize that there really was such depth to their love that she would never be able to understand. It was beautiful and crushing at the same time. How can two people love so deeply? How can such a thing truly exist?

Everyone watched as the adults just stared at Harry and Draco. Why weren’t they saying anything? Fred shifted in his seat. Merlin, he hated silences. Now was not the time to crack a joke and he had no idea what to say to break the ice so he just sat there fidgeting with his hands. Blaise reached over and entwined their fingers. Fred shot him a grateful look and squeezed lightly as they all waited for someone to speak up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright. Another day another chapter. 
> 
> So thoughts on this chapter? Would any of you guys want to see the memory? I am with the quartet on that one. There is no way I would want to see it. I had debated about having Narcissa witness it or not but decided to make it an all adults view it type of thing. 
> 
> I think that the six of them trying to get Severus and Remus together will end in either success or all of them hexed off their asses. But I am thrilled to watch it happen while I type it up with a side of popcorn. 
> 
> I am posting this chapter about 30 minutes early for a reason. There is a nasty storm brewing outside and my internet keeps going in and out, so I am posting this while it is still up. Word of advice, don't move to Kansas. Five tornado warnings and it is only three months into the year. *sigh* Well if the tornado doesn't carry me away then I shall see you all tomorrow! :)
> 
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	50. Making Plans

            “That was awful.” Remus whispered out when the silence of the room got too much for him.

            “But beautiful.” Narcissa added quietly as she wiped the last bits of tears from her eyes.

            The quartet and Draco looked at Narcissa in horrified confusion. How could any of Harry’s death be beautiful? Had they seen some other memory? Did Harry give them the wrong one? Draco was questioning his mother’s sanity.

            “No she is right.” Lucius added once he saw the way his son was staring. Draco turned his incredulous gaze to his father. It was one thing for his mother to see odd things like beauty in death but now his father too? That settled it, Harry must have given them the wrong memory by mistake.

            Harry just stared at them slightly lost. Maybe it was a pureblood thing to see beauty in odd things. None of what he had gone through felt beautiful. The Malfoys were just eccentric, he supposed.

            “Not his death.” Narcissa said in frustration. Honestly, did they think her that cold? “It was the way that even in your last few breaths you were calling out your love of Noah.” She said in a slightly reverent tone.

            Everyone turned to gaze at Harry, who flushed and looked down. Draco swallowed heavily before sending all the love and reassurance that he could to Harry. Merlin, he loved this man.

            “Aww.” Pansy and Blaise both said, Blaise squeezing Fred’s hand tightly, while Pansy clutched at her heart. The emotions that the simple statement brought them seemed too much. They hadn’t even witnessed the death but it was already too much to handle. To think that Ethan had spent his last moments on earth thinking about Noah was just so achingly sweet and bitterly crushing that it touched everyone in the room.

            “Did you guys recognize anything? Like the chanting or parts of the ritual?” Harry asked in part curiosity and part to change the conversation.

            Remus shook his head, none of that looked particularly familiar. Although the runes were odd choices if he had to say so himself. He figured that such a dark ritual would have involved more drastic things. Certain ones like _speim, ante_ and _dera_ made no sense to him. Why would they want that on a sacrificial alter?

            “Some of the ritual is similar to other dark rituals but there are some areas that it differs. I can check with the books here and contact some associates to see if they know anything. I won’t bring up the actual ritual or the Flamels.” Lucius added quickly when it looked like Harry was going to panic.

            Harry sighed in relief. The last thing that they needed was for the Flamels to catch wind of their research because someone wasn’t careful who they talked to.

            “Some of the runes were recognizable to me but I am not a runes expert like Remus is.” Severus piped up. Everyone turned to look at them in surprise. Remus was looking at Severus in confusion. Just because he was interested in runes as a hobby didn’t meant that he was an expert.

            Everyone else was surprised at the use of a first name. Draco shot the quartet smug looks. He knew something was going on with them. Blaise rolled his eyes and Pansy stuck her tongue out at him. The twins hadn’t even noticed, they were too busy staring at Severus as if he had just announced that he was going to retire and become a circus performer.

            “I didn’t know you were a runes expert!” Harry said in fascination. Geez why he is he the last to know things?

            Remus smiled softly. “I’m not. I just like to explore runes in my spare time.” He said looking at Severus curiously.

            Severus scoffed. “Please. You had the top scores in runes that Hogwarts had ever seen. No one has even come close to matching you, not even Granger and her obsessive traits at being the best.” Remus flushed when everyone looked at him with impressed expressions.

            “Not to mention the published articles you post on the subject go far past just simple hobby. Face it, you are an expert in the field. Would you recommend us to look elsewhere?” Severus asked with an arched brow.

            Remus was a little blown away that Severus even knew about his articles. Due to him being a werewolf they weren’t highly sought after, he didn’t even think people read them.

            “I think there are other people who do this for a living and would be more knowledgeable on the subject. I could recommend quite a few.” Remus countered humbly.

            Severus rolled his eyes. “How many of the runes did you recognize?”

            “All of them.” Remus said not entirely sure where the man was taking this. Severus paused for a moment as his brows arched. All of them? He hadn’t been expecting that. He thought there would be some that he wouldn’t know. They were ancient!

            “All of them.” Severus repeated slowly like he was testing out the words. “You recognized all of the runes, even though they date _far_ past 700 years ago.”

            Draco was impressed. He had taken Ancient Runes in Hogwarts and did fairly well but he wouldn’t know runes that far back to be able to recognize them. Funnily enough despite the class title they don’t actually study runes father than a couple centuries.

            Remus fidgeted now that he was definitely the center of attention. “I like studying the older runes. Not a lot of people care about them. The modern runes come from different forms of the ancient runes. Without those there would be no runes. I find it fascinating to study where they originated from because it helps to understand them more.” He tried explaining.

            Severus looked at him pointedly. “But I am no expert! Just because I recognized them didn't mean that the translations make sense. The way they paired them up with others are confusing me. Not to mention the choices themselves just don't make sense. You would be better off finding an actual expert.” Remus tried to argue. Severus rolled his eyes. “Do cease your argument. You are the best candidate due to your knowledge and because it would be wise not to involve a third party.”  

            Remus bit his lip as he thought this over. He still felt that someone else would be more qualified for the job but Severus was correct in stating that they didn’t need to involve anyone else. Remus couldn’t help the thrill at being useful. They actually needed his help and he was loving it. “Alright.” He said slowly. The smile that Harry gave him in return was worth it.

            “What about the chanting? I don’t think it was something time specific because Ethan didn’t recognize it at all.” Harry wondered out loud.

            “It sounded so familiar.” Lucius said in complaint that he couldn’t place it. Remus, Severus and Narcissa looked at him in surprise.

            “Really? I had never heard anything like it before.” Narcissa pondered. Interesting. That would mean that it was dark in nature, she had wondered if it was something else since she couldn’t place it but if Lucius had heard it before it would have to be dark.

            Lucius nodded slowly but a frown was making its way on his face. “You ever hear or smell something and brings back a childhood memory?” He asked suddenly.

            Some nods of agreement could be seen around the room. “Well that is what it is like. It is reminding me of something but I just can’t place it.”

            Harry was horrified. What they hell happened to him that the chanting reminded him of being a child? Draco wasn’t sure he liked the sound of that. From the horror that Harry was feeling in the bond he knew that the chanting was a main factor to Ethan’s death. So for it to bring back a childhood memory was ghastly. What the fuck did his grandfather do to his father?

            Lucius was too busy trying to think through his thoughts to notice the looks that he was receiving. After a bit he decided to think about it later. There was no use frustrating himself.

            “Well.” Harry began mildly disturbed as he stared at Lucius. “Why don’t you think on it and just let us know.” Harry really hoped it was just something that Lucius had seen in passing and not something he was actually involved in.

            Lucius nodded his agreement and decided to change the subject. He didn’t like the way everyone was staring at him.

            “You never did answer my question.” Lucius told his confused son. “I asked you what wasn’t personal.”

            Draco was kind of lost. His mind was still wrapped up in the fact that his father must’ve had a seriously disturbed childhood to understand what he was talking about.

            “Harry and Draco are going to become lawyers and they didn’t tell us!” Pansy piped up glaring at the both of them.

            Draco groaned. He thought he had already had this conversation.

            “Really?” Remus said intrigued. “When did you come to this decision?”

            “And why weren’t we told?” Severus demanded. Pansy was nodding along. Finally, someone was on her side.

            Lucius was impressed. He had worried when his son blatantly refused to follow in his footsteps that Draco would get some horrid job just to spite him. So hearing that he wanted to become a lawyer was actually a fresh of breath air. That was a brilliant career choice. The boy loved to argue, he should have seen this coming a long time ago.  

            Narcissa beamed. Oh she could just see him now with a briefcase and dashing robes going off to defend some poor sap. Her baby was going to do wonderful! She would make sure to be at every trial just to see him in action.

            “Like I told them earlier.” Harry began with a glare at Pansy. “Draco and I discovered that we wanted to do this while we were at Bill and Fleur’s. Then with everything that had happened yesterday it slipped our minds.”

            “I think it is brilliant.” Remus said with a smile. Harry had already done the impossible by getting Lucius Malfoy off without even having to pay a fine. That took a lot of talent. He wasn’t sure about Draco but he imagined that they both would make excellent lawyers.

            “Thank you.” Harry said warmly. “We want more than to just become lawyers though. We want to open our own law firm. Harry wants to call it Malfoy and Malfoy.” Draco said smiling before he kissed the side of Harry’s head.

            Pansy melted. “That is adorable.” Harry rolled his eyes, at least she was done being grouchy. Narcissa couldn’t wait. It was nice to see them plan for the future even though they have all of this darkness surrounding them.

            “Why were you disgruntled?” Lucius asked Pansy with a flick of his brow. She shrugged sheepishly. “They told the twins first!” She accused. Lucius was confused. Why did that matter?

            Harry chuckled. “It wasn’t on purpose. We were at the burrow and it happened to come up.”

            “The _Weasleys_ knew before we did?” Lucius asked clearly affronted. Harry and Draco groaned. Great.

            Fred and George thought it was funny. Lucius wasn’t even including them when talking about the rest of the family. It was kind of nice.

            “If there had been time to tell you lot first then we would have. Honest.” Draco tried to reassure his father.

            “How did dinner go?” Narcissa asked to stop her husband before he started on a rant. She regretted the decision when Harry’s face fell. Lucius shot his wife a ‘look what you did now’ look. She glared at him before sending Harry an apologetic smile.

            “Pretty much how I expected it would go.” Harry said looking down at his lap. Draco grabbed a hold of his hands and entwined them.

            “Do you want to talk about it?” Narcissa asked hesitantly. Harry shook his head rapidly. “No I don’t. But you are welcome to see it.” He offered pointing at the pensive again.

            Fred and George grinned. It would be interesting seeing it from a pensive. Pansy and Blaise sat up straighter. They were curious to how it had all gone down and seeing it for themselves would be preferable than listening to someone else describe it.

            “Are you sure?” Narcissa asked biting her lip. She wanted to know what had happened but not at the expense of Harry’s happiness. Harry nodded. “Yeah. It’s alright. This way I don’t have to get involved in the retelling. It is easier just having you see it so that you can understand it all.”

            “Plus something sort of happened at the end of the dinner.” Harry said a little sheepishly. Everyone but the twins and Draco were looking at him curiously. “The darkness may or may not have taken me over.” Harry winced waiting for the reactions.

            “What?!” Pansy and Blaise both yelled loudly.

            “Oh Harry.” Remus whispered as he clutched Teddy tighter to him.

            “You wait until _now_ to tell us?” Severus asked angrily.

            “What kind of take over?” Narcissa asked fretfully.

            “I think it will be best if we just go ahead and watch it for ourselves.” Came the ever reasonable voice of Lucius. His eyes were concerned though which Harry found rather endearing.

            Harry pulled out the memory and raised his hand to summon the pensive. He was focused on getting the memory in the pensive so he missed the impressed looks on the rest of their faces. Once he was finished he held his hand up indicating that someone should take it.

            “I would rather not see it all again if that is alright with you guys.” Harry said as Lucius took the pensive and set it down on the table. Draco nodded with Harry. “I am too comfortable to get up.”

            “Lazy.” Pansy sneered at him good naturedly. Draco shrugged. “Well when you get to hold someone as wonderfully amazing as Harry, you wouldn’t want to get up either.” He replied as he nuzzled his face into Harry’s neck.

            Harry flushed but he couldn’t stop the smile on his face from forming.

            “Gross.” The twins said as one. “We will be going in.” George said with a smirk. Harry looked up at them in confusion. “Why? You were there.”

            “We want to see it from a different perspective.”

            “Plus we want to see their reactions.” Fred piped up with a small smile.

            Harry held his hands out to Remus indicating that he wanted to hold Teddy who had just woken up. Remus smiled at the picture of Harry holding his son. Teddy was making gurgling noises as he tried to grab hold of Harry’s hair.

            “Whatever floats your boat.” Harry shrugged. The non half-bloods looked at him in confusion. Harry shook his head. “Muggle expression. Nevermind. Just go.” He waved them towards the pensive.  

            Pansy and Blaise were looking down at the pensive a little warily, not sure about it but Fred and George shared a wicked smirk before shoving their partner’s faces into the pensive. “Hey!” Came a muffled yell from the both of them before the twins followed them into the memory.

            “Remind me why we invite them over.” Lucius said shaking his head. “Because they make good court jesters.” Grinned Draco getting a surprised laugh out of Harry.

            “Better them than me.” Severus dryly added before going in and pulling Remus in with him, who was shaking his head. He would actually pay good money to see Severus try to entertain a crowd of people.

            “Shall we darling?” Narcissa offered her arm for Lucius to wrap around. Lucius smiled softly. “Lets.” He agreed before they too were inside the memory.

            “Alone at last.” Draco said in relief as he began to kiss right underneath Harry’s ear.

            Harry tilted his head to give Draco more room. “Not that this doesn’t feel good, because it does but we have a child present Draco.” He admonished lightly.

            Draco huffed rather put out against Harry’s skin. “Alright fine.” He tried to be upset but Teddy was looking at him with wide amber eyes and he was just too adorable for words. Draco reached his thumb up and rubbed it against the baby’s cheek. Teddy let out a little tiny sound that resembled a breathy giggle. His heart completely melted. “That’s it. We are keeping him.” Draco whispered as he continued to give attention to Teddy.

            Harry chuckled. “I don’t think his father would appreciate that.” Draco waved away the statement. “Details Harry. Don’t ruin my little moment here.” Harry tilted his head and his heart skipped a beat at the adoration on Draco’s face.

            “You know, after we get married and settle down we could have children in a couple of years.” Harry bit his lip while he waited to see if his statement would be met well.

            Draco paused before looking at Harry with a wide grin. “You mean that?” He said in excitement. Children. Something that he had not been granted in his first two lives. It made sense why they couldn’t have any the first time around but it had been a dream of theirs during their second life. They had wanted children terribly and they were going to look into having kids after Noah’s potion dreams had settled down. The ache of never getting that made him yearn for children.

            Harry smiled just as widely. “Of course I do. I can’t wait to have a little tiny Draco running around the house driving us bonkers, making us wonder why we ever wanted a child in the first place.”

            Draco smiled at the wistful tone of his lover’s voice. “You want a little boy?” He asked once Harry’s words registered in his mind. “I want a little girl that looks just like you but without your rats nest.”

            The previous love in his Harry’s eyes vanished and he scowled. Draco snickered. “What? You can’t tell me that your hair, that can never lie down even for a moment, would look good on a girl. She would hate that. Unless she kept it short like you” He pointed out.

            Harry had to admit that Draco was right. He tried imagining a little girl with knee length hair that had his style. The tangles would be a bloody nightmare. “Alright you are right.” Harry didn’t like the smirk on his face. “For once.” He added smirking when Draco’s smirk vanished.

            Draco conjured a play pin for Teddy and had Harry place the baby safely inside. When that was done, Draco turned Harry around till he was straddling him. “I will have you know that I am always right.” Draco informed him haughtily.

            Harry arched a brow. “Is that so?” He asked smiling into Draco’s eyes. “Well I will have _you_ know that-” Draco cut Harry’s no doubt rude words off with a tickle straight to his ribs.

            “Draco!” Harry half yelled, half breathed through the laughter. He shook his head as he tried to escape Draco’s lap. This was payback for yesterday, he just knew it.  

            “Oh no you don’t.” Draco warned before attacking Harry with vigor. Harry was yelling through tears of laughter as they streamed down his face.

            “I didn’t hear you correctly the first time. What was it you said? I am always right?” Draco taunted as he continued to tickle Harry.

            Harry was panting and kicking as he tried to get away. Damn Draco for knowing all his ticklish spots.

            “I can do this all day.” He warned before amping up his efforts. Harry was hooting with the laughter shaking his body. It was torture. Pure torture.  

            “Alright! Alright.” Harry panted. Draco slowed down enough to let Harry talk. “You are always right.”

            Draco grinned before pulling Harry closer to him and kissing his panting mouth. Harry smiled into the kiss before breaking away before they could get too into it. A little gurgle made them look over into the play pin.

            Teddy was using the side of the pin to pull himself up into a half sit up position, he was staring at them with a happy expression on his face.

            “I think he likes us playing around.” Harry noticed with a smile. “Well I could always tickle you some more.” Came the generous offer from Draco.

            Harry shook his head. “No thanks.” He said quickly, hoping Draco wasn’t about to start up again. His chest was hurting from all the laughing. Draco snorted loudly.

            “Harry…” Draco trailed off in awe. Harry whipped his head up to stare at whatever Draco was looking at but he grew confused when all he was staring at was the baby.

            “What?” He asked curiously. Draco pointed a finger at Teddy. Harry huffed in frustration. “I am not sure what-” Harry stopped talking when he noticed that Teddy’s eyes were now the exact shade as Draco’s.

            “Aww.” Harry cooed. “Do you think he even knows what he is doing?” He wondered out loud.

            Draco shook his head. “I doubt it. He is just a little baby. I think he just likes me the best so his magic is reaching out and his metamorphmagus abilities kicked in.”

            “Yeah that makes- hey! What do you mean he likes you the best? _I_ am his godfather.” Harry grumbled. Draco snickered. “Yes love you are but he chose my eyes not yours.” He sing songed in delight.

            Harry glared at his lover. “You are so full of yourself, you know that?” Draco grinned wickedly. “Ah yes I do know that. One must flaunt the skills that they have.”

            Harry deadpanned. “I am not even going to reply. That statement was useless.” Draco started chuckling as he bent down and picked up Teddy. “Uncle Harry is just jealous that you like me more than him. Ignore him.”

            Teddy let out a little laugh that turned into spit up that dribbled down Draco’s shoulders.   

            “Ah gross!” Draco cried before passing the baby over to Harry who wasn’t even bothering to hide his humor.

            “I see it now. You are definitely his favorite.” Harry couldn’t control the laughter, especially when Draco leveled a glare in his direction.

            Draco vanished the spit up away and sent out a cleaning charm on his whole body just in case. He turned to look at the child nestled into Harry’s chest. “Teddy I thought we were best friends here. What happened?”

            Teddy blinked at Draco a couple times before his tiny little hairs changed color to match Draco’s.

            Draco gasped before grinning at the surprised Harry. “The spit up was totally worth it.” Harry raised his brows at that statement. Draco quickly grabbed Teddy away from Harry.

            “He is so cute. Are you sure we can’t keep him?” He half whined. Harry smiled softly watching Draco fuss over Teddy. This is what he wanted. He wanted Draco to do that with a child of their own someday. Preferably one that looked just like Draco. His heart was bursting with that thought. He ached for a family. He ached to be married to Draco. He wanted it all, the complete package.

            Draco lifted his head to stare at Harry curiously when he could feel the longing coming through the bond. Harry blushed and looked down at his feet. “I can’t wait till that is a child of our own that you will hold like that.”

            Draco placed Teddy back in the play pin and walked over to Harry, he felt like his heart was going to burst with the love he held for this man. He lifted Harry’s chin so that he could look into his eyes.

            “I want that too.” He assured Harry before he pressing his lips lightly to Harry’s. The kiss was gentle and sweet, saying more than words could. Draco was thrilled that Harry wanted that as much as he did. One day. One day they would have that.

            Harry broke the kiss and wrapped his arms around Draco’s waist and laid his head on his shoulder. Draco closed his eyes and took in all of the love that Harry was sending him before sending it right back to him.

            “When are we getting married?” Harry mumbled into the skin of Draco’s neck. He felt a thrill of excitement from Draco at the question.

            “When do you want to get married?” Draco retorted. He honestly didn’t mind when they were to wed, he just wanted it to happen sooner rather than later.

            “I want to be your husband before we go back to school but after we take care of the darkness.” Draco raised his brow.

            “Love that gives us a month. I don’t see how we could possibly find the Flamels, take care of the darkness _if_ they even decide to help us and get married in that time frame.” Draco tried to reason. “Not to mention our honeymoon. We are supposed to go around the world. Where does that fit in?”

            Harry lifted his head to glare at the wall. Damn. “Well what if we find the Flamels and take care of the darkness first? The search might take us longer than a month to accomplish anyways. We can always request the information that we will need to pass the N.E.W.T.S and then take the test when everyone else does.”

            Draco hummed in thought. “I thought that you wanted to go back to Hogwarts and have a normal year?”

            Harry laughed darkly. “That was a fool’s dream. Obviously I will never have normal in my entire life. Plus I really don’t want to sit inside Hogwarts with the darkness lurking inside me somewhere. That could be a recipe for disaster. It makes more sense to get rid of the darkness and then get on with our lives. We could get the information to study on our own and then when the darkness is gone we can go finish our year at Hogwarts.”

            It did make a lot of sense to Draco the more he thought about it. “And the wedding?” He loved saying that word, it sent excitement through him thinking about marrying Harry again. Their first lifetime had been spent longing for the chance to publicly show their affections let alone marry each other. Their second life, the marriage had been beautiful but they didn’t have any family to share the special moment with. Then it didn’t matter but Draco was really looking forward to having all of their family and friends there this time around.

            “I still want to marry you before we go back to school.” Harry wasn’t sure why exactly that was but the thought of sitting in the great hall surrounded by the chatter of people with his husband right next to him filled him with warmth. Not to mention it would shut up a lot of people’s opinions when they would find out that they were together. It was one thing to tell someone that the relationship would fail but it was another thing entirely to be married. He doubted there would be a whole lot that they would say to that. Plus this is their third life, they are mature, mostly if you discount Draco, in the way they handle themselves. Going to school with a bunch of children didn’t sit well with him. It would be like pretend. He would never be young like them, they could never understand the things that he has gone through nor would they want to. So showing up with his husband and career choice already mapped out would show them that they were serious and that they meant business.

            “We could have the honeymoon after we graduate, right before we set out to Wizard Law.” Draco suggested. Ergh, the thought of more schooling after Hogwarts didn’t sound fun but at least it would be with people who were serious and not a bunch of children.

            Harry smiled thinking about the travels that they were going to do for their honeymoon. “Yeah that sounds perfect.” Harry turned to grin at Teddy who still looked like Draco. “You hear that Teddy? We have it all planned out.” Harry picked up the baby and cuddled him closely to him.

            The duo spent the next little while discussing places they wanted to go or things that they wanted to see on their honeymoon. “Oh we could do what muggles do and go packing across countries!” Draco said in excitement all of a sudden.

            Harry scrunched his face up trying to understand what Draco was talking about. “Do you mean backpacking?” He asked with raised brows. Draco nodded rapidly.

            “What in the world makes you think either of us are in shape to do that? Besides love, there would be no apparating. Just walking.” Harry pointed out and had to try really hard not laugh at the horrified expression on Draco’s face.

            “Well that is definitely a no.” Draco said disgruntled. “Let’s talk about the wedding.” Draco hurried to change the subject.

            Harry listened to all the little details that Draco had already thought of. Some of it was just normal things like who to invite and where would they sit. But some of the ideas were just out there.

            “Draco we don’t need phoenixes singing at our wedding. Where in the world are we even going to get that many of them? I only knew of Fawkes.”

            Draco huffed. “It was just a thought. Honestly you have no imagination.” Harry just sighed and continued to listen to Draco go on and on about the wedding. He thought it was adorable. Their first wedding had been quick and to the point. There hadn’t been the time or the money to plan anything out. Harry didn’t think that they needed all of the extravagant things that Draco was listing but if that is what Draco wanted, then Harry had no problem letting him have it.   

            Harry was bouncing Teddy in his arms when he wrinkled his nose and passed Teddy to Draco. “Gross. Teddy needs to be changed.” Draco looked at him in panic and passed the baby back.

            “No way Harry.” Harry frowned and pressed Teddy towards Draco and soon they were shoving him back and forth between them as neither one of them wanted to change him. While Harry and Draco were getting frustrated, Teddy was enjoying the sensation and he began giggling.

            “Harry.” Draco said firmly pushing the baby back. “Draco.” Harry mimicked pushing Teddy back towards his lover. Teddy was turning his head back and forth watching them with little laughs.

            “What are you doing?” Came the amused voice of Remus. Harry and Draco looked up relieved to see him.

            “Thank goodness.” Draco said as he handed Remus his child back. “He needs to be changed.”

            The quartet started laughing. Harry scowled at them. “Do any of you want to change him?” He quipped back. When they stopped laughing instantly he smiled smugly at them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Odd spot to end it, I know. Buttt they are about to get into everything with the burrow and that would have made the chapter too long. 
> 
> Thoughts on this fluffy chapter? I enjoyed it greatly. Well I suppose only the last half was fluffy. Ah well. 
> 
> Yes, I am aware that Remus thought of the runes and I didn't give an explanation on the three that he found odd. That will be addressed later guys. For now I will let you all just wonder what they meant. Sorry!
> 
> Who else is creeped out that Lucius has some odd childhood memory of the chanting? *Raises hand* Answering my own question... now I understand why my brother always insisted I was a loser, haha. :)
> 
> Harry, Draco and Teddy are just too cute for words. I loved including this part into the story. Melts my heart. 
> 
> Thoughts on their plan to wed after the darkness is gone? I think it is reasonable. 
> 
> Let me know what you guys thought of this chapter. 
> 
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	51. Petitioning the Ministry

            Remus shook his head but his lips were twitching. Narcissa showed Remus over to an area where she had one of the house elves set up a changing station. “Thank you.” He told her with a gentle smile. She waved away the thanks. “No problem. You both are always welcome here.” She assured him before getting back to the rest of the group. Remus had to fight the urge to get choked up. This wasn’t what he had been expecting the day he trusted Draco to apparate them to Harry. He had found a family and friends with all of them and he would be forever grateful for that.

            Everyone seemed to be waiting for Remus to return before starting any conversations. Draco was sitting in Harry’s lap this time around. Lucius didn’t even bother commenting. They would do whatever they wanted anyways.

            As Remus was walking past, Teddy held out a hand towards Draco. Remus stopped and Teddy leaned forward, so Draco picked him up. “See I told you he likes me more than you Harry.” Draco teased. Harry rolled his eyes.

            Remus smiled and sat down next to Severus. “Oh he changed his hair like yours.” Pansy squealed. Severus rolled his eyes. That much had been obvious the moment they had returned.

            “And his eyes!” Draco said in excitement. Remus thought that it was endearing that Draco was so excited, he didn’t have the heart to tell him that Teddy does it all the time to people he meets. But Teddy did seem to have a fondness for Draco and Remus was happy for that.

            “That is so cute.” Pansy gushed. She wasn’t sure if children were in store for her or not in the future. She loved the idea of it just being her and George for a while… a long while. Children would get in the way of that, not to mention they take up a lot of time. It’s like 17 to life with children. You can never get rid of them once you have one. That sounds like too much work.

            Once Draco had Teddy in a comfortable position he looked up to the rest of the group. “So what did you think?” He prompted.

            “What a crazy night!” Pansy exclaimed.

            “Insane family.” Blaise sighed exasperated. He quickly looked to the twins. “No offense.” He hurried to say.

            The twins shared a look before grinning at him. Blaise sighed in relief. Fred entwined their fingers. “Everyone is a tad insane.” Blaise considered his mother and had to agree. Perhaps all families were a tad insane.

            “I thought that you two held yourselves very well.” Remus praised. He had been rather surprised when it came to the memory. The Weasleys were always a very friendly family so he wouldn’t have thought that they could be so prejudiced. It wasn’t just towards Draco either. The prejudice against magical creatures was awful, Molly certainly had never acted like that around him. She probably feared what he would have said, with good reason too. But the way that Draco had defended Demetrius, someone he had never even met before had been very heart warming. Listening to Draco give his incubus lesson had been in a way entertaining. There was a fascination that Draco had with magical creatures that was intriguing.

            “I- Thank you Harry.” Severus said quietly. “Your defense of me was very appreciated.” If he hadn’t seen Harry defend him to Black, then this memory would definitely would have sent him into cardiac arrest. Who knew that Harry had given his predicament that much thought? No one had ever cared enough to consider what he had gone through. Despite being a spy they still look at the dark mark and see evil. They don’t care that he did the right thing in the end, they don’t care that he risked his life every single moment that he was in The Dark Lord’s presence. They just don’t care. They lump him with the rest of the death eaters and think that he should be carted off to Azkaban.

            Other people’s ignorance shouldn’t bother him but when you give up so much for people that don’t even care it gets a little taxing. Since he was 21 he was in the pocket of Dumbledore. Seventeen years he gave up any pretense of what he used to be, he did every single thing that Dumbledore asked of him regardless if it was dangerous or if he agreed with it. It was his penance for the crimes that he committed so he didn’t think it was that much to ask for but as the years went on and he was still met with distrust it stung. Not that he would ever show that to anyone but still. How can you literally give everything that you have and it still not be enough? How can you risk your life and be met with suspicion? He held the most dangerous job of the order and every single one of them hadn’t trusted him for a moment. He risked _everything_ just so he could see the distrust on their faces during every meeting. It was daunting and what was worse was that not one person bothered to rethink their misguided notions. They were comfortable with their judgmental views. This was why he didn’t like people. The people on the dark side weren’t worth getting to know and the people on the light were full of judgement, yet the people in the grey were too spineless to pick a side. There was no one worth his time nor attention. Which is why he sticks to himself.

            But Harry had cut through all of that and paid attention. He had taken the time to actually consider what it would have been like for him. Harry not only thought through everything but he did so with such finesse that it surprised Severus. He had never had an advocate like Harry before. He was incredibly touched and not sure how to express that properly.

            Harry flushed when he remembered that he had defended Severus to the whole family. He had honestly forgot about that when he had given the memory. “I was just speaking the truth.” Harry mumbled into his hands.

            Lucius watched Harry grow embarrassed with a fond smile. Severus had been his friend since the moment they began their first deatheater tests. Lucius could see the ‘what did I just get myself into’ look in Severus’s eyes and knew that they matched his own. They had been woefully unprepared for being in The Dark Lord’s servitude. It wasn’t like what their parents had been spewing. It wasn’t the honor that everyone made it out to be. They both had made a grave error joining The Dark Lord. They never talked about it but it didn’t need to be said. They both understood each other and that was enough. Lucius had known the moment that The Dark Lord was to go after the Potters that Severus would switch sides. He could see it in his eyes. Severus likes to think that he shows zero emotion but Lucius has always been able to read his friend. They were unusually close for cold hearted men so knowing what his friend was thinking wasn’t difficult.

            Despite knowing that his friend was going to turn traitor, Lucius hadn’t breathed a word of it. By the way Severus held himself, he knew that Lucius was aware of it. Again, they said nothing, words didn’t need to be said. With Severus on the light side, Lucius knew that the scale had just been tipped in the lights favor. Even though he was a deatheater he hoped that Severus would win, this wasn’t the life wanted for himself. This wasn’t the life he thought he would have and this certainly wasn’t the life he wanted his son to grow into. So he kept his mouth shut and pretended that Severus was firmly on The Dark Lord’s side.

            When little Harry had somehow done the impossible he had thought that things were going to be okay again. The Dark Lord was gone and he could move on with his life but by the way that Severus never relaxed and never wanted to discuss his actions, Lucius knew that The Dark Lord would come back one day. He thought about switching sides while The Dark Lord was gone, that would be the best time but he wasn’t like Severus. His best friend was calm in ways that he could only pretend. His Malfoy mask was sturdy and could fool just about anyone but his wife and Severus. He could fake confidence all day but just the thought of trying to deceive The Dark Lord would make fear cripple the mask. He just couldn’t do it. He couldn’t walk into a deatheater meeting with only hope on his side that no one would notice him as a traitor. Severus had always been the stronger of the two of them, in all ways. Severus was an honorable man in every way that Lucius wasn’t. So he never approached Severus about changing allegiances or even made it seem like he would want to. He threw himself into his father’s teachings and built a wall around any fleeting thoughts about his unease. It was the only way he knew he would be able to survive when The Dark Lord came back.

            Of course the other deatheaters had made Severus’s integration back into the fold difficult. No one trusted him. They all assumed correctly that he was a traitor to their cause. They were right but they had no proof. They had nothing but their intuition. So after Severus had successfully proved himself to The Dark Lord, the deatheaters grew restless. No one wanted to approach The Dark Lord and tell him that they thought he was making a mistake. That surely would have resulted in death. There wasn’t a single deatheater that bought into Severus being on their side. Dumbledore doesn’t vouch for you without checking into your entire mindset. Lucius had wondered what exactly Severus had said that convinced The Dark Lord that he was on their side. How naïve could The Dark Lord really be to think that Severus wasn’t a traitor? Did he honestly believe that Severus had spent his time spying on Dumbledore if he wasn’t even sure that The Dark Lord would ever return? That was pure fantasy that even Wormtail would be able to see through.

            Due to his connections and his political status, Lucius was made The Dark Lord’s right hand man. A position that he was ultimately torn in. On the one hand he knew he was safe, The Dark Lord would never have made him his top deatheater unless he was sure of his allegiance. But on the other hand, that meant that he was asked the difficult questions. For the first time in his life Lucius was faced with lying to The Dark Lord. He was asked what his opinion was on Severus. Lucius had panicked for all of two seconds before shoving every single thought behind occlumency shields. He wasn’t as good as Severus but he was good enough for this. Lucius had as calmly as he could, told The Dark Lord that he believed Severus was on their side and had been on their side the whole time. When The Dark Lord had just stared at him with those unnerving red eyes, he began to sweat. Had he slipped in his shields? Had he given it away? Had he made a mistake? But eventually they broke the gaze and The Dark Lord just nodded his approval and sent him out the room with only one crucio. It had been a good day after all.    

            Of course all good things come to an end. After the failure at the Department of Mysteries he had been replaced as top deatheater. He had gone from the top to all the way to the bottom. He was only above Wormtail in the end, not very reassuring. The irony that made everything worth it was that he had been replaced by Severus. Traitor to their cause was the number one deatheater. That made everything worth it. The thought that Severus would be the direct cause of The Dark Lord’s downfall and he was the one that The Dark Lord trusted the most made it the perfect karma. Lucius probably could have ratted his friend out and it would have boosted his own standing in the ranks but Severus’s life meant more to him than the stupid cause. Oh he believed in the things The Dark Lord wanted he just didn’t like his methods. If he wanted to end the reign of terror that was all around them then he knew he would have to remain quiet. He would protect Severus’s secret until the end.

            Lucius tried not to think about Severus’s position much. Thinking about it was just asking for trouble but he could see the distrust the deatheaters had for him, not to mention the distrust the light side had for him as well. Was there nowhere that his friend fit in? The only person that he could remember to vouch for Severus had been Dumbledore and Lucius was sure that support had cost Severus greatly. No one was in his friend’s corner and that surely would have a negative effect on his mindset.

            So to see Harry so passionately defend Severus filled him with warmth and a lot of guilt. That is what he should have been doing all along. Lucius should have been the one defending his friend all of these years but he had let his own cowardice rule him. Once again, he was amazed with the pure love that Harry held in his heart. Harry, who had been bullied by Severus and had legit reasons to dislike the man, was actively and passionately defending him to his former friends and family. A simple act like that struck a chord within Lucius. At 18, Harry was already a better man than Lucius. He had no problems admitting that to himself. Harry was a unique person and he counted himself lucky to ever have met him. He honestly couldn’t imagine someone more worthy of his son than Harry.

            Draco was grinning at the shock on his godfather’s face. This was the main part of the night that he had wanted Severus to see.

            During Harry’s defense of Severus in the memory, Remus had forgone watching Harry and spent the time watching Severus instead. The surprise that someone would defend Severus had hurt his heart. Had no one ever defended him before? Two witness Harry defend the man twice had filled Remus with a lot of affection for Harry. Remus knew that Severus was a good man and knew that if anyone deserved the defense it was him. That had been a proud moment for him to witness Harry be the better man and give up on holding a grudge. Harry could have taken his hurt and carried it around with him for the rest of his life like Severus had but he didn’t. Not only did Harry choose to put that aside but he also gave Severus a chance. Harry wanted to get to know the man and that showed Harry’s true colors.

            “You did more than that. You have my gratitude.” Severus said firmly. It might be more comfortable for the both of them if Severus was to wave it all away and act as if his defense of him wasn’t that big of a deal but… it was. It meant a lot to Severus and he wasn’t going to allow this moment to pass without Harry understanding what this meant.

            Harry looked at Severus long and hard for a moment. He could see the unease in the way the man sat. He wasn’t comfortable with the topic any more than Harry was so he wasn’t sure why Severus was so determined to thank him. Harry was fine with letting it all go and pretending it never happened but Severus it seemed wasn’t. He wanted to talk about despite his unease. Why? Was him defending Severus that important to him? The determination in Severus’s eyes agreed with that. Harry nodded once to let him know that he understood. There was a flash of relief in those black eyes before it was gone and Severus leaned back in his chair indicating that he was over the conversation.

            “Thank you for your defense of Draco.” Narcissa said with a small smile. She had known the moment that they had said the first word against her son that Harry wouldn’t remain in contact with them. The pure anger on behalf of Draco was stunningly beautiful. She wasn’t sure how they had been so blind not to have realized that they were a couple sooner. Every moment of one was mirrored by the other. They reacted the same and looked towards each other for guidance and support. Granted, she is used to the open love displays that they usually do but they still screamed a couple even when they weren’t touching. Narcissa had no worries that Harry would let them say awful things about her son, she had known all along that he wouldn’t put up with that. But the mother in her had worried that they would crush Draco’s spirits. She had been worried for nothing, Harry had been more upset than Draco was and the insults were directed at him! The lovely way that Harry stood up for Draco was amazing. She honestly hadn’t seen anything more romantic before. Usually when one thinks of romance they think of the little sweet things that couples do for each other. But the defense of your partner in the face of adversity, especially from family, is one of the most romantic gestures out there.

            Harry looked at her in confusion. “There is no need to thank me. I would never allow someone to insult Draco when they are so obviously ignorant to the details.” Had she thought that he would allow that? Well if so then she was wrong. No one gets away with insulting Draco on his watch.

            Lucius and Narcissa shared a small smile. Harry really was one of a kind.

            “My prince charming.” Draco teased with a smile. Harry grinned. “That would make you my damsel in distress” He countered. Draco wrinkled his nose in disgust. Laughter broke out across the room.

            “I am no damsel.” Draco grumbled. Harry leaned forward to whisper into Draco’s ears. “Of that I am quite sure of.” He whispered suggestively. Draco shuddered as his cheeks pinked up.

            “I don’t know what you said but it keep it in the bedroom.” Lucius warned them. He was quite thankful that his son no longer lived at home. He didn’t think that his sanity could take all of their affectionate nature.

            “I wouldn’t mind knowing.” Pansy piped up waggling her brows.

            “I second that.” Fred added with a wicked grin.

            George and Blaise groaned before sharing a look. Harry and Draco laughed. “What did I tell you about keeping our sex life out of your minds?” Harry asked them in mock disappointment.

            “Well when you blatantly put it on display it is hard not to!” Fred argued with a grin.

            “Fred is right. I mean we wouldn’t mind if you put more of it on display though.” Pansy said with a leer.

            “Well I would.” Lucius and Severus rushed to say before Harry and Draco would get any ideas.

            Harry and Draco busted out laughing when they took in the horror on Lucius and Severus faces to the disgust on Blaise and Georges.

            “I can’t promise you that we will keep it to the bedroom but we will definitely keep it out of your vision.” Draco said wickedly.

            Lucius recoiled. That was way too much information. He could have gone his whole life with that mental image.

            “Kinky.” Pansy and Fred said sharing an excited look. Harry snorted when Severus turned green.

            “Enough.” Boomed Lucius. Remus and Narcissa bit their lips to keep from laughing. Everyone else besides them busted out with snickers.

            “Let’s continue shall we?” Severus demanded. Merlin, he wanted to get as far away from this topic as soon as possible.

            “I really dislike Granger.” Pansy piped up suddenly. Granger had always been the one person that set her teeth to grinding just from looking at her. It wasn’t just because she was a mudblood like everyone assumed. It was more than that. She hated that the girl had this sense of entitlement just because she could memorize a damn book. She strolls into their world and assumes that just because she knows how to read that it means she knows just as much about their world as everyone else. Yeah no. That is not how it works. Granger never bothered to even get to know their world besides the books. She believed so strongly in authority and books that she never questioned a damn thing. History is written by the victors, the books will _always_ give you only one side of the argument. For someone so smart you would think that she would think things through. It was such a waste that someone so smart could be so stupid at the same time. The funny thing was that their society could use more mudbloods with the brains that Granger has on her but her ignorance and incompetence to understand basic things besides books makes her utterly useless.

            Being from a pureblood family, entitlement was something that she was used to seeing and being. Pansy wasn’t delusional, she knew that she had her own issues and a sense of entitlement isn’t attractive. But the false entitlement that Granger walks around with just pisses her off. How can someone be so delusional to think that they belong in a world that they refuse to learn about? You can pass your classes at the top of the list and know everything there is to know about school but Pansy would bet every single galleon in her trust fund that Granger couldn’t name a single wizard tradition that didn’t involve muggle ideas. Being smart is a wonderful thing but not if you ignore the world around you in the process. This is why mudbloods always irked her. Granger was the prime example of why purebloods hate them. To walk into a brand new world and have the attitude that you belong there without even knowing a thing about it, is one of the most ignorant and unsophisticated things that a person could do.

            Pansy had known that bullying the girl wasn’t the best way to get her message across but just looking at her was enough to make her fists clench. A lot of it can’t be blamed on Granger. Mudbloods can’t be blamed for just being a mudblood. A lot of the blame lies within the Ministry. If they would just do their jobs and actually care what happens to the wizarding world, then none of this would be a problem. Mudbloods used to fit right into society and things worked just fine. Until the new age of muggle ideas came through along with mudbloods. Suddenly change and progressive ideals were more important than their own traditions. Instead of focusing on the wizarding ideals that have been around since the beginning of magic, society had to conform to their beliefs as to not appear prejudiced. Since when is protecting the foundations of your culture prejudice? Since when is being a wizard first suddenly an issue? Why should they have to change their beliefs to match mudbloods who don’t even care about their world? How does that even make sense?

            If the Ministry would allow classes that explain the inner workings of the wizarding world to mudbloods then it would erase so many issues and boundaries. Just a simple class would go a _long_ way in bringing back the order that their society has lost over the past couple generations.

            As she watched Granger and her misguided beliefs during the memory, Pansy realized that she had made a mistake. She had always known that bullying was wrong and that there are better ways to handle things. She had known even as an eleven-year-old that she should probably stop. But she didn’t. Honestly, Granger made it fun for her. If Granger had just taken the taunts with her head down she would have eventually stopped. But Granger fought back, she made it a game and Pansy was never one to lose a game. Did that make it okay? No. But it made it excusable in her eleven-year-old mind. Granger’s skewed view points on everything could have been fixed with a couple conversations. That was Pansy’s mistake. Instead of bullying the girl she should have just sat her down and explained the reasons _why_ Granger was wrong. She should have told her where to get the information that she was lacking for their world and sent the girl on her way. If Granger had the information and continued her way of thinking… well then perhaps the taunts could have started up again.

            All it would have taken was a couple lessons and Granger wouldn’t be so uneducated. So when Pansy watched the pure idiocy that Granger was spewing, Pansy couldn’t help but feel a little responsible. Society failed Granger just as much as Granger failed society. If Pansy could go back and reconsider bullying Granger, would she? Pansy would definitely show Granger what she should have known all along but there wouldn’t have been an extended hand in friendship. She may have toned down the insults some and changed the way she did things but ultimately it would have been up to Granger what she chose to do with the knowledge.

            “Her mindset on the things that she was speaking about worry me.” Pansy said biting her lip. “I have never come across someone so incredibly wrong but has deluded themselves into thinking they are right. I don’t even care that she doesn’t like me or even insulted me. I care more about the fact that she will have children who will go as equally uneducated into our world.” Pansy sighed.

            “Beliefs like hers can have such a negative impact on our society that it scares me.” She said running her fingers through her hair.

            “How so?” Harry asked curiously. He didn’t like the things that Hermione had said but that seemed like an exaggeration.

            Pansy scrunched up her face. “Just take a look at her beliefs regarding same sex couples marrying. She is not the first mud-muggleborn to think like that. If they raise their children to think like that and their children raise their own children to think like that then in a couple generations, we will have a bunch of bigoted wizards who will taint our beliefs. It will become no different to the muggle world. The prejudice will spread and then couples who like the same sex are going to feel uncomfortable showing who they are. Uneducated muggleborns are a problem. We need to teach them our beliefs as soon as they enter our world or the downfall of our entire society will happen.”

            There was a comfortable silence that filled the air when Pansy was done talking. Everyone was thinking over what she said.

            “But what can we do about it?” Harry questioned. He didn’t want three or four generations down the road for people to have to hide who they are so other people can be happy. Love is love. Why does it matter who it is?

            That was the question of the hour. What can they do about it? How do you go about changing the way things are ran? Who would want to listen to them?

            “We could petition the Ministry to allow a class that teaches muggleborns and half-bloods that have been raised by muggles about the wizarding world.” Severus suggested.

            Harry hummed in thought. “It would have to be before the start of their first year or they will still face the judgement of their peers. A summer course right before they fully enter our world.”

            Draco considered this. “It wouldn’t be too much of an inconvenience. It would be sending out their Hogwarts letters three months early and ensuring a couple teachers for the course.”

            “But is three months long enough to learn enough to get muggleborns up to speed?” Remus asked doubtfully.

            Lucius shook his head. “No it isn’t. But it is a start. The class before the start of their first year could teach them the very basics that they will need to learn and then there could be a mandatory class for all muggleborns once inside school as well. They have Muggle Studies why not Wizard Studies? Why do we teach our children what muggles do but don’t help the muggleborns when they come into our world? Seems backwards to me.”

            Harry thought it was all brilliant. He really wished that he had taken a class like that when he was younger. It would have helped so much and it would have made him feel like he actually belonged.              

             “So how do we go about doing that?” Harry wondered. Petitioning the Ministry seemed like a lot of work to him.

            Remus shot an amused glance toward Severus. “Hey Severus, you wouldn’t happen to know any budding lawyers, would you?”

            Severus snorted. “You know I think I do.” Harry and Draco gaped at them for a moment before sharing bewildered looks.

            “You- we… uhh… what?” Harry said weakly. Everyone started snickering. Harry shot them glares.

            “Harry dear.” Narcissa began with a gentle smile. “Not just anyone can petition the Ministry. It would take someone with a lot of political power… or lawyers. To get the public backing your petition I would recommend going with the latter. People don’t trust political aspects anymore.”

            “Besides.” Lucius piped up. “If anyone is going to be able to get the Ministry to change it will be you two. You can wait till you have both completed Wizard Law before trying to change the world. I think you have a lot on your plates right now as it is.”

            Harry was rather touched at the compliment. That meant a lot to him, he had just assumed that they would find someone else to be the forefront to this plan. He didn’t think that him and Draco would be the ones charged with changing things. That was a tall order.

            “Oh good then that means we don’t have to do anything.” Pansy said with a relieved sigh. She stuck her tongue out Harry and Draco when they sent her unimpressed glares.

            “This is wonderful though. There will never be another round of Grangers.” Pansy said in delight. Hopefully this would be the beginning of a new era once things started changing.

            “She isn’t normally that bad.” Harry pointed out. Everyone shot him looks of disbelief.

            “Harry, I know that she was your friend and friends tend to overlook the flaws of the ones they are close to, I am a prime example of that.” Remus began. “But coming from someone who was once her teacher, I can honestly tell you that I have never in my life encountered someone so obnoxiously self-righteous in their intelligence. She is smart, yes, I won’t deny that. But she thinks her knowledge goes beyond the books and beyond her years. I can’t tell you the number of times she stopped by after class to question my sources on my lectures.”

            Harry frowned. Hermione had never said anything like that to him before. He couldn’t imagine what that would have been like as a teacher to have a thirteen-year-old question their teachings.

            Severus scowled. “What did you tell her?” He was horrified that Granger would have the nerve to approach a teacher like that at all. Especially since he could distinctly remember the girl being a mindless Lockhart follower. She would blindly believe Lockhart but question Remus?  

            “I just kindly told her that my sources were not her concern and sent her on her way.” He said with a shrug. Severus rolled his eyes. He would have given the nosy chit a detention for even trying to insinuate that his sources were sketchy.

            “Did she ever do that to you?” Harry asked Severus.

            Severus snorted. “What part of my personality suggests that I would be open to something like that? No, she never approached me.”

            Harry and Draco snorted. No, he definitely wasn’t someone that would be open for a discussion like that.

            “I am more upset that she brought up Sirius.” Remus’s tone had a hard edge to it that made some sit up straighter. Remus was always so kindhearted and calm that you tend to forget that he can be a deadly killer once a month.

            Harry was surprised that he didn’t feel any lingering hurt over that. He knew that he wasn’t responsible so it seemed like his heart had finally caught up to what his mind had known all along.

            “So am I.” Draco, Fred and George said at the same time.

            Harry smiled softly at the four of them. He really loved his family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end to another chapter. So there was a little more insight to Lucius and Severus in this chapter. Despite the fear that Lucius held he still kept his mouth shut regarding Severus and that to me is brave. Just a different type of bravery than most. 
> 
> Ideas on petitioning the Ministry? I think it is a brilliant idea. Otherwise the uneducated wizards will just grow with each generation. Their society needs help and I think having a class showing the muggleborns what they need is a smart thing to do. I think that it should have been done all along really. 
> 
> Now when it comes to Pansy, I have mixed feelings. I adore her and the relationship with George. But I do not agree with bullying. Ever. So writing for a character that really doesn't have any issues with once being a bully is a little difficult for me. (Yes I realize Draco was a bully. But his character in my book is genuinely sorry for his past behavior.) I did have her realize that she had made a mistake so that is something. But to keep with her personality I still needed her to have some of the stuff that made her unlikable as a kid. She has definitely learned that bullying isn't the answer and that there are better ways to handle situations so there are no worries that she would bully someone else. I still love her character but they all can't be sugary sweet. There will always be parts of people that you don't like. This is just one side to her that I don't like. 
> 
> Now, the little tidbit about Hermione was based off of my version of her not the cannon version of her. So this would be Remus teaching something about a magical creature or spell that she couldn't find in a book and her instantly thinking that he must be wrong because it's not in a book. That is the type of scenario that his comment was about. To be honest though I could picture cannon Hermione asking a teacher why what they taught about wasn't in a book. I could see it. 
> 
> So what did you think of this chapter. Not very fluffy or angsty really. Angsty? I don't think that is a word haha. Oh well, you get what I mean. Still a chapter that I liked though. There is still more to the burrow talk in the next chapter. 
> 
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	52. The Power of Love??

            “I am impressed that you managed to get Zonko’s to sell his shop at such a low price.” Lucius said after some time.

            Draco smiled at the praise. That wasn’t something his father had ever really given before. “Despite the many flaws you seemed to have pointed out in my character.” Draco winced, he had forgotten the brutal honesty that he had used when describing his father. He opened his mouth to apologize or to just say _something_.

            Lucius held up his hand. “Don’t even bother.” Draco squinted his eyes trying to figure out if his father was angry with him.

            “ _Some_ of what you said may have rang up on the truthful side.” Lucius wasn’t about to admit how close his son’s opinions were true. Did it hurt? Definitely. But it didn’t make it any less right. It was a nasty surprise to see what his son thought of him and it did hurt but he had definitely heard worse things before. His son had defended him too… sort of.

            Draco was surprised at the admission. His father was admitting his faults? Was this a trick? Or a dream? He didn’t even know that his father knew how to admit when he was wrong let alone admit flaws to his character. Draco knew that the statement didn’t require a retort. It wasn’t a conversation, his father was just saying it. It gave him a lot to think about for sure.

            Severus was mildly surprised that Lucius could even own up to his faults but he was guiltier at Draco’s admission of the things he had gone through due to The Dark Lord. “I apologize for not being there for you more. Perhaps if I had then you wouldn’t have felt the need to become a deatheater.” Things during that time were quite hectic but he should have done more to convince The Dark Lord that having Draco as a deatheater would have been a bad idea. Or perhaps just gotten Narcissa and Draco somewhere safe so that his godson wouldn’t have been forced into being a deatheater.

            Draco sighed. “Uncle Sev it wasn’t like that. You don’t need to apologize. I have made peace with my choices. I would do it all over again if I had to. Becoming a deatheater was the worst decision I have ever made but I am okay with it. Do I wish things could have turned out differently? Definitely. Would I change them if I could? No. Sometimes things happen in life that are just out of your control. You can either get with it or spend the rest of your life regretting things that you will never be able to change. I choose to move on with my life. So please don’t feel bad for the way my life has turned out. Because despite the hard moments, my life had led me to the happiness that I now have.”

            Severus for the first time today really grasped the concept that Draco had lived three lives. There was a profound attitude to him that went past his 18 years. It was hard to just let it go though. No 18-year-old should’ve had to live through what Draco had. He couldn’t understand how Draco was able to let it all go. “How?” Severus questioned. “How are you able to just let it all go?”

            Draco smiled softly and raised his arms up over his head to wrap them around the bit of Harry that he could reach. “Harry. I would do _anything_ as long as the end result brought me him. There is nothing that I wouldn’t do for him. So living through what I did was shite, no denying that. But a harsh life is just a small price to pay for the eternal happiness that Harry brings me. There is no use in wallowing over the past when I can focus on the happy future that I know is before me.”

            Harry held Draco tighter to him and smiled sappily. Oh goodness this man was his whole world. Harry nuzzled the side of Draco’s head and leaned in to whisper, “I love you.”

            Draco’s smile lit up his face. “Oh I love you too.” He said with a happy sigh.

            Pansy and Narcissa sighed and stared at them with a hint of adoration.   

            “So now that the guilt and love admissions are out of the way.” Draco said with a smirk as Severus rolled his eyes. “Let’s continue on with the conversation.”

            “I would like to thank you for sticking up for me.” Pansy said with a grin. She could care less that Granger had insulted her. Granger’s opinion meant nothing to her whatsoever. But she loved that Harry felt the need to stick up for her. She honestly had the best friends out there.

            Harry furrowed his brows. “Why wouldn’t I? You are one of my best friends. I wasn’t about to let her say anything about you. She doesn’t even know you like I do.”

            Pansy’s heart melted. Harry was just too naively sweet for his own good.

            “I am with Harry on never setting foot into the store if you two have now joined forces with Fred and George.” Remus told Pansy and Blaise with an amused smile.

            The quartet took that as a great compliment. Fred and George puffed out their chests in pride.

            “That means we are doing the right thing if parents aren’t willing to enter the store.” George said with a wicked smirk.

            “I wouldn’t have entered the store before they became your business partners.” Lucius dryly added causing the smirks to widen.

            Fred started fanning his face rapidly. “Oh the compliments go straight to my heart. Who knew you were such the flatterer? I see why he stole your heart Narcissa, you lucky girl.” Everyone started snickering at the look on Lucius’s face.

            Lucius shook his head and wondered not for the first time why he puts up with them. Surely his sanity would be improved without them. Narcissa grinned and wrapped her arm around one of Lucius’s.

            “Was there anything else that caught your interest at dinner?” Harry wondered. Talking about it wasn’t as bad as he thought it would be, he knew it was because of the company he keeps. His family was wonderful and he loved that they could talk about any crazy issue and things would be okay.

            “I am floored at the way that your sister acted.” Blaise said with a shake of his head. He hadn’t known the youngest Weasley at all. Just occasionally in the halls and the Slug Club. But she seemed a little… crazy in that memory.

            “She seemed rather attached to you Harry.” Narcissa said with a little frown. She vaguely remembered hearing that the two of them had once dated but that had been a while ago.

            Draco was surprised that he wasn’t jealous of the statement. He thought he would be but at the same time, there was nothing to be jealous of. He was the one who had Harry’s love and he was the one who was going to get to marry Harry.

            Lucius snorted. “No. She was attached to the _idea_ of Harry. His name and his fame is what she was after.” He said with a shake of his head. During his time as a politician he had come across quite a few girls like that. They would spend their time hunting for the title that they would carry once wed. It had nothing to do with the character of the person or even if they loved them. It was just a marriage to a well-known name that attracted them. To be fair it wasn’t just women who behaved like that either. He had come across a couple gentlemen doing the same thing.

            Fred and George shifted in their seats a little uncomfortably. Part of it was because they were talking about their family like that but also because they had never realized how true Lucius’s statement was. Had Ginny even really cared for Harry? Or was it a combination of love and the love of Harry’s name?

            Harry didn’t like the sound of that. He hoped that she had liked him for more than just his name. Otherwise that was just cruel. But at the same time, he didn’t really care what her interests in him had been. Draco was his life now and it honestly didn’t matter what had happened between him and Ginny since he had moved past all of that. If she was hung up on the idea of his fame, then she was going to be disappointed for a long time. Because he was with Draco and nothing was going to change that.

            “She wasn’t the only one that was clinging to the idea of you either.” Severus pointed out. “Molly wanted you as a son in-law so badly that she was willing to offer up Charles in the process.” He said in disgust. To him that was despicable. Why would she have been that desperate to get Harry into the family? He was already considered one of her kids, what did a formal title matter any? Was it a form of bragging rights?

            Lucius shifted a little in his seat. It wouldn’t be right to condemn her poor choice of wording when that is what most purebloods do. They offer their children into arranged marriages without the children’s consent. This situation was a little differently but the idea was the same. To Molly, it wasn’t that much of an outrageous thing to do. Lucius himself had wanted to find a suitable wife for Draco when his son was still a child but Narcissa put her foot down and said no. It was always a recurring issue between them. He wanted his son’s future to be taken care of but Narcissa didn’t want Draco to find love that way. She wanted it to be of his own choosing. Something that neither of them had ever been given. Luckily, they had fallen in love with one another when they were younger so the marriage wasn’t that big of a deal. He had been betrothed to Narcissa since he was eight years old. He had always known who he was going to be married to and when. It did take the romance out of things. There was no courting, there were no dates, there was no choice in the matter.

            He was quite grateful that he had let Narcissa have her way. Draco belonged with Harry and it wouldn’t have mattered in the end. Contracts are broken when you take account of soulmates anyways.    

            Draco scowled at the remembrance. That had been most unpleasant to him. He was sitting right there and the woman didn’t even have the decency to pretend otherwise. Brutal honesty though, at least he had to give her that much.

            “I never even knew that Charlie was into men. Not that if I had, it would have mattered. He is like a brother to me. Not my type. I go for snarky, moody blond bombshells.” Harry said grinning at the way Draco’s cheeks pinked up slightly.

            Draco hit the tops of Harry’s hands. “Harry.” He admonished but he couldn’t stop the please grin from forming on his face as everyone else chuckled.   

            “I am happy that Charlie is getting married though.” Remus said with a gentle smile. “He told me about Demetrius a couple years back but things were just new then.”

            Fred and George shared affronted looks. “He told you about Demetrius but not us?” George said with a frown. Both brothers couldn’t understand why they hadn’t been told of this. Remus knew about it for years but they had just found out recently? Sure, they weren’t the closest to Charlie but a relationship is pretty big news. That should have been mentioned at some point.

            “What you have to understand is that when Charlie first talked me about his relationship he was having a hard time coming to grips with the prejudice that Demetrius faces. As Demetrius’s partner, Charlie wanted to make a big deal and defend his honor and it was causing issue with their relationship. Since I am a magical creature he asked me for advice. He wasn’t telling me because we are close or really good friends.”

            The twins considered that. It did make sense, they don’t know any other magical creatures besides Hagrid that Charlie could have gone to for advice like that. There was Fleur but they weren’t sure if Charlie knew her then.

            “How come he never talked to us though?” Fred asked still a little hurt.

            Remus shrugged his shoulders. “I have no idea. I do know that he had approached your mother and told her about his relationship and that did not go well. So perhaps he was worried about what the rest of the family would say. You will have to ask him that.”

            Fred and George winced when they tried picturing how that conversation had gone. Charlie had probably been all excited to tell their parents about his new relationship and how happy he was, only to be let down by prejudice and misguided notions. After a talk like that he probably was wary about telling the rest of the family.

            “I can’t wait to meet Demetrius.” Harry said with a smile. “I bet the two of them are really adorable.”

            “We can invite them to the wedding.” Draco offered. “I am sure they will invite us to theirs.”

            Narcissa cleared her throat. “Speaking of the wedding. When are you two going to start planning for yours?” She was just itching to be involved in the wedding plans. She already had dozens of ideas just wafting in her head just waiting to be sketched out.

            Harry and Draco shared a look. “We want to get rid of the darkness first and then we want to get married before we take our N.E.W.T.S.” Draco explained.

            Severus furrowed his brows. “That is awfully optimistic that you think we can find a solution for the darkness in a month.”

            Harry huffed. “We know that it may take longer and if it does then Draco and I will just start studying for the exams by ourselves outside of school while we continue to search for ways to destroy the darkness.”

            “That sounds more reasonable.” Severus conceded. “I warn you though, if we do not find an adequate solution in a month I will only be of use to you on the weekends. I have one final year to finish before I can officially retire from teaching.” The tone of his voice revealed how interested he was in retiring. Harry thought that the children might jump for joy at the prospect of only one more year with the man as their teacher.

            “That’s alright. I am sure whatever help you can give will be enough.” Draco assured him. “What will you do after the year is over?”

            “I will focus on my potions. Possibly invent new ones or tweak existing ones.” Severus replied as his mind began thinking of the many ways he could do this. He was definitely ready to stop teaching and couldn’t wait for the year to be over with and it hadn’t even started yet. He was utterly sick of the sniveling brats and couldn’t wait to be rid of them all.

            Draco’s interest was piqued. “Oh yeah? Like what kind?” The excitement in his voice caused Harry to smile and Severus’s mouth to twitch.

            “Quite a few actually.” Severus began. Fred and George held up their hands.

            “I can already tell where this is going. Can you wait till after we all leave to nerd out over the different aspects of what makes a potion so great?” George begged.

            Harry, Draco and Severus all scoffed. “Nerd out?” Severus said in a low voice that had the twins shrinking slightly in their seats.

            “No offense was intended.” Fred quickly piped up. Remus had to hold in his laughter at the still offended expression on their faces.

            “I as well will only be of use on the weekends if it goes past a month.” Remus added so that the twins couldn’t say something else and effectively dig their graves deeper.    

            Harry turned to Remus curiously. “Are you a teacher at Hogwarts again?” Now Harry was thinking about reconsidering his plans. If Remus was going to be a teacher, he would love to be in his class again.

            “Sort of. Madam Pince’s son was injured in the battle and she is taking the year off to help take care of him and get him back on his feet. He lost a couple limbs. So I will be taking over her librarian duties till she comes back.” Remus explained.

            “She has a son?”

            “Someone _married_ her?”

            Harry and Draco said at the same time. Harry smacked Draco’s stomach lightly. “Draco! That is rude.” He admonished. The quartet burst into laughter.

            Draco smirked unrepentantly. “You have to admit that it comes as a surprise. She is so rude and obsessive over the books. If anything, I thought she was a spinster.”

            Remus shook his head. “Well you are wrong. Yes she is married and yes, she has a son. I am surprised you didn’t know that. He was in the same year as you guys.” Teddy started to get fussy so Draco passed the baby back to Remus.

            “What?” Harry, Draco, Pansy and Blaise said at the same time.

            Severus shook his head. “Marcus Pince. Ravenclaw. Captain of the Gobstones team. Ring any bells?” The four of them exchanged bewildered looks.

            “Well that’s why we don’t know him. Only losers join the Gobstones team.” Draco tried to explain. Harry smacked Draco’s stomach again.

            “Well he’s not wrong.” Fred and George said at the same time with identical grins. Harry huffed while everyone else started laughing.  

            “Marcus… Marcus…” Pansy repeated the name over and over trying to put a face to the name.

            “Is he the one that got caught smuggling banned books into Hogwarts during our fifth year?” Blaise wondered.

            Pansy made an irritated noise. “No that was Boot and Goldstein. The idiots thought that since they were books it would easily get past the detective charms.”

            Draco snorted. “Such a Ravenclaw thing to do. Smuggling books.” Harry did see the humor in that. He wondered if Hermione had ever thought about smuggling books.

            “Is he the one with the dark hair and pretty eyes?” Pansy asked Severus, who arched a brow to the question and sneered at her. George scoffed clearly offended.  

            “No that’s Corner.” Harry piped up. Draco leaned back to glare at Harry. “Excuse me?” He demanded.

            Harry shook his head. “Calm down love. Michael has nothing on you.”

            “Oh so it’s _Michael_ is it?” Draco sneered. Harry kissed the side of Draco’s head. “He was in Dumbledore’s Army. I don’t even think I have said more than a couple sentences to him. No need for jealousy. I am yours.” Draco’s nostrils flared with possessiveness at the simple statement. Yes, Harry was his. All his.

            Pansy rolled her eyes at the duo before looking back at Remus and Severus. “I can’t remember him at all. Are you sure there is a Marcus Pince?”

            Remus chuckled while Severus gave her an unimpressed expression. “I am positive. He is a quiet boy. During my teaching year, I noticed that he was alone a lot.” Severus nodded in agreement. The boy hadn’t grown out of that.

            The four shared another confused look before shaking their heads. “Nope. Doesn’t sound familiar.” Draco declared for the rest of the group. He wondered if he should feel bad that he had no recollection of someone in their year but he honestly couldn’t care.

            Harry furrowed his brows. “And you said that he was injured in the battle?” Remus and Severus nodded. The battle was chaotic so there was no way he would have been able to pick out a single person. He felt bad that he had no idea who the person was who had sacrificed so much in the battle.

            “Does she need help with anything?” Remus melted at Harry’s question. He was a little choked up that Harry was offering but yet he couldn’t even remember the boy.

            “No.” He said thickly. “Last I had heard a nonprofit agency that helps out the wounded offered their support. They should be okay.”

            Harry nodded along but in his head, he was already thinking about making a donation to this agency to help out. He would have dig around and find it first but that was alright.

            “You working in the library could come in handy.” Pansy said thinking about the translating and the runes work that Remus could work on.

            “Possibly. But I don’t think the library will have the information that I need. They are very old runes.” Remus reminded her gently.

            “We can help out when we can but we have a new store to think about in Hogsmede.” Fred said regretfully.

            Harry smiled at the twins. “That is alright. We will manage somehow.”

            Pansy and Blaise shifted. “If you guys aren’t going back to school then neither are we.” Blaise said.

            Draco started shaking his head. “No Draco.” Pansy said holding up a hand. “We want to help you out as much as possible and if that means just studying for exams on our own instead of in Hogwarts then that is alright with us.”                       

            “But what about the store? You guys are now partners with the twins.” Draco argued. He didn’t want to interfere with their lives.

            The quartet exchanged a look before shaking their heads. “We will still help out in the business but we had already made the plan to go back to school so Fred and George aren’t counting on our time till school is over.” Blaise explained.

            Draco was still unsure about this. He loved his friends, he really did. But he didn’t want to ask too much of them. Skipping out on school just to help them seemed like too much, not to mention they wouldn’t be putting the extra time to the business either.

            “Draco.” Pansy pleaded. “We want to help you both. If it was reversed you know that you would do the same. You guys are our best friends and any help that we can offer, we will.”

            Draco bit his lip in indecision. “Alright fine. But you can’t spend all your days with us. If you are going to study for exams outside of school, then you should also spend a couple days a week at the store.”

            Pansy and Blaise frowned and opened their mouths to argue. “No. I won’t have you just putting everything to the side for us. A couple days a week won’t hinder the research. We will manage just fine on those days. This way Fred and George get your help and so do we.” Draco reasoned.

            The twins shared a relieved look. They would have been just fine without Pansy and Blaise, considering they have done just fine without them all this time. But with the opening of another store to think about they would need more help. They could hire more people but they would rather have people they trusted looking after things. Even if they promoted Verity, they would need someone to cover her previous job. So even having Pansy and Blaise for a couple days a week would be a lot of help.

            “Alright.” Pansy and Blaise conceded after receiving nods from their partners.

            Lucius cleared his throat. “I think that we should discuss the main part of the memory. The darkness.”

            Harry winced when he remembered it taking him over. Draco entwined his fingers with Harry and sent him a wave of love.

            “It was scary.” Fred and George said at the same time.

            “I’ll say.” Pansy agreed. “Your eyes were black!” Blaise added with wide eyes.

            “Not to mention your voice.” Narcissa said with a shiver. That had been a very worrisome moment. While watching the memory, she had worried about what was going to happen, it was like she had forgotten that Harry was okay. But she was grateful that Draco had been able to bring him back. She wondered how he had managed to do that. Was it part of the bond? Or could anyone have been able to do that?

            Lucius hadn’t seen anything quite like that before. During the necromancy rituals that he had been forced to attend while in The Dark Lord’s servitude had been somewhat similar. The power the necromancer used was other worldly. The power wasn’t his own that he was tapping into. It was a dark power that would take over the body until the ritual was done. It wasn’t as sentient as this darkness seemed to be but it was the only thing that he could think of. He knew that Harry wasn’t using necromancer abilities but the darkness was just as dark as a necromancer. He exchanged a look with Severus and noticed that he as well came to the same conclusion.

            Severus was concerned. Before today, the darkness had seemed like a problem but now that it had taken over Harry’s body for a short time concerned him gravely. The situation had gone from just a problem to a colossal issue. Something that was sentient enough to take over needed to be taken care of immediately. Who knows how alive it was. Could it listen in and hear them trying to get rid of it? Or was that giving the darkness too much credit? What kind of resistance could something like that put up? How safe was it to be around Harry if the boy lost his emotions?

            Dumbledore had told Remus about Voldemort taking over Harry’s body right after Sirius had died and that had scared him then. To think that something as dark and evil as Voldemort had been inside of Harry was disconcerting. But Harry had been able to expel Voldemort out of his body then. This darkness was still inside Harry and had been in his body for years. This was bad. Remus had been terrified seeing something else shining through Harry’s eyes. There was just this pure evil that had been radiating off him and it freaked him out. This darkness needed to get out of Harry… now.

            Harry fidgeted. “It was the anger. When she had insulted Draco like that for no reason it really pissed me off. The anger is the only way the darkness has a chance to come out. During the take over, I was fighting it. But the more that I struggled the harder it became.”

            Everyone was listening to Harry enamored with the dramatization of the event.

            “I could hear Draco and I wanted to focus on him but I didn’t want to put any emotions into the bond. So I just focused on the love that I had for Draco and the darkness recoiled. It couldn’t handle emotions like love. The anger and the struggling is what it fed off of. The angrier I am the happier the darkness is. So the more I concentrate on love, the easier it is to push the darkness away. It helped hearing how much Draco loved me as well. It made it easier for the bond to come back and shove the darkness away.”

            Lucius arched a brow. Was Harry insinuating that the answer to their problems was love? What kind of light mentality was this? If Harry hadn’t been the one to speak, Lucius would have sworn that Dumbledore would have been the one to say such nonsense. This was just like something that old man would have said.

            “Love.” Severus said with a sneer. “You want to get rid of the darkness with love?” He asked doubtfully. What kind of potions has Harry been inhaling? Had Dumbledore left behind a journal filled with whimsical nonsense that Harry has been reading? Because that sounded like just the kind of shite that was right up his alley.

            Harry sighed. That did sound rather silly. “Maybe not fully but I think that love plays an important part. Nothing was working on it until I thought of Draco so that must mean something.”

            “Maybe Draco is the key and not your love.” Narcissa said with a slight frown. She believed in love but not in the way that Harry was trying to use it as. Love was not some special way to cure the dark things in the world. That sounded like a mantra from the light side.

            Draco frowned. He wasn’t sure what the right answer here was but he wasn’t a big fan of love being the answer. It went against all of his teachings. But… the love that he and Harry was profound and it stayed alive through multiple lifetimes. Not to mention that it _was_ love that made Harry come back to him last night. Perhaps Harry was right and that it was love that was the key. He didn’t think his mother was right in suggesting that he was the key. That didn’t make sense to him at all. He shook his head. “I don’t think that I am the key. I think Harry could be right.”

            Lucius raised his brows. It was one thing for Harry to believe in silly things like that but for his son to think so too? He knew he taught Draco better than that.

            Draco could see the disbelief on his father’s face. “I am not saying that it makes sense. Because it doesn’t. It is just that the bond had been so wonky during the takeover. It was dark and disturbing. The bond had been mocking me, I could feel it. The darkness doesn’t like me or the bond that Harry and I share. Right before Harry had come back to me there was a burst of love between us and then all of a sudden, the bond was back to normal. If Harry used love to gain control, then maybe the final end game will be love too.”

            He could still see the skeptical looks and Draco sighed. “I am not suggesting that we do nothing and just hope that love cures it in the end. I still think we need to do more research and actually investigate things but don’t discount the love option either. It might just come down to a combination of both.”

            Harry sent Draco all the gratitude that he could through the bond. He knew that the love option sounded so out there but he really felt like it made a difference. It had made a difference that night at the Ministry when Voldemort had taken him over and it made a difference last night. The darkness couldn’t handle the love that he had for Draco and Harry knew that was why he had been able to gain control back. He was just happy that Draco recognized what he was trying to say and stood up to his family for him. That meant a lot to him.

            Draco patted the tops of Harry’s hands and sent him love in reply to the gratitude.

            “Speaking of love.” Narcissa said when a silence had broken out. “Harry you said that you loved us.” She gestured between herself and Lucius. “And that you are happy that we will be your in-laws.”

            Harry flushed a little when he remembered that he had said that. He nodded when the words he wanted to say failed him.

            Narcissa’s face softened. “We love you too Harry. We both do.” She assured him. Lucius nodded once but didn’t say anything. Stuff like this was his wife’s forte. “You know that you are already considered a part of the family and we are honored to have a son in-law like you. You are more than just that though. We both consider you a son and couldn’t be happier that you and Draco will spend the rest of your lives together.”

            Harry’s eyes filled with tears at her words. Draco slid off of Harry’s lap and sat down on the chair next to him so that Harry could get up. Harry rushed forward and enveloped Narcissa in a hug. “Thank you.” He whispered as he held on tightly.

            Lucius would deny it for the rest of his life, but he was pretty sure his heart had melted some as he watched the two of them. Before he could even let out a surprised huff of air, Harry was throwing him in a hug as well. “You are good man Lucius.” Harry whispered. “No matter what happened in the past, I want you to know that.” Lucius clenched his eyes shut and hugged Harry back with all the he could.

            Draco sighed happily as he watched his parents give Harry the attention that he needs. It was rather nice actually. This was something that he could get used to.

            Harry stepped away and looked at everyone else. He was a little embarrassed as he wiped his eyes. “Sorry.” He mumbled. Harry bit his lip as he looked to Remus. “Can I hug you too?”

            Remus handed Severus his son and snorted at the panicked look on the man’s face before he pulled Harry into a hug. “Always. You will always be able to have a hug. You are my cub.” Harry squeezed Remus tightly.

            Harry looked to everyone else. “I am feeling a tad emotional right now and I am going to hug you all.” Harry warned before he was all of a sudden surrounded by the quartet, who had stood as one to hug him. Harry laughed as he felt all the arms on him. “Guys! I can’t even tell who is who.” Harry’s muffled voice could be heard through the many limbs.

            The quartet laughed warmly before they ruffled his hair making it even more messy than usual. Harry looked to Severus who was now baby free and smiled widely at the trepidation that could be seen in his eyes. Harry didn’t even warn him before he just pulled him up into a hug. “I will get you used to hugs one day.” Harry warned him with a cheeky grin.

            “That is what I am afraid of.” Severus said dryly. Harry chuckled and let Severus back away from the hug.

            When Harry turned around, he saw Draco with his arms open. Harry smiled contently as he sat down in Draco’s lap and wrapped his arms around his blond. This was the best type of hug there is.

            The group spent a good portion of the day just talking and goofing around, well the quartet did the goofing around. Sometimes they mentioned plans with the darkness or with the wedding. Other times they just took turns telling stories. Whether it be childhood stories or just stories that they themselves heard.

            Fred and George checked the time. “We have to go.” Harry pouted at them. He was enjoying the relaxing day they were having.

            Fred smiled softly at Harry. “Sorry Harry. But we have a lot of product to make and well… it should have been done yesterday but circumstances prevented that.” The twins refused to look at their partners or they would probably all laugh.

            Harry nodded in understanding. “Ah the dinner. Yes that did take a long time. Well hopefully you get them all completed.”

            George tried not to laugh. “Yes. The dinner is the reason we weren’t able to get any work done.” He could have sworn he heard Pansy snort.

            “We will help you.” Pansy and Blaise piped up. They felt a little bad that the prank war had gotten so out of hand yesterday. The least they could do was help, especially considering they were business partners now.

            Harry sighed but said goodbye to the quartet. “See you later! Have fun working!” Harry called after them till they disappeared through the floo. Harry pouted again when Remus stood up and started collecting his and Teddy’s things.

            Remus smiled at Harry’s face. “Sorry cub but I need to put this little guy to bed and take care of some things. But I will see you soon, alright?” Harry nodded but the pout stayed there until even after he said his goodbyes to the cranky Teddy and amused Remus.

            Harry turned to Severus. “You aren’t going anywhere are you?” He demanded. Severus arched a brow.

            “Would you like me to?” Harry shook his head rapidly. He wasn’t sure what the reason was but he wanted to spend as much time as he could with everyone.

            The remaining five members of the family spent the rest of the night just talking and having fun together. Harry and Draco had even managed to get Severus and Lucius play exploding snap with them while Narcissa watched with a fond smile.

            All in all it was a day spent well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. What did you guys think? 
> 
> I like this chapter because there was just a lot of easy flowing commentary and despite the darkness conversation at the end it was still an enjoyable discussion. 
> 
> I could have easily given Remus the Defense Against the Dark Arts position but I felt like that has been done a lot in other stories. It was predictable. I wanted something that was a little different. So that is where the idea of creating a son that Madam Pince would have to take care of came into the fold. I thought it was funny that they had no idea who he was, it was sort of a joke within itself considering he doesn't even technically exist since I created him. 
> 
> Sorry to any Gobstones lovers out there but let's face it, it is definitely the club that gets mentioned the least in the books. Plus, it's Draco here, he is of course going to be a tad snooty. 
> 
> I loved that Pansy and Blaise decided not to go back if Harry and Draco weren't. But honestly, was anyone surprised by that? I wasn't. They are loyal friends. 
> 
> Now Dumbledore was always saying that Harry's greatest power was love. I myself find that to be such a whimsical statement. So I can definitely see why they reacted the way that they did to Harry's theory. But at the same time, Harry did get rid of Voldemort with the love and pain he was feeling over Sirius. So there is some slight truth to the statement. It will take a whole lot more than love to get rid of the darkness though. 
> 
> Apologies, I am running about 15 minutes behind on posting the chapter. It took more editing than I thought it would. I was still adding tid bits when I noticed the time. 
> 
> Hopefully you all enjoyed this chapter. :)
> 
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	53. Dragon Reservation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright guys I wanted to showcase a little bit of the life that Charlie has. I promise you that this will be the last chapter for a while that isn't directly involving Harry and Draco somehow. I know that I have had a few chapters that were about side characters so if that bothers you then sorry... oh well. *Shrugs*

            Charlie exited the international floo with a colossal sigh. There had been a delay when he left the burrow and landed in the international floo terminal. There had been a maintenance issue on several of the fireplaces and they told him it would be well into the middle of the night by the time that he was finished. He ended up just staying the night at the nearest inn for the night instead of waiting at the terminal. They had assured him that the terminals would be up to working order in the morning. It had been a hassle to even get the time off to come home so it would be a long day by the time work call came around. He could have apparated but long distance apparations leave him disoriented for days and he had to be to work later in the day. Portkeys were out because he would’ve had to request the use of an international portkey at least three days in advance and he didn’t fancy getting caught with an illegal one.

            He apparated from the terminal straight to the front gates signifying that the land was now a ‘Enter at your own risk’ zone. Anti apparation spells had been placed inside the Dragon Reservation to prevent unwanted poachers from gaining access. It was still early in the day. He didn’t have to be at work for several hours, plenty of time for a quick nap. Charlie nodded to the security and then had to do a double take.

            “Ivan what are you doing on guard duty? I thought it was Peter’s turn?” Every job on the reservation is done by Dragon Tamers, except for the infirmary. They don’t hire out to other types of employment. So everyone is on a rotation. There will be a couple days out of the month where you will have to take on other jobs, like being the guard on watch, tool duty or being a dragon feeder. The list goes on and on.

            Ivan grimaced slightly. He had hoped that he wouldn’t be on duty when Charlie came back. “He was but Peter had to take over Demetrius’s shift on cleaning out the tool sheds.” The less magic that is used on the tools they use to groom out the nursing dragons the better. Magic can be volatile to baby dragons.

            Charlie furrowed his brows in confusion. “Demetrius shouldn’t be on tool duty for a couple of days. He should’ve been working on taming the Ukrainian Ironbelly that we got in last week.” What a right nasty dragon she was too. Gorgeous in color, midnight black with blue underlays to her hide but the temper on her makes a Hungarian Horntail look like a puppy. Charlie sure didn’t envy Demetrius and the rest of the crew on taming her down a couple notches.

            Charlie raised a brow when Ivan looked down at his feet. Curious. Ivan wasn’t typically meek. What had gotten into him?

            “The Director’s assistant of the Romanian Ministry stopped by to do the yearly inspection of our facility.” Ivan stopped hoping that was enough of an explanation.

            Charlie scrunched up his nose. What was with the lack of details? “The younger guy with all the pimples?” He probably should have felt bad about his description but Charlie honestly couldn’t remember the kids name. All he knew was the kid had gotten selected straight out of school and had no idea what he was doing.

            “No, Anton is the assistant to the Director’s assistant. I am talking about Silvia.” When Charlie still looked confused, Ivan sighed. “Older lady with the funny looking beehive hair style. Her hair is grey but insists that she charms it that color.”

            Charlie squinted trying to place the woman. A couple years back he might have met someone that looked like that. The yearly inspections are just that, yearly. He doesn’t go to the Romanian Ministry so he wouldn’t run into anyone there. “I think I remember her. Wasn’t she the lady that tried to get us to sign that Werewolf petition two years ago?” Charlie asked with a frown. The petition had been for a new law that some members of the Ministry were rooting for. The law would have made it possible to deny werewolves the right to equal pay. Luckily the petition got denied when it went to the higher ups in the Romanian Ministry.

            Charlie didn’t like that lady. Every time she comes through she is always spouting nonsense about Creature rights. His stomach plummeted and he narrowed his eyes.

            “What did she do?” Ivan flinched at the anger in Charlie’s tone. This was why he had been hoping to not be on duty today. The redhead was always a nice guy unless someone messed with Demetrius or the Dragons. Then he became as fiery as his hair.   

            “The inspection was going fine and she hadn’t said a single word against anything… until she came to the outer edge.” Charlie growled in his throat. The outer edge is where they house the new dragons to the reservation until they are ready to be let loose into the population with the other dragons. Which is where Demetrius would have been leading the crew.

            “She said a lot of degrading things to Demetrius and even complained to Bogdan afterwards. I don’t know what was said to Bogdan but all I know is that he had Demetrius switch duties with Cornell.”

            Charlie was furious that Bogdan had caved to the stupid wench’s complaints. Demetrius shouldn’t have to take on the prejudice of other people. And where was Bogdan’s backbone? He was the Reservation Manager for crying out loud.  

            “Hold up. You said that Peter was taking over Demetrius’s shift on tool duty but why was that needed?” Charlie wanted to rush over to Bogdan and demand an explanation but this wasn’t his battle. He just hoped that Demetrius put up a hell of a fight. But knowing his fiancé that was pretty doubtful.

            Ivan winced again and Charlie’s heart sunk. What else could have gone wrong? “Sandoval is crew leader for that section this week.”

            Charlie swore and kicked the gate as hard as he could. “You have got to be fucking kidding me.” Charlie took several deep breaths in and out. Last month Demetrius filed a complaint to management about Sandoval. It had been a long time coming. Charlie had tried talking Demetrius into filing six months ago when the stupid bitch started using prejudiced slurs against Demetrius. But his fiancé was determined to not cause conflict in the reservation. But after six months of the constant verbal abuse, Demetrius had finally had enough. Charlie is sure that there was a lot that his lover didn’t tell him that the girl said and that worried him. How could someone so wonderful and sweet be able to put up with that? If it had been him who had to put up with the taunts he would have hexed her till she learned to keep her mouth shut. But Demetrius didn’t want him involved. Charlie could understand that to a certain degree. He really could but the way Demetrius acted, it was almost like his lover felt like he deserved it. And that couldn’t be the furthest thing from the truth.

            “Why? Why would Bogdan put Demetrius under her command?” Charlie demanded to know. Let’s put the person who is being harassed under the command of the person doing it, yeah that sure made a lot of sense.

            Ivan shuffled uncomfortably. He didn’t agree with the way things were ran but what could you do? He personally got a long great with Demetrius. He thought the guy was down to earth and funny when you got to know him.

            “I have no idea. I wasn’t privy to that knowledge. All I do know is that about an hour after the switch was made Demetrius stormed off and abandoned his post and that is why Peter was called in to cover his job and why I volunteered to cover guard duty.”

            Charlie froze. Demetrius just walked out? That didn’t sound like him. This was someone who could take the most degrading comments without even a flinch, what could Sandoval have said to make him just walk out?

            “I got to go.” Charlie said quickly without even looking back. He took off at a brisk jog not paying attention to anything or anyone. Demetrius was his main concern. On his way to their shared cabin he came across the tool station and noticed that Sandoval was busy organizing the station. He checked around the area to make sure no one was watching before sending her a tripping jinx that sent her tumbling into the racks of tools that had a domino effect knocking over all of the other shelves as well. It was a little petty but he was thrilled with the fact that she couldn’t use magic on the tools so she would have to clean the mess up by hand. He got out of there before anyone could see him.

            Charlie took a calming breath when he stopped right in front of their cabin. He pushed the door open and entered slowly. He really hoped that Demetrius was okay. He took off his shoes and coat and made his way in. He stopped when he noticed that Demetrius was sitting at the kitchen table. His lover always took Charlie’s breath away with his rugged good looks. Demetrius was taller than him by at least half a foot, dark caramel skin with gorgeous teal eyes and shoulder length brown hair that he loved to sink his fingers into.

            Demetrius looked up and noticed Charlie in the room and smiled softly. He didn’t want to think about his shitty day or about his messed up life. He just wanted to think about Charlie and the life that they will build together.

            Demetrius pointed the spoon he was using to drown his sorrows in sugary goodness at his lover. “Did you know that eating your feelings away _can_ be healthy?” Charlie raised a disbelieving eyebrow. “It is totally healthy… as long as you don’t think about it.” Demetrius added as he put his finger to the side of his temple and tapped his head.

            Charlie snorted and sat at the table across from him. He took in the discarded tubs of ice cream in curiosity. “How many of these have you eaten?”

            Demetrius shook his head. “Char if I counted them then that would be thinking about it and then I would have to admit that I am being unhealthy. But I will say that this is my favorite flavor by far. Cinnamon Swirl.”

            “That sounds gross Demetri.” Charlie said with a wrinkled nose. His statement earned him a fond smile and Charlie grinned. “I missed you.” Charlie said with a sigh.

            Demetrius’s smile grew as he set the ice cream down. “I missed you too my love. Now tell me about your trip.”

            “I think we should-” Demetrius held up a hand interrupting Charlie.

            “No. I don’t want to talk about it yet. I know someone told you about it. I can see it clearly on your face. Just indulge me for a moment and talk about England, okay?” He begged.

            Charlie melted. He couldn’t deny Demetrius anything. “Well… it was… er… interesting.” Demetrius raised his brows. Oh dinner sounds like it was entertaining. Charlie was usually always very eloquent. So for him to be at a loss for words piqued his interest. He picked his ice cream back up and gave a look for Charlie to continue.

            “I want you to go to a wedding with me.” Charlie said suddenly. He didn’t demand it because if Demetri didn’t want to go then he wouldn’t force the issue. Demetrius thought that this was an odd way to start a story. He wondered who in the Weasley family was getting married.

            “Only if there is food.” Demetrius countered seriously. If he was going to spend time with his soon to be mother in-law who already didn’t like him then he would need something to distract himself. And why not his second favorite thing in the world being that distraction? Charlie being the first, obviously.

            Charlie snorted loudly ignoring the pout that Demetrius was sending him. “I am sure there will be food.” He said in an attempt to soothe his ruffled feathers.

            “Who is getting married? One of your younger brothers? Or your younger sister?”

            “Harry is the one getting married.” Charlie declared. Demetrius hummed as he swallowed his bite of dessert. “To your sister? How dreadfully boring.”

            Charlie laughed and shook his head. “Oh no. Not to my sister.”

            “Oo the plot thickens. Tell me more.” Demetrius said intrigued. He could have sworn that Charlie had last said that Harry was with his little sister. Demetrius had heard a lot from Charlie about Harry Potter. At first he thought that Charlie had been trying to impress him when he said that his family was friends with the famous boy. But Charlie wasn’t that type of person. Even out here in Romania, Harry Potter was famous. Perhaps not to the same magnitude as England but that was neither here nor there. When Charlie had told him about his little sister being obsessed with Harry as a child, Demetrius had found that a little concerning. That did not sound like a great start to a relationship but he kept his opinions to himself. To be fair, he had never met either one of them so his thoughts held no significance.             

            “He is marrying Draco Malfoy.” Charlie said with a grin. It was still a little hard to believe that Harry was going to marry into the Malfoy family. But he thought it was a great match, especially after getting to know Draco a little more.

            Demetrius frowned trying to place the name. “Malfoy… Malfoy…” He was growing frustrated, it was on the tip of his tongue but it just wasn’t coming. “Wait! Isn’t that the family that has a feud with you guys?” He asked with wide eyes.

            Charlie nodded his head with a laugh. “Yes. The one and the same.”

            Demetrius put down his ice cream and leaned his head on his hands. This conversation was more fascinating than the ice cream. Hard thing to accomplish. “This is like the muggle version of Romeo and Juliet. Harry Potter slash Weasley by default, is in love with the bitter enemy, the evil Malfoys. Can their love withstand the drama of their warring families? Or will it all crash and burn in suicide?” His voice had gone deep as he pretended to be an announcer. “I like it. This is the stuff that makes a good novel.” Demetrius said with a grin.

            Charlie shook his head but he was smiling. “How did everyone take it?” Demetrius wondered. From the information that his lover told him about the family, he knew that the Weasleys must have pitched a fit.

            “The twins, Bill and Fleur already knew.” Demetrius raised a brow. “Oo secret communications to select members of the family? How sneaky. I like them already.” Charlie laughed at the easy way that Demetrius could get lost in a story.

            “Everyone else took it pretty hard.” Demetrius snorted. He could just imagine the reaction of Charlie's sister. He was bummed that he missed the blow up.

            “They are really good for each other.” Charlie said with a little sigh as he remembered their relationship. Another pang of longing filled him for his own soulmate.

            Demetrius furrowed his brows in confusion. He could detect something off in Charlie’s voice. Why was Harry’s relationship getting a reaction like that?

            Charlie shook his head hoping to clear the residual longing. “They are doing an _in perpetuum simul_ ceremony.”

            Demetrius was thankful that he had already set aside the ice cream or he worried that he would have choked on it. As it was he choked on his own tongue. “You are being serious?” His tone was full of disbelief and awe. Goodness, what would possess them to want to do that ritual.

            “Oh yeah. I saw the torque for myself.” Charlie told him with a little awe in his own voice. It wasn’t necessarily over their engagement but more over the thought of being tied to your soulmate for the rest of their life and any other lives. He wanted that badly.

            “Woah…” Demetrius trailed off. This was blowing his mind. No one performed rituals like that anymore. No one. He couldn’t understand why they wouldn’t just want to do a normal ceremony. They would have to know what the ceremony did, so why would they want that? Why would they want to tie themselves together forever? Love in this lifetime didn’t mean that you would love them in the next. Was age the reason they were doing it? Young love and all that. He looked up to see Charlie not meeting his gaze and he grew suspicious.

            “You know why they are performing that ceremony don’t you?” It was more of a statement than it was a question. Demetrius could see the way Charlie was shifting in his seat.

            Charlie sighed and cursed his poor poker face. Hiding anything from Demetrius was impossible. “Yes. But I don’t have their permission to tell you. It is definitely something that shouldn’t be announced without consent.”

            Demetrius frowned. Well that was just odd. What was Charlie on about? He could understand respecting people’s privacy by not speaking about them. That was just a Charlie thing that he adored. Manners. That wasn’t something people had these days anymore. So Charlie not wanting to talk about it without Harry’s approval was understandable. But what was with the declaration? What did he mean that it shouldn’t be something that is announced without consent? That implied that it was something that other people would either freak out about or something that would attract attention. But what in the world did the ceremony have to do with it? There was something that just wasn’t adding up. He felt like it was obvious, that it was staring him in the face and he just couldn’t name it.

            Charlie could practically see the gears working on overdrive in Demetrius’s brain trying to figure it out. Demetrius had always been the more intelligent one between the two of them. “Let’s continue on.” Charlie quickly piped up.

            Demetrius narrowed his eyes. “Hold up.” Charlie sighed heavily. “I won’t make you say anything, I just want to think on this some more.” Demetrius assured him. “It is intriguing me. First the Romeo and Juliet similarities and now this.” Charlie looked away and twiddled with his thumbs which caused Demetrius to furrow his brows. Had he said something? All he mentioned was Romeo and Juliet…

            Demetrius froze in his seat as his mind played over the possibilities. He had mentioned the muggle version and how it fit the scenario but what if it wasn’t the muggle version that was really what was going on? What if it was the wizard version? … soulmates. That could be the only plausible reason he could understand why anyone would want to do the _in perpetuum simul_ ceremony _._ Oh what he wouldn’t give to have his soulmate. Just the word sent such longing through him that he had to grit his teeth. He loved Charlie with every single thing inside him but he yearned for his other half. The incubus nature inside him was crying out in pain and longing for the one that would complete him.

            “You are shitting me.” Demetrius breathed out in wonder. Charlie winced. He knew he should have just changed the subject. Charlie wasn’t going to confirm or deny the statement. If Demetri had come to the correct conclusion, then he didn’t need Charlie to say anything anyways. He was going to do the right thing for Harry. He wasn’t going to tell anyone.

            Demetrius smiled at how stubborn Charlie was but that was one of the many things that he loved about his redhead. “I bet your mum came around in the end then if that knowledge came out.”

            Charlie snorted darkly. “Mum doesn’t know. And she never came around. She alienated them both and they stormed out of the house. Harry won’t be coming back.” The last bit was said in sadness. Charlie really wished that dinner would have gone a lot better. That was not what he had been expecting for last night’s dinner. 

            Demetrius reached over and grabbed Charlie’s hand. “I’m sorry Char.” Charlie smiled and rubbed his thumb across Demetrius’s hand.

            “It’s alright. Harry knows that I will be here for him if he ever needs something. He said that he wanted to meet you. Draco did as well.” Demetrius perked up.

            “You told them about me?” Charlie could hear the excitement in his voice and he smiled widely. “I sure did. Told them about our engagement and everything.”

            Demetrius winced as he pictured how that could have turned out. “Did it… um, did it go well?” Demetrius was worried about how his family would have taken the news. He knew that Charlie’s mother wasn’t pleased when they had first started dating but he had hoped that as the years went by that she would come around to the idea.

            Charlie frowned slightly. “My mother handled the news just as we feared she would.” Charlie watched Demetrius’s face fall and his heart broke some

            “But everyone else was happy for us.” Charlie purposefully left out Ron’s disgust in the statement. It wasn’t exactly a lie, right?

            Demetrius peered up at Charlie with such hopeful eyes that Charlie swore his heart skipped a beat. “Yeah?” Demetrius whispered.

            Charlie nodded vehemently. “You want to know something really amazing that happened?” Demetrius nodded his head but didn’t say anything. He was doubting that anything good happened at dinner but he would play along.

            “Harry didn’t know anything about Incubi and while me and my mum were… er discussing things..” Demetrius smiled fondly when he realized that meant arguing. “Draco was giving Harry a history lesson on Incubi and Succubae.” Demetrius heart started beating faster. This didn’t sound like good news. There wasn’t much that Charlie ever really spoke about the Malfoy’s but he did say how prejudiced they were. But he took that with a grain of salt considering how prejudiced Charlie’s mum was.

            “And he told Harry that there was absolutely nothing wrong with being part Incubus. He said that even if you had been a full-blooded Incubus that there would still be nothing wrong with that. You can’t be blamed for who you are. He said that there is no difference in you or me and that just because you have creature blood inside of you doesn’t mean that you are danger to anyone.”

            Demetrius closed his eyes and gripped Charlie’s hand tightly. That was exactly what he had needed to hear, especially after the day that he has had. Someone that never even met him defended his rights. Someone that came from a prejudiced family had seen through the injustice that most people will never see.

            “He really said that?” Demetrius asked thickly with his eyes closed. Oh he wished everyone thought like that. How he wished that he could walk into work without the sneering faces and the disgust on their faces.

            The reservation wasn’t that bad. Not too many people who openly despise him. He had been here ten years and only had a handful of issues with people. He had friends in the beginning, all new comers just like him who went through the training together. Even had a lover… until he disclosed his creature inheritance and then it all went to hell. His then lover, told the whole reservation and publicly dumped him. If that hadn’t been embarrassing enough, a bunch of people compiled complaints against him for being a ‘sexual deviant’ creature that wanted their ‘innocence.’ Right. Like he would touch any of them with a ten-foot pole. Luckily for him the complaints went against Romanian Magical Creature Act of 1962 and there wasn’t a damn thing that they could request of him. He had the right to work here just as they did. Of course management found other ways to keep him down. He was never up for promotions. Never up for a pay raise and never given the option to move up. People come and go in their line of work. Usually in tragic accidents or death, so keeping people around is difficult. You would think that since he had been around for quite a long time that he would be an obvious choice for promotion… nope. He had to watch as brand new tamers fresh out of training got selected before him. Watched as those newly promoted eventually left. But not him, he was still here and still doing a damn good job but did it matter? No. He was a ‘sexual deviant’ so what did it matter what he thought? What did it matter if he was promoted? Who cared what happened to him.  

     Dragon taming had been what he wanted to do since he was a little kid. His father used to read him stories about all the different types of Dragons before he would go to bed… until his father had been killed for being a monster. He can still remember the day that he waited and waited for his father to come home from work but the sky darkened and his stomach rumbled and his father was a no show. It was three days before he got the nerve to ask his neighbors for help. His neighbors were cruel to him and his father had always warned him not to go to them unless the situation was dire. Three days without his father and three days of eating only things that a five-year-old can manage to reach had been about as dire as he could stand. After trying three different houses he finally got a really old grumpy lady to not slam the door in his face. She ended up getting the Magical Law Enforcement down to investigate and he was informed that his father had died. They didn’t allow him to take any of his possessions before they carted him off to the nearest orphanage and he spent his childhood growing up as the only child never to get adopted. Magical children don’t stay long inside orphanages. People are always willing to open their homes and their hearts to children in need. The wizarding world needs all the wizards they can get so they never turn any down… unless you are monster. Unless you are incapable of being loved or wanted.

            The caretakers weren’t always cruel. The older he got the less the insults would happen. He spent his time reading and studying. He drowned himself in the knowledge of books. Inside books there is no one to tell you that you aren’t worth it. Books won’t tell you that you are a monster. Books won’t judge you. Books won’t sneer insults at you or treat you like you aren’t even human. Books nearly always have a happy ending. The prince always gets the princess or prince in some cases. Or if he was in the mood for non-fictional it was always about Dragons. There isn’t much that he can remember about his father anymore but he can remember that his father loved him. His father used to tell him that there was nothing wrong with being a magical creature. That there was nothing wrong with who he was and that being an incubus was okay. He used to ask his father what happened to his mother and his father would always get a sad look on his face and tell him that she was up in the sky flying with angels and protecting him. His father would tell him that his mother loved him and that even she thought it was okay to be a magical creature. 

            But his father lied. It wasn’t okay. Being a magical creature was wrong. People look down upon you for just existing. His father lied. His mother wasn’t even dead. She just didn’t want him. He had tried to find out more information on how his father had died when he came across his birth records and discovered that his mother was still alive. He had been crushed. Why had his father lied to him? Why would he keep something like this from him? He had searched her out only to be shown the door. His mother laughed in his face when he told her about his father’s passing. She had already known. She had been told as soon as it happened because she was listed as his next of kin. While he had been drowning in hunger and confusion as a scared five-year-old, his mother had known and left him there. She knew he would go to an orphanage and she was happy. Pleased even. She told him that his father hadn’t told her that he was a magical creature till _after_ the wedding and she was already pregnant. She had thought about getting rid of him while he was in her stomach, she hadn’t wanted a monster growing inside her. She didn’t want the taint but his father had threatened to go to the Ministry if she did. So she carried him to full term and handed him off to live with his father and never looked back. She told Demetrius that she hadn’t wanted anything to do with him as a baby and she didn’t want anything to do with him now.

            That had been the single worst thing that he had ever gone through. What was it about him that made him unlovable? Why was his creature blood so bad? Why was he a monster? Why? There were many days where he wished that his mother had just gotten rid of the pregnancy so that it would have saved everyone else from his presence. He had debated over the ethical aspects of his father not telling his mother till after the wedding. He personally would never be able to do that to a person. It was taking away their right to know. Besides, if they had a problem with part creatures then that was obviously someone that he didn’t need to be with in the first place. Which is why he had told his first lover as soon as things had settled. Look at how that backfired. Demetrius had resigned himself to live a life of solitude after that.

            Demetrius had been here three years before Charlie arrived. Three miserable fucking years. He can still remember how enthusiastic Charlie was upon completing training. The redhead looked at the Dragons the same way he used to look at his father during the bedtime stories. Demetrius knew right away that they would get along. And they did. They became fast friends, Demetrius taught Charlie the ropes and even many tricks to the trade. Charlie was honestly his first ever actual friend. Not an acquaintance or just someone to talk to at work. Charlie was his best friend and he cherished that.

            He can still remember the day that one of their coworkers sneered at Charlie and told him that Demetrius was an incubus and not worth his time. Demetrius had been scared that he would lose the only person that treated him like an actual person but Charlie had squared his shoulders and told the person that if he was going to be a judgmental prick that he could fuck off. The surprise must have shown on his face because Charlie had looked at him and said, ‘Demetri I don’t care about any magical inheritance. There is nothing wrong with who you are. Besides, I think I am rather partial to Incubi now.’ Demetrius had never wanted to kiss someone as badly as he had that day. But he held back his urges. He didn’t want to scare Charlie away by ruining their friendship.

            Being in love with your best friend sucks balls. Every single thing that Charlie did would make him fall in love harder. From the way that he made his tea to the way that he always ran his fingers through his hair. There wasn’t a single thing that Charlie did that Demetrius didn’t like. He pined after Charlie for _years._ Five years to be exact. Five years of wishing to be the one who got to wake up to Charlie's gorgeous face, five years of wishing to be the one who got to kiss those freckles that taunted him. Five years of moping quietly into thousands of tubs of ice cream. Ice cream is another of life’s wonders that won’t judge you. Ice cream and books are life.

            There were many times where he wondered what was holding him back. Why didn’t he just tell Charlie how he felt? He wanted to. He wanted that so bad but it was more than just not wanting to ruin their friendship. Demetrius has always faced caverns of self-loathing. He hated himself just as much as everyone else seemed to hate him. When you feel like you aren’t worth anything then how can you think that someone else could possibly love you? Most days he felt like he wasn’t even worthy of Charlie’s friendship, so there was no way that he would be okay with a relationship. Charlie’s personality was as bright as his hair, his loyalty was something that Demetrius had never come across. The way that Charlie saw life was beautiful, everything about Charlie was precious. How could someone like Charlie ever want someone as messed up as him?

            So he quashed all of the want and the yearning that he held for his best friend and maintained a platonic friendship until it all came crashing down when a new recruit had asked Charlie out. As surprising as that was, it was actually the first time in the five years that Charlie had been asked out. Everyone assumed that they were in a relationship and Demetrius had never corrected anyone when they brought it up. He had been with Charlie when the guy asked him out. Demetrius had never had his heart broken like that before. The thought of seeing Charlie with someone else tore him up. He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t stay and watch his best friend find that happiness when it was supposed to be him. He did a runner. Just booked it out of there without a goodbye. Demetrius had just ran with no destination in mind. Which had been rather unfortunate considering that losing concentration on a Dragon Reservation is dangerous. He had run straight into the path of a rampaging Hebridean Black. The last thing he had remembered was a claw raised to attack and a mouth of fire aimed straight at him.

            Demetrius had woken up in the infirmary on the reservation a day later with cracked ribs and a sensitive skull. Charlie had followed him when he ran and saved him from the Dragon just in time. He had made a rookie mistake by not paying attention and had been punished with a suspension and a pay deduction for three months. He knew he had Charlie to thank for just being alive but Charlie didn’t want to talk about that. He had brushed aside all gratitude and demanded to know why he had ran. He wanted to know what had gone wrong. Demetrius had tried to tell him that it was nothing and to just ignore it but Charlie wasn’t hearing it. He had actually growled and threw his hands in the air before snogging the daylights out of him. That kiss had been the highlight of his life. Charlie confessed to being in love with him and that is when the waterworks came out and he said screw his injuries and launched himself straight at the redhead. They have been together ever since and couldn’t be happier.

            Demetrius still had problems liking himself but every single day Charlie expresses just how much he is loved and cared for. Charlie shows him how much he means to him and over the years he has grown to love himself. He has grown to love the person in the mirror that he sees every day. Demetrius has learned to love himself in ways that he had never done before. Charlie gave him a small piece of humanity that he worried he would never be able to pay him back for. Charlie is the only good thing in his life. The only thing that makes getting up in the morning worth it. Charlie is the only ray of sun his shite life. Charlie is more than his partner. Charlie is his entire world, his lover and most importantly his best friend.

            They didn’t fight often and when they did they would make up pretty quickly. Most of their fights centered around the way that Demetrius tended to just take the shite that people would say to him instead of standing up for himself. But it wasn’t up to Charlie how he chose to handle things. It wasn’t Charlie who had to face their opinions and it wasn’t Charlie who was a part creature. So ultimately it didn’t matter what Charlie thought he should do. Demetrius learned early on that you don’t fight back. That just makes it worse because no matter how justified you are in self-defense, it will always be blamed on you. Charlie had to learn that it wasn’t his place to defend Demetrius against the prejudice. It was hard and Demetrius knew that Charlie defended him when he wasn’t there. But to be honest, he loved that Charlie cared enough to get that angry on his behalf. To know that his partner cared that much meant a lot to him. He loved Charlie with everything that he had.

            Charlie was always looking out for him. Always going out of his way to make sure that he is treated fairly. Charlie was the one that threatened to go to the Ministry if Demetrius wasn’t given a fair shake during the next promotions. He didn’t need to do that on Demetrius’s behalf but Charlie was stubborn and just told him to hush. The threat had worked and Demetrius was now the position that he should have been a long time ago. Which was just another thing that he owed Charlie for. Demetrius would spend the rest of his life showing Charlie how thankful he was for him. He would show Charlie how loved and cherished he was, even if it took the rest of their lives.      

            “He sure did.” Charlie said with a grin. Demetrius slowly opened his eyes and blinked back tears. “I want to go to their wedding.” Demetrius said thickly.

            Charlie smiled softly as he rubbed his thumb across his lover’s hand. “Good.” They sat in comfortable silence while Demetrius got a grip on his feelings. Memory lane was hard on his emotions.

            “Are you ready to talk about it?” Charlie asked tentatively.

            Demetrius sighed. “Do I have a choice?” He asked bitterly. There was no point in bringing up Silvia. She had been doing the yearly inspections long before he had even arrived at the Reservation. He has had ten years of dealing with her prejudice to get upset with anything that she could have said. Having to switch jobs for the day had been stung but it wasn’t the worst thing that could’ve happened. Sometimes people would say things or try to dehumanize Demetrius but with Charlie right by his side, no one would be able to convince him that he isn’t worth it unless he allowed them to.  

            Charlie narrowed his eyes. “Always. If you don’t want to tell me what happened, then I will accept that.”    

            Demetrius bit his lip feeling guilty. “I’m sorry. It’s just that…” He sighed heavily. Charlie smiled sadly. “I know. It’s hard on you. I get it.”

            “They didn’t say anything that I haven’t heard a thousand times over.” Charlie huffed. “Baby that’s not the point. They shouldn’t have said anything to begin with.”

            Demetrius bit his lip. “Did you know that Sandoval likes you?” He said suddenly.

            Charlie blinked rapidly trying to understand if Demetrius was being serious. “Where in the world did you get a silly idea like that?” Sandoval was a vapid girl that got the job based off her looks. Oh she was still a tamer… a mediocre one. Charlie hated the days that she was on his crew because she relied on everyone else to do all the work. What Bogdan had been thinking when hiring her was a mystery to him. There were a couple girls on the Reservation but they all pulled their own weight. They were some of the best tamers on the Reservation. Sandoval was the only girl that acted like she was above the job. Why become a Dragon Tamer if you didn’t want to do the work?

            Demetrius smiled despite the conversation. Charlie was blind when it came to his looks. He didn’t see the way that people stared at him and that was a part of his charm.

            “Well she does. Mentions you enough that it is obvious.” Charlie was a little confused. He was unaware of this, he didn’t even ever talk to her. She was a bitch who harassed his fiancé. Why would he want to talk to her?

            “I can’t stand her. If I could I would put her in front of Clifford and see how she handles that.” Charlie said grinning when Demetrius snorted. Clifford was a red Peruvian Vipertooth that was getting up there in age and the older he got the angrier he became. Clifford didn’t handle new tamers very well and he detested the sight of Sandoval ever since she groomed him the wrong way. That was the last time she was allowed to work with him but she wasn’t complaining since her hair had been singed in the process by his fire.

            “What did she say that made you walk out?” Demetrius winced. He knew he was going to get a deduction in pay for doing that. He should have handled his emotions better but she had just made him so angry that he couldn’t cope.

            Demetrius bit his lip and looked down at their joined hands. “That you would realize before the wedding that I am holding you back. That you will realize that there are other people better suited for you. That if you stay with me any children we have will forever be looked down upon as the second class citizens that I am. That I am condemning you to a life of hell if I stayed with you. That I am just a monster that has perverted your kind and gentle nature.”

            Charlie slammed his down on the table causing the tub of ice cream to fall over in the process. Demetrius grabbed the container before any could fall out. That would be the icing on this horrible day if his ice cream was spilled.

            “What a fucking bitch.” It was taking every ounce of control not to march out of the house and get into Sandoval’s face. She brought him into the argument so it wasn’t like Demetrius could tell him he didn’t have the right.

            “I am going to tell her exactly what I think of her.” Charlie warned. This was not up for negotiation.

            Demetrius nodded. He knew that Charlie wouldn’t be able to keep quiet about this and frankly he was glad. He was so tired of being mocked and so tired of this life.

            “Did you say anything to her?” Charlie wondered. He doubted it, Demetrius was always one to just take the abuse. “You know what she said was wrong right?”

            Demetrius smiled softly. “Yes I know what she said is wrong.” Well mostly. Some of that he thinks about when he his feeling low. But Charlie loves him and that is all that matters. “And I may or may not have summoned the Dragon dung that Hanson was using to determine what was wrong with Norberta right in her face.”

            Charlie burst into laughter, he was doubled over in his chair. “You are serious?” He asked through his laughter. Demetrius smirked wickedly. “I sure did.” Charlie almost couldn’t believe it, Demetrius was never one to do something like that but oh man did Sandoval deserve it.

             Once he gained control of himself he realized the seriousness of what Demetrius had done. “You know she is going to raise hell, right?” Demetrius shrugged. “I know. I will most likely be suspended but it was worth it.”

            Charlie bit his lip and looked over Demetrius’s shoulder lost in thought. He knew it was probably going to be worse than just a suspension. They wouldn’t fire Demetrius because they needed experienced tamers but they could take away his promotion. The whole thing was messed up. Sandoval should have been fired when the first of the harassment started up but instead Bogdan acted like it was Demetrius’s fault. Victim shaming.

            “Love.” Charlie said slowly. Demetrius arched a brow. “What do you think about us leaving?”

            Demetrius’s mouth dropped open. Leave the Reservation? This had been his home for the past ten years. Sure, not the best home but it was still something. Dragons had been a part of his life since he was five. Why would Charlie suggest that they leave? Was it something to do with him? Was Charlie not wanting to stay here because of him?

            Charlie could see the panic and the growing hurt in Demetrius’s eyes and rushed to explain. “Baby stop. I just mean what if we opened up our own reservation?” A surprised squawk came from Demetrius. What? Their own Reservation?

            “We have a lot of money saved up, not enough for everything that it will take but I think that if we get a loan and approach the Ministry that we could get our own space for a new Reservation. We both know that the Reservation here is getting out of hand and the space is getting limited. They could use a second Reservation in Romania. You have ten years’ experience and I have seven. We are great tamers. I think that we can do this. What do you say?”

            Demetrius was pretty sure that his brain had short circuited. Open up their own Reservation? They would be the ones calling the shots and hiring the people. There would be no more Sandovals or Bogdans. They could run the Reservation how they saw fit and it would be their own place. They wouldn’t hire anyone that would be derogative towards him. They would make sure that the people they hired loved working with Dragons and would take on equal responsibility in the work place. It sounded like a dream come true.

            “Let’s do it.” Demetrius told him with bright eyes and voice full of excitement. Charlie let out a breath of relief. He would have stayed and put the dream to the side if Demetrius had wanted to stay but he was thrilled that Demetrius wanted to be a part of his dream.

            “You mean it?” Charlie asked and he winced when it came out more desperate than he intended but Demetrius just smiled fondly at him and told him that of course he meant it.

            They talked for hours about what they would do and how they would go about making their dream Reservation a reality. They argued over who would get to design the cabins for the workers. Demetrius won that argument considering Charlie had no taste. They laughed over the fact that a lot of their coworkers would probably migrate over to their Reservation versus staying around with Bogdan. “Char don’t you have to get ready for work soon?” Demetrius asked once he realized how late it was getting.

            Charlie shook his head. “You know I think I have come down with something.” He coughed weakly not even bothering to hide his smile. Demetrius raised an amused eyebrow. “Is that so? That sounds like a nasty cough. You should probably have someone cover your shift.” Demetrius said with the straightest face that he could manage.

            Charlie tried to match Demetrius’s face but he couldn’t stop the grin forming on his face. “That sounds like a wonderful idea. You wouldn’t happen to know any healers, would you? I don’t fancy spending time in the infirmary.”

            Demetrius grinned. “No I don’t but I have been told that I am good with my hands.” He waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

            “Really? I think that I am going to need a practical demonstration of this.” That was all the invitation that Demetrius had needed before he shoved the ice cream away and climbed on top of the table to crawl sensually towards Charlie.

            Those were the last words that were said for a long while. In the morning when they woke up Demetrius would mourn the melted ice cream that he had forgotten to put away in the midst of their lust but for now, as they got lost in one another’s bodies everything was perfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay guys, what did you think? Hopefully you have all enjoyed the little tid bit of Charlie and Demetrius's life. 
> 
> Yes, I do realize that I emphasized Romanian Ministry a lot but that was more for your benefit. I didn't want anyone to confuse them with England's Ministry of Magic. 
> 
> Some of the names in this chapter are a mixture of last and first names. Obviously Ivan and Peter are the first names. But Cornell, Sandoval and Bogdan are last names. They would depend on a level of familiarity which is why there was a combination. 
> 
> What did you think of Demetrius? I adore him mainly because I was the one who made him up and don't have to follow any personality traits that are cannon since he was never in the books. Score for me! But on a serious note, I really do like him. I think he has a nice personality but a sad life. His backstory just makes me ache for him. There was a little bit of myself in Demetrius. Because every time someone wants me to go somewhere the first thing I ask is, 'Will there be food?' That is definitely one of my priorities when I go out. 
> 
> I had a little light bulb moment when making this chapter though. I realized that this little summary of their life together could be a fic all on it's own. Not to say that I will actually write one on them but there is a lot of promise in their story. With more details and given time I think their life could be turned into a multi chapter fic. Again, not saying that I will actually do that but who knows? Maybe one day. 
> 
> I wanted to show more of the prejudice that magical creatures face in my story. I know that it might come across as harping on the subject but I felt that since I already mentioned some of what Demetrius faces in the burrow chapter that giving a back story to him wasn't too big of a deal. 
> 
> I really really would love to know what your thoughts on this chapter are. I had fun writing about the Dragon Reserve. I don't think I will write another chapter on them but they will make appearances later on in the book. 
> 
> If you are tired of side character chapters, well then no worries. The story picks back up tomorrow! I do however adore the chapters where I get to give more information on the side characters that make up my story. Because let's face it, this story would be a lot lamer without my side characters. 
> 
> If you loved Demetrius as much as I do then let me know! :)
> 
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	54. Think Tank

            The next couple of weeks started to fly by. The group spent many days in the Manor as they hunted for a way to get rid of the darkness. Lucius and Narcissa had set up a think tank room that had a board of parchment full of ideas and theories on how to best go forward. A lot of the ideas were dead ends that had been crossed out, much to the disappointment of the group.

            Everyone had been split into teams. Severus and Remus were on rune duty. They had split the work trying to decipher the runes and the possible meanings. Remus took on the ancient symbols while Severus looked into modern ones to see if there was another way to look at it. They try to explore new ideas and a fresh mindset when translating but unfortunately nothing significant had been discovered on that front.

            Remus almost always has Teddy with him, occasionally Teddy will spend the day with Andromeda but that isn’t too often. Teddy splits his time looking like Draco and surprisingly Severus. To Harry’s dismay Teddy only changed his eyes to look like him a handful of times. But Harry didn’t mind all that much, he found it adorable every time Teddy made himself look like Draco. It made him wonder if that would be what their child would one day look like.

            The rest of the group could see the way that Severus and Remus grew closer and closer to one another as the weeks went by. They would always arrive separately but leave together and everyone was quite curious as to where they go but no one said anything just in case they were still dancing around each other. They would wait for the two of them to bring it up first. 

            Operation: Get Severus a Man, that’s what Pansy calls it anyways, was put on hold when it was obvious that they would get together without any outside influences eventually. Not to mention when Severus caught them all gossiping together the suspicion in his eyes was enough to make everyone nervous. Harry could still remember a lot of the unused spells in the half-blood prince’s diary. He didn’t fancy pissing off the guy who created sectumsempra.

            Lucius was on dark ritual duty. He always had a book in his hands and a scowl on his face. Harry didn’t need to ask how the research was coming, it was obvious by the man’s face that it was not going swimmingly. Sometimes Lucius would leave to approach some ‘friends’ of his and see what kind of information they might have on some obscure rituals. Harry wondered about what kind of people Lucius was talking to. Anyone that had a ritual that wasn’t in the Malfoy library kind of worried him. He knew that Lucius would be discreet and stingy with the details so as to not raise suspicion from anyone but he still worried that the Flamels might get wind of their research. Not that they would know what Lucius was up to in requesting information on peculiar or uncommon rituals.

            Harry had Kreacher pull all books related to rituals from the library in Grimwald Place and brought over to the Manor so that Lucius could look through those as well. Harry had thought that he was helping out but by the narrowed eyes of the aristocrat he knew that the man was not looking forward to _more_ books. Geez, try and be nice and look where it gets you. No appreciation these days.

            Narcissa was the floater. She would go from each group and help out where she could. Due to a lack of rune knowledge she wasn’t a whole lot of help there. She did however retrieve any books that anyone was needing and she spent time going from select bookstores looking for any books in the backrooms that weren’t open to the public to see if there was anything of interest that might help them out. Most of the time she would help out her husband when she would catch him glaring at the mountain of unopened books on dark rituals. Like it was the books fault that they were in this mess. Honestly, sometimes she wondered about his maturity level.

            Sometimes the twins would join them but they were usually busy with the store. Apparently they were having a hard time hiring people for the shop. George blamed it on the economy but the look of utter disbelief on Fred’s face made Harry question that statement. He wasn’t a business owner so he couldn’t really provide any input on today’s economy or rather it’s downfall. But he had a hunch that it was more towards their line of work than anything. No amount of money under the sun would make him work for the twins. He liked his limbs attached, thank you very much. Being a silent partner was the extent of what he was willing to do for them. Pansy and Blaise helped out three of four times a week but spent the remainder of the time with the twins getting ready for the new shop. He would love to see more of them but he knew that the twins really did need their help and he couldn’t ask them to choose. Besides, they were doing fairly well with the help that was given.

            Harry and Draco were assigned to look up spell work that had been around during the time of the Flamels. Sometimes it was a bit of nostalgia to come across things that they hadn’t used since their last life but mainly it was dreadfully boring. Spells didn’t change all that much. Sure there were outdated spells that aren’t used but most of them had been replaced with modern versions. And the ones that hadn’t been replaced were usually things that were of no use to them. Who cares what kind of spells had been used to churn butter 700 years ago? It was a daily battle just to stay awake when reading through the books.  

            Harry really appreciated everything that his family was doing. It meant a lot to him considering that they didn’t have to. It was his mess and had nothing to do with them. Harry didn’t want to be a bother, he was positive that they all could be doing far more important things than trying to help him. The one time he tried to bring that up, everyone had glared so darkly at him that Harry almost left the room. Draco told him to shut up or he was going to hex him. Loving fiancé that one is.

            Sometimes when they needed a break Narcissa and Draco would discuss the wedding. Harry usually tuned them out because he honestly could care less what color the cutlery was or what kind of songs they would play. All he cared about was his family showing and up and when to say ‘I do’. Well that is if the ceremony included that. He should probably read up on the ritual.   

            A frustrated sigh broke Harry’s concentration of pretending to read. It wasn’t exactly his fault but the book was boring the trousers right off of him. Who would have thought that looking for a solution to the darkness would be so boring? He had been zoning in and out of a light sleep all day and he didn’t even have the quartet or Teddy to keep him amused today. Harry looked to his left to see if it was Draco but snorted when he realized that Draco was fast asleep with his face pressed up against a very old tome. He was drooling slightly, no doubt ruining the ancient pages. Harry just knew that the page was most likely stuck to his cheek. At least Harry wasn’t the only one bored enough to fall asleep. Harry reached out a hand to run his fingers through Draco’s hair and grinned when Draco made a little content noise in his sleep and tried nuzzling his hand.

            Harry looked up to see that it was either Remus or Severus that had made the noise considering that Narcissa and Lucius was staring at them. “Do tell what the problem is now.” Severus drawled not bothering to look up from the book that he was reading.

            Remus ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. “It’s the stupid Runes. They aren’t making any sense. I can’t understand why they would have chosen them.” He slammed his hand down hard against the table causing Draco to raise his head rapidly. Harry was right in assuming the page had been stuck to his face, when Draco lifted his head too quickly, the page ripped clean out of the book causing Lucius to wince in horror that such an ancient book had been ruined.

            “I didn’t do it!” Draco said through barely open lids and voice thick with sleep as half of the ripped page fell a little off the side of his face. Remus’s frustration slipped away when he caught sight of the page stuck to Draco’s face as the boy began to rub the sleep out of his eyes and the usually pristine hair was rumpled by sleep. Severus snorted loudly and Harry bit his lip to stop from laughing. Lucius was still staring at the book in horror while Narcissa cooed at the adorable picture her son made.

            Draco blinked rapidly trying to wake himself up. That nap had been wonderful. He had dreamed about the honeymoon that he and Harry would take and it had been glorious. They had gone all across the world, from the sunny beaches to the snowy alps and everything in between. Draco couldn’t wait to just relax and not have to pick up another stupid book on spells. Too much more of this and he feared he would snap and burn the library down. He squinted when he noticed the look on his father’s face. “What’s with you?” Draco questioned. His father had been driving him nuts for the past several weeks. Like it was _their_ fault that the man was going old and couldn’t remember whatever it was that he seemed to have forgotten. Draco yawned as he looked down at the table. “Hey! Someone has defiled this book! Such an old book too.” He tried to think back to before he fell asleep, to see if the book had been ripped then too but all the books start to blend together after a while. If it had been ripped, then he must have paid it no mind.

            Remus, Severus and Harry broke out into laughter at the thunderous look on Lucius’s face. Narcissa had to hide her chuckles behind her hand. Draco didn’t get what was so funny. He furrowed his brows and turned his head to look at Harry for an explanation.  

            Harry smiled slightly as he leaned in to give Draco a quick kiss before he carefully pulled the page off of Draco’s face to show him.

            Draco flushed pink as he took the ripped page from Harry’s hand and looked at his father sheepishly. “It wasn’t that good of a book anyways.” He tried to reason. When his father narrowed his eyes, Draco quickly placed the page back into the book and closed it rapidly before sliding it away from him. Magic on such an old book could have disastrous effects. Spello-tape would just look ghastly. So unfortunately the ripped page wouldn’t be able to be fixed.

            Draco could still feel lingering amusement from the bond and he turned to glare at his lover. Harry held his hands up chuckling slightly. “Sorry love but you have to admit it was funny.” Draco would no such thing. He crossed his arms across his chest and turned his nose up in the air.

            “What was the loud noise that woke me up?” Draco wondered out loud. Remus lowered his head in apology. “Sorry that was me. I was upset.”

            Draco waved the apology away and looked at Remus curiously. The man was always calm. Draco envied the way that Remus could stare at the books for hours and not get frustrated or grumpy. It always made him feel childish that the books put him to sleep when Remus was always wide awake and working diligently. “What was the problem?”

            Remus glared down at the books in front of him as if it was their fault that the Flamels used odd runes. “The Runes. The Flamels picked runes for their alter that just don’t make sense.” Remus was this close to pulling out his hair and throwing the books into the fireplace. He may not show his frustration like Draco in the form of naps but he was just as upset as the rest of the group. At least he wasn’t the brooding mess that was Lucius.

            “Like what?” Lucius asked. Perhaps they didn’t make sense to Remus because he wasn’t a dark wizard.

            “ _Speim, Ante, Dera_ and _Vitae.”_ Remus recited without looking down. “Those are just some of the ones that make no sense to me.”

            Severus furrowed his brows. He may have been working with Remus these past three weeks but he wasn’t good enough to know which ones those were by memory. He was getting pretty tired of looking at runes. He felt like they hadn’t even made a dent into trying crack the mystery of the runes.  

            “ _Speim_ is the rune for hope. _Ante_ means forward, to move forward or in some cases the future. _Dera_ means to give or to bring. _Vitae_ is the rune for life. Why would those be on the alter? They make no sense.”

            Lucius frowned. “Wouldn’t _Dera_ and _Vitae_ make sense though? To give life? Isn’t that what all the victims were doing on the alter? Giving their life to the stone?”

            Remus sighed. “It would if they were paired together or even just on the alter separately but they aren’t. _Dera_ was paired with _Ante_. Why would giving to the future be on a sacrificial alter? Or even giving to the idea of moving forward. It isn’t making sense to me. I suppose that _Speim_ and _Vitae_ aren’t too out of the realm of possibility. To hope for life. But why hope? To give life makes more sense than to hope for life. Why are they hoping? They are taking the lives of the people not hoping for it. They _are_ doing it.”

            Lucius hummed in thought. That didn’t make a whole lot of sense. This wasn’t an issue of dark wizard rituals so that wasn’t the issue. Lucius wasn’t a runes expert so he honestly was out of his element on this one. Remus and Severus would be better suited for that stuff than him. It was a little disconcerting that the experts of the group when it came to runes were having issues. But then again, he was the one researching rituals and was having problems. So he couldn’t exactly judge.  

            Draco tilted his head to the side as he tried to think back to his runes classes trying to think of modern runes to see if that could be of any help. He pulled one of the discarded books from Severus’s pile and started flipping through it. Severus glared at Draco, if Severus had found no use of the books then what would make Draco think that he would? Insulting that was.

            “What if you are being too literal.” Harry suggested. When everyone turned to look at him he flushed slightly. “Uh… Nevermind.” He said nervously. He hated being the center of attention, especially since he knew absolutely nothing about runes. The only time he had even seen them was on the alter and then occasionally on Hermione’s homework when she would make him quiz her before a test.

            “No. Continue.” Severus prompted with an air of interest. He wanted to hear Harry’s point. Sometimes ideas from an outside source can be of value. And let’s face it, they needed all the help that they could get at this point. Remus was in total agreement. He would take any input that he could.

            Draco pushed Harry a wave of confidence and took hold of his hand for support. Harry smiled gratefully before looking up at Severus and Remus. “You said that _Ante_ meant to move forward or sometimes the future.” When Remus nodded, he continued. “Instead of meaning to literally move forward what if it meant death? Like going forward in a sense of passing life? Then it would mean that if paired with _Dera_ , that the Flamels were bringing the people onwards into death.”

            “That is…” Remus trailed off lost in thought as he considered Harry’s line of thinking. “Brilliant.” Severus finished staring at Harry with a curious expression.

            Harry flushed, pleased that they seemed to agree. “But why not just use _Morte_ , the rune for death, instead of using _Ante_?” Remus wondered out loud. Harry shrugged, that was the extent to his genius. Hey, you can’t have it all.

            Lucius hummed in thought. “Perhaps that would be too literal again.” Remus tilted his head as he considered Lucius’s words.

            “I think Harry was close in his statement. But what if it is more than just moving forward in the sense of death. What if it is meaning passed death? If they had used _Morte_ then it would be saying that they are bringing the sacrifices to death. That would be the literal translation. But what if they chose _Ante_ because they wanted to bring the sacrifices _passed_ death. As in keeping their sacrifice alive by using the rune, so that their death would be moving forward into the stone, passed death.” Lucius finished quite proud of himself. He may not know anything about runes but logic was something he did well.

            Remus raised his brows impressed. “I am beginning to think that the work shouldn’t be divided into sections like this. Severus and I have been working on these for a while now and you two helped us out more than the books.” He shot the books another dark glare.

            Harry and Lucius shared a pleased look. “Well then let’s do it as a group. What other problems were there in the runes?” Harry prompted as he set aside his very boring book. 

            “ _Speim_ and _Vitae,_ to hope for life.” Remus said with a frown. “If they were killing people why would they be hoping for life? That would contradict the other runes.”

            “Too literal.” Harry and Lucius said at the same time. They shared a small smile before turning to look at Remus.

            Remus huffed but smiled warmly at them. The thing with runes is that they are meant to be literal. So thinking outside the box was not usually done in runes. Especially the ancient runes, people back then tended to be short and to the point. So hearing a different take on the runes was equally frustrating as much as it was fascinating.

            “Alright then, what do you guys think it means?” Severus wondered a little put out. Weeks worth of looking through runes and these two seemed to have it figured out. What was the point of even knowing the subject?

            Harry and Lucius shared another look. Lucius raised his hand letting him know to go first.

            “They said that they had tried three times before the final stone. That was three failures and a lot of bodies. I think that they were growing desperate. I think that the _Vitae_ wasn’t indicating life in general but more the life of the victims. So I think that they were hoping for the sacrifice of life to complete the ritual.”

            Lucius nodded in agreement. “My thoughts exactly.” Harry grinned in response. “But I think it completes the circle with the other pair. So essentially, they are hoping for the sacrifice of their victims lives, to bring forward the death into the stone which keeps the original sacrifice alive, completing the ritual.” Lucius added.

            Remus blinked a couple times staring between the two. “Wow.” Severus and Draco nodded in agreement while Narcissa smiled at them.

            “Do you think there is a reason that they didn’t stick to literal translations?” Draco wondered. Using the intricate logic of changing the runes meanings seemed more of a modern way of thinking than what people used 700 years ago.

            Severus arched an unimpressed brow. “To make it harder to counteract their ritual. It isn’t a line of thinking that people use when they deal with runes. Literal translations have always been the key to understanding runes. It is actually ingenious of the Flamels. If they had published the different uses of the runes, so much could be different. The modern runes might not have even been what we use.” The knowledge that insane mass murderers were just as smart as they were mad was not a comforting realization.

            Remus hated to admit that the Flamels minds worked in fascinating ways. To think that they had this type of mind set as far back as 700 years ago when progressive thinking just wasn’t done, was a little mind blowing.

            “So we understand most of the runes but what now? How do we use that knowledge to help?” Harry asked curiously.

            Severus sighed. “We might be able to reverse engineer the runes by using the opposites and a mixture of new runes to try and erase the damage of the darkness but we have no idea what they were chanting. It might not matter if we come up with our own spell to use in tangent to the runes but to be on the safe side, I would rather know what exactly they were saying. It wouldn’t be prudent to go into this without all of the information. For all we know the chanting could have been anything from harmless grounding to alchemy.”

            Harry frowned as he took all of this in. He didn’t like the sound of trying to get rid of the darkness without all of the information. It was upsetting him that between the previous life and this one that the chanting didn’t even almost sound familiar. But at the same time he wasn’t a dark wizard so their rituals wouldn’t be familiar to him.

            “Any findings on the chanting?” Harry asked Lucius hopefully.

            Lucius sighed heavily before shaking his head. “No. I have looked through hundreds of rituals but I am not finding anything even close. I know I have heard it before but I just can’t place it.” The frustration in his voice was easily heard. Narcissa reached over to rub the back of her husband’s neck in a soothing manner.

            “Do you think it could be alchemy?” Remus asked. That would explain why no one had heard of it before. Alchemy wasn’t something that was practiced anymore.

            Harry and Draco shook their heads rapidly. “No. Alchemy may not be something that we ever took a liking to but they still taught it back then. And that chanting wasn’t it.” Harry told him with a small frown.

            Severus raised his brows in surprise and looked to see what Lucius thought of this new knowledge but his friend was still looking put out at his lack of recollection.

            “You two know alchemy?” Remus breathed in awe.

            Draco snorted. “No. We know _of_ alchemy. I was total pants at it. Why do you think I stressed the importance of potions? It was the only thing that I could do. Alchemy isn’t easily done and you have to have the skill and patience for it. It is a subtle science that not many people can perform well. Neither Harry nor I could have even been considered mediocre at it. Which is why people took so strongly to potions because it was accessible and fairly easy to do.”

            Harry nodded along with a frown. “Right. I may not have been any good at it but I would still be able to recognize alchemy. I wish that I had been able to master alchemy though. The many different ways to blend it into spell work is amazing. Not to mention the beauty of alchemy when it comes in contact with living organisms or minerals of the earth.” Harry envied the easy way that Nicolas had mastered alchemy. Harry had been invited to a viewing at an alchemist gathering one time and the sheer magnitude of Nicolas’s skill had taken his breath away. He was by far the most skilled alchemist at the event. If only the man had used that skill to create things that could have been shared within society instead of murdering the people that make up that society.      

            Remus couldn’t imagine what it would be like to be able to look back onto another time and remember it all. He wondered what kinds of things they have seen and done. He would bet they had a lot of interesting stories.

            Lucius was still mulling over the fact that he couldn’t remember. It was on the tip of his tongue and every time he thought that he was about to have a grasp on the missing memory, it would float away leaving behind only frustration.

            Draco was still flipping through the book on runes just for something to do. “If it isn’t alchemy or a normal dark ritual then what else could it be?”

            Harry furrowed his brows. “Are there a lot of non-normal dark rituals?” He asked Lucius.

            Lucius arched a brow. “In what context are you using the word normal? What is normal to me could be unusual to you. There are so many rituals out there and to only invest my time in ‘normal’ ones is counterproductive. I have looked through the usual rituals but we have already established that the Flamels do not conform to what we would call ‘normal’.”

            Harry huffed. “Okay then, what are some unusual ones that you haven’t looked into?”

            A worn-out sigh was his response. “That is just the thing. I just don’t understand what this chanting could be. I have looked into different cultures to see if perhaps it was just in another language but it is not a known spoken dialect. I have looked into ancient sacrificial rituals and even ancient burial ceremonies. I even delved into magical creature folklore to see if it was possible that this was something otherworldly that isn’t in our knowledge. In my research I have come across countless rituals that I severely wish I could obliviate out of my mind, by the way. I have looked into everything short of necromancy and have yet to discover what this blasted chanting could mean.” By the time Lucius was finished with his little rant he was breathing heavily in sheer frustration.

            Draco and Harry shared a horrified look before gaping at Lucius. “What?” Lucius said harsher than he intended to. Had he said something wrong? Why were they staring at him like that?

            Harry swallowed heavily. “I think you should look into Necromancy.” He couldn’t explain the sudden realization that made his mental awareness know that this was the correct answer but his gut was telling him that they were definitely on the right track. Not to mention completely out of their element.

            For the first time in a long time, Lucius Malfoy’s jaw dropped and he just simply gaped inelegantly.   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. Yes, the cliffhanger was mostly intentional. Sorry not sorry. ;P
> 
> So there wasn't a whole lot of length to the chapter but there was some definite importance inside the chapter. Hopefully you enjoyed it. :)
> 
> Runes are not something that I will even pretend to have a lot of knowledge about. There wasn't much details in the books so that gives me free reign to just do what I want with them. I haven't read many fan fics about runes either. So hopefully you were able to follow along with the way I interpreted them. I do think that Remus and Severus had gotten caught up in the way that Runes were always handled that they missed what Harry and Lucius were able to pick up on. Sometimes it just takes a different persons perspective for things to make sense.
> 
> Now I guess I can't really ask what are your thoughts on Harry suggesting for Lucius to look into Necromancy since I didn't really provide you guys with much information before the cliffhanger. But I would still like to hear your opinions on it. Keep in mind that Lucius has said that it was familiar to him. Just what was Abraxas Malfoy up to when Lucius had been younger?
> 
> Let me know any of your theories or thoughts. I would love to hear just where your mind takes you. :)
> 
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	55. The Missing Memory

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *WARNING PLEASE READ* Alright. This chapter is a little dark. If you don't like blood then this is not a chapter for you. It isn't too gruesome but I still feel like it needs a warning. 
> 
> This chapter needs a little explanation. I really hope you guys read this note so that it makes more sense. Because I would like to not receive any comments asking me questions about the fonts. Now the memory is in two different styles. Regular italicized and bolded. The bolded portions are Lucius's direct memory and thoughts. The italicized is for your benefit to show a completed picture. I could have written the memory solely in his point of view but I wanted to show you all what everyone was thinking. The reason that Lucius's portion is bolded is because during the next chapter when they discuss this memory he will only have the knowledge that he himself had gone through. The other stuff was for your benefit. Hopefully that makes sense. 
> 
> Also the bolded portions sound like the mind of a child because he is a child. There are parts that might be a little advanced for a child but do remember that he is constantly being schooled, so he would be slighter smarter than the average six year old.

            For the first time in a long time, Lucius Malfoy’s jaw dropped and he just simply gaped inelegantly.   

            Necromancy. Lucius had thought that there had been a similarity in the way the power had manifested when the darkness had taken over at the burrow but he didn’t think that it could actually be related. His stomach plummeted, could the chanting really be necromancy? They were so screwed. Necromancy. Just the word sent shivers down his spine. He could remember the necromancy rituals at the few ceremonies that The Dark Lord made him witness but this chanting wasn’t anything that they had done. Which is why he didn’t think to check on Necromancy. By default, necromancy was bringing the dead back to life not killing people. Seemed opposites to him.

            Just as quickly as the memory that had been eluding him, did it suddenly come into crystal clear focus. 

_**Lucius Malfoy watched his parents with confusion. They had told him that he was to be expecting a little brother or sister shortly. Lucius knew that he was not to show excitement but it was very hard. At six years old he was tired of having no one to talk to. He spent his days in the library with the house elves that had been assigned to direct him to the books that would teach him how to be a proper Malfoy. Lucius didn’t want to learn how to be grumpy and walk around with a pinched expression. He didn’t want to be Lord Malfoy. No, he wanted to be an artist one day. He wanted to paint things that people would admire for generations. Beautiful things that took people’s breath away and made them happy.**_

**_Whenever his father released him for the day, he would always go to his room and draw in secret. His father said that no Malfoy heir would become something as frivolous as an artist. The one time he had been caught drawing, his father broke his quills and paintbrushes. Told him to cease being a disgrace. He didn’t mean to be a disgrace, he just wanted to have fun. Fun like other kids got to have. Lucius was forced to go to a Ministry Ball once and there were a bunch of children running around all over the place. It was highly undignified and it wrinkled his nose… but it looked like fun. So much fun. He had been tempted to join them until he caught sight of his father’s furious expression. That had been the first night that he had been forced to endure the cellar. His father said that he had seen the decision to join the other children on Lucius’s face so now he was being punished. The cellar isn’t that bad. Just cold and a little creepy. After he had been released from his punishment, he began practicing his facial expressions religiously. He did not fancy spending another night in the cellar._ **

**_His parents never checked up on him unless it was to inspect the cleanliness of his room and to tell him to go to sleep. Underneath his bed against the wall there was a small hole that he had accidentally made when he snuck in a muggle tool that he found on the outskirts of their property. He had no idea what it did but it was interesting to look at. It was made out of some type of metal, by the looks of the object it had to be a tool. He had read that during the goblin wars that the goblins used tools. The only difference was that this wasn’t magical. The tool had a handle to grip with and then the metal went straight up before forking in two directions. One side had two prongs while the other side had a circular shape with a flat end. He wondered if you were supposed to hit things with the flat end? And maybe stab things with the prongs? Muggles were so odd._ **

**_During his inspection of the odd tool his knees became sore from crouching under the bed and he lost his footing, sending the tool straight into the wall. Which is how the hole came about. He had panicked thinking that someone had heard him but as he waited with baited breath and no one came he began to calm down. Lucius wasn’t sure how to fix the hole and he knew that he couldn’t tell anyone how the hole came to be. But he saw an opportunity that he couldn’t pass up. Lucius made the hole bigger and bigger so that he could hide the drawings that he wasn’t allowed to do! No one was going to check the wall under his bed. It was the perfect spot._ **

**_Sometimes lessons were hard and confusing. Especially Latin but his father said that only good heirs finished their lessons. But Lucius had a secret. He didn’t want to be a good heir. No. Sometimes he thought about running away but he knew that his father would search for him. Because he was an only child. The Malfoy line had to continue and that was the only important thing about him that his father liked. His father didn’t care if he was happy as long as he did what he was told. He said so himself._ **

**_But now he was to be a big brother! Oh he had hoped and hoped that it would be a baby boy. He wanted to have a brother so that the baby could become the Malfoy heir and then Lucius wouldn’t have to worry about it. Lucius didn’t have a problem with girls but a girl wouldn’t help him get away from the family. His father had told him to wait in the hall outside of the master bedroom until the baby was out of his mother’s tummy but he just couldn’t. He wanted to know now!_ **

**_He regretted the decision immediately as he hid behind the dresser near the door. The birthing process was gross! The book he read said it was supposed to be beautiful. It lied. He wondered if he should tell father that they had a faulty book in the library. Was there supposed to be all of this blood? The book had said there would be blood but he didn’t think it would be this much. Ew. He was never having children._ **

**_When the healer announced that the baby was a girl, Lucius’s heart dropped. That meant that he would have to be the Malfoy heir after all. He felt like crying but he knew that he wasn’t allowed to cry. It was undignified to cry, only the weak and the poor show such emotions._ **

**_The healer lifted the baby up and Lucius’s eyes widened. She was beautiful. His baby sister was the prettiest thing he had ever seen. And that was saying a lot because he had fallen in love with all the paintings in the library books and on the walls, but this was different. She was red and a little wrinkly but that was okay. The books said that would happen. Oh how he loved her, she was so small and fragile looking. She didn’t belong in a place like this. She belonged somewhere that she could grow up happy and free. All of his plans on how to escape vanished as he stared at his little sister. He would become the Malfoy heir so that there would always be someone to watch over her. His sister would need his help to survive. He knew that sometimes girls got emotional and Lucius was determined to be there for her when she couldn’t hide her feelings. His parents didn’t love him and that was okay. He loved himself and that was all that mattered, right? Well his sister would grow up knowing that he loved her. He would tell her that it was okay that their parents were cold and mean, they didn’t know any better._ **

**** _Healer Francis’s eyes widened as she ran the normal diagnostic spells. Oh no. This would not end well. She shot a panicked look to her assistant but Mary was healing any pain and discomfort from Lady Malfoy._

_“Well?” Abraxas Malfoy demanded as the healer passed his wife their daughter. He had hoped for another son just in case Lucius turned out to be the disappointment that he was shaping out to be. The boy constantly had his head in the clouds and held no desire to learn. When he himself had been a boy it was an honor to carry out the Malfoy name but Lucius held no enthusiasm for his responsibilities. Daughters were easier to deal with though. You don’t have to train them in the ways of the family and you marry them off as soon as possible. Perhaps this was preferable over another son._

_“She’s a squib.” Francis said not meeting Lord Malfoy’s eyes. She just wanted to get out of here as soon as possible. Abraxas Malfoy was as ruthless as they come and she didn’t want to witness the fallout that was bound to happen. One look at Mary and they shared a significant look towards the floo._

_Lucinda gasped and clutched the baby closer to her. No no no no. This can’t be happening. Her baby can’t be a squib. Abraxas clenched his jaw so tightly everyone in the room could hear the grinding protest of his teeth. There was no way that he could have produced a squib. There hadn’t been a squib in the Malfoy name in generations. What would his father have said? This can’t get out. The knowledge would ruin the Malfoy standing for years to come._

_**Lucius covered his mouth so that no sound would escape. His eyes filled with tears and he was powerless to stop them. He knew what that meant. Squibs were considered low class citizens and the families were mocked. Pureblood families don’t keep squibs, sometimes they were discarded into the muggle world but a lot of times they were just killed.**_

**_They couldn’t harm his sister! He hadn’t even gotten the chance to hold her or tell her how beautiful she is. He wanted to be the best big brother he could be. He wanted to show her how to draw and to teach her the best ways to have fun when no one is looking. He wanted to be her best friend. Lucius didn’t have any friends and it was the job of the siblings to fill that role. If they took her away, then he would be all alone again. If they sent her away, then how could he ever get her back? What if he went with her? He would do that, he would take care of her. He had nothing of value here except his drawings and he would leave them all behind if he could just go with her._ **

_Abraxas quickly reached for his wand and obliviated the two healers in the room and sent them into the floo with no destination in mind other than for them to vacate the Manor. One of them must have said something because the pair of them were gone in a swirl of green. As soon as they disappeared he made a quick firecall before turning around to stare at his wife and daughter in disgust._

_“Abraxas please.” Lucinda begged as she clutched her newborn daughter of less than thirty minutes. “Don’t do this.” She said through tears. Her precious baby girl was unusually quiet for a newborn as the baby took in her surroundings with wide silver eyes. Lucinda hadn’t even had a chance to pick out a name for their daughter._

_“I will not have a squib child!” Abraxas bellowed as he lost control of his normally rigid emotions. Lucinda shifted her body away from her husband when he shifted closer to her._

_“Give me the child.” Came the demanding tone of Abraxas. Lucinda shook her head rapidly._

_“No!” She cried out. “No, don’t take her away from me.” She begged. Abraxas ignored his sniveling wife and snatched the child right out of her arms at the same time that the floo whooshed and a man in a cloak stepped out. Abraxas quickly stunned his wife, he needed her immobile for this conversation._

_**Lucius shrank further down so that the person wouldn’t see him. Lucius wasn’t sure if they were a witch or a wizard. The person was completely cloaked and even had a hood blocking out most of their face. Lucius didn’t like this person already. Who walked around like that? To hide one’s face is a sign of plebian tendencies. At least that’s what his father says.**_

_“Why have you called?” Came a hard voice from underneath the hood, clearly male. “I have better things to do with my time than to associate with you.”_

_Abraxas bristled at the insult, no one insults a Malfoy and gets away with it. But he knew better than to retort back if he wanted to keep breathing. This man was not to be trifled with. “I require your assistance. The child is a squib.” Abraxas was proud that he had been able to say that without showing the shame that the statement brought him._

_The man under hood snorted loudly. “My my how far the mighty have fallen.” Abraxas clenched his fist tightly in his hands and had to force the urge to hex the man away._

_**Lucius didn’t like the sound of the man’s voice. It sent chills down his spine. Why was his father friends with someone like this? There was a sense of danger in the room. He was wishing that he had listened to his father and stayed out in the hall. Was this man going to harm his sister? He bit his lip as he tried to find a way out of this with his sister still okay. He was too small to be of any use and he didn’t have a wand. He had a training wand but it didn’t do anything that would help. His lip wobbled as he realized that he would just have to let whatever was going to happen, happen.**_

**** _“Why should I help you? What are you offering me Malfoy, in return?” The man said in an entirely bored voice. This visit was turning out to be useless. What did he care if the child was a squib?_

_“I can pay you.” Abraxas offered firmly. The man laughed loudly, startling Abraxas. The laugh was not pleasant. It set Abraxas’s hair standing on end._

_“Gold is something that I will never need.” The man said in an amused voice. “You have minutes to tell me what else you might have or else I walk away.” He warned darkly._

_Abraxas swallowed heavily. It wasn’t often that money couldn’t convince someone to do something. He was not used to having to find another solution._

_The man smiled ferally. Oh this was good. “If I may suggest something?”_

_Abraxas swore internally. He knew he wasn’t going to like anything that the man had to suggest. He nodded his head as his mind continued to find something else that might be of interest._

_“I do this for you and you owe me a boon. An undisclosed boon that I will collect at some point in your life.”_

_**Lucius almost gasped. Surely his father wasn’t about to agree to that. His father always said to never agree to something unless it works out in your favor. Agreeing to this would be stupid. The man could ask for anything in return one day and his father would be powerless to stop him.**_

**** _Abraxas closed his eyes briefly. This went against every single Slytherin aspect of him. He couldn’t accept a deal like that. The man could ask for his entire fortune ten years down the road or even his life. He would have no leg to stand on to contest against whatever the man demands later on. This is not a deal that a Slytherin would make. This was for fool hearted Gryffindors that have no ounce of logic. He could deny this deal and pretend this conversation never happened, he could send the child into the muggle world to grow up. But no child of his will be a squib. Not in their world or the muggle world. He had to change this. He had to._

_“Agreed.” Abraxas said and there was a pulse of magic as it sealed in the verbal contract._

_“Excellent.” Came the hungry reply and Abraxas knew that he would one day regret this decision. Whatever the man had in store for him was not going to end well._

_“I can perform a ritual but it will require a sacrifice.” Abraxas flinched. It was too late to turn back now that a deal had been made._

_“Nothing too drastic. I need a sacrifice of magic. If you want me to attempt to change this child’s core, then I will need magic to fill that core. I need at least half of a full wizard or witch’s magic. The person will still be able to perform magic but it will not be at the same level that it used to be.” The man warned._

_Abraxas nodded this wasn’t so bad. As far as sacrifices go this was pretty mild. “My wife.” He suggested. He was the Lord of the house and therefore needed his magic to stay intact. If his wife was able to keep half her magic, then he doubted she would even notice the difference. She stayed home all day anyways._

_The man tsked softly but it came as no surprise that Malfoy would suggest his unconscious wife. Wizards of this generation were so simpleminded. If it had been him, he would have just used some random wizard off the street instead of involving a loved one. But purebloods these days never think things through. If they did, then Malfoy **definitely** wouldn’t have made the deal._

_“I cannot guarantee that this will work. Changing the core of a child is a delicate process. Taking away one’s magic is far easier than giving it. Things could go wrong and you might lose the child.” The man warned. If the child died, he would not release the contract. Malfoy should have been smart enough to add that into the deal. Not his fault that the man is desperate._

_“Rather a dead child than a squib.” Abraxas declared emotionlessly. He meant it too. He would rather the child die than to continue on being a squib. He could not risk the chance that this child would grow up to bear children._

_**Lucius covered his mouth with his hands again so that no sound would come out. He knew that most purebloods thought like this so it shouldn’t come as a surprise but it did. That was his sister that they were calmly discussing her death. She was just a baby. Being a squib wasn’t the end of the world. Why couldn’t his father just let her go? Why did his mother have to give up part of her magic? Why didn’t father give up magic? What if they split it? Take some from his mother and his father. That way it would only be a 25% loss of magic per person. Wouldn’t that be easier? He hoped that nothing would go wrong. His sister’s life was more important to him than her being a squib.**_

**** _The man tsked again. Typical response. He reached out and took the baby from Malfoy and set her on the bed next to her mother. The man pulled out a dagger from the inside of his cloak and ran his fingers up and down the blade reverently._

_Abraxas watched the man with a sense of growing horror. What did they need a dagger for? He thought this was just a magic sacrifice._

_The man chuckled when he looked at Malfoy. “I need blood to complete the ritual. Blood from the mother and the daughter. I could use a wand to slice the skin but don’t you think that the dagger is much more aesthetically pleasing? It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” The man breathed out excitedly._

_Abraxas said nothing. No response was preferable than speaking the disgust that was on his mind. This was a mistake. He should have just killed the baby and been done with it._

_The man reached out a hand and picked up Lucinda’s palm and sliced her hand. Blood immediately pooled out thickly and the man’s breath hitched at the sight. Oh how he loved the sight of the warm red liquid. He wanted to taste the coppery tang on his tongue. He wanted to savor the sweet aroma and bathe in the after effect. Her stiff an unmoving body was a bonus. No screams or protests. Just blissfully quiet silence. Mmm. He stared longer than was necessary. As disappointing as it was he knew that he couldn’t indulge in the blood. No. This was business not pleasure._

_With that reminder he turned to the unusually quiet child and cut her palm as well. Not even the flash of pain was enough to make the child cry. He was curious. What was wrong with the baby? The man placed the baby on top of the mother’s stomach to make it easier to press their palms together. He closed his eyes and began to channel his magic._

_Abraxas was uneasy. He saw the way the man had acted when he cut Lucinda. He had known that calling him in was a bad idea but he was the only person he knew that might have a solution. The man was a recluse and didn’t go out into polite society. He knew that the man would be discrete even if he wasn’t exactly trust worthy. The knowledge that she was a squib would not get out._

_**Lucius was disgusted that this is what his father had resorted to. This was unnatural. Messing with one’s body just because it doesn’t fit into normal society was wrong. His father was evil. His sister didn’t deserve this. He just wanted to snatch his sister and run out of the room. He wanted to bundle her up and protect her from the monsters of the world. Lucius didn’t want to watch but he knew that he needed to keep his concentration.**_

**** _When the baby started crying Abraxas knew something was wrong. The child hadn’t made a peep when cut with a knife. So whatever was happening was not good. He had no experience in rituals like this so he had no idea if this was supposed to happen. The crying grew louder and louder. The wails were of pure pain reverberating off the wall and even that wasn’t enough to deter Abraxas from his decision._

_**The tears started streaming down his face as he watched the agony on his sister’s face. She was in pain. So much pain and there wasn’t anything that he could do to help her. He wanted to demand that they stop the ritual and leave her alone but he knew that would end badly for him. He knew that if his father found him that he would be spending a lot more than a day in the cellar. But if he could save his sister wasn’t it worth it?**_

**** _The man sighed heavily. He hated the sound of crying. He was never an overly emotional child himself. His own emotions tend to disgust him. Not to mention that his parents weren’t exactly the loving sort. He almost snorted at that thought. When the child’s cries grew in volume he had to grit his teeth as to not lose focus. Widening the core was nasty business. If done incorrectly it could damage the soul. The magical core and the soul are intertwined and one wrong slip up could have disastrous effects on the human body._

_When it came to children it was difficult because the core will grow and strengthen as the child ages. But what they were doing was getting rid of that. It was a false core so there would be no further development. Since the magic wasn’t hers there was no growth that would happen. The problem was that babies weren’t born with the sheer level of magic that he would be putting inside her core. Babies have relatively small amounts of magic inside them that eventually expand as they get older. But this was a one-shot ritual. If he only implemented the amount of magic that she should’ve had when born then when it came to performing magic, she would still be barely above a squib’s level. It was touch and go when it came to this ritual. Either the core would accept the magic or it wouldn’t. It was a fifty-fifty chance she would still end up a squib by the end of it._

_The man looked up at Abraxas and nodded once. “Her core is sufficiently widened. The pain should die down shortly and then I will be able to start the transfer of magic.”_

_Abraxas nodded jerkily. There was no turning back now. He just wanted the ritual to be over with._

_**Lucius’s legs were growing tired of hiding behind the dresser. He wanted to sit down but there was no room and moving might attract attention. His sister’s cries had stopped and he hoped that meant that they were almost done. He couldn’t take much more of this. He just wanted to hold her and tell her that everything was going to be alright.**_

**** _When the child’s core had settled and stopped pulsing, the man closed his eyes and began the whispered spell. **“Influunt autem industria et partitus corporis stuppa.”** He pushed on the palms of their hands to draw more blood out. He needed a flowing constant to act as a conduit for the magic to go through. _

_The man snapped his eyes open when he felt the tremors start to shake the bed. Lucinda was seizing despite the stunner to her body. She was going into shock._

_“What’s happening?” Abraxas demanded urgently. He knew something was wrong if the stunner was failing. Her mouth dropped open in a silent scream as the baby started crying out loudly. Her wails echoing across the room._

_“The baby is rejecting the magic. It is too much at once. I can put the magic back inside of your wife’s body but since it has touched the changed core of your daughter, the rest of your wife’s magic is considering it as a foreign substance. It is rejecting the magic as well. I have to place the magic in one of their bodies despite the rejection. Doing so will harm them beyond repair. Choose Malfoy. The life of your daughter or the life of your wife. Which one shall live?”_

_**Lucius was horrified. Either his sister dies or his mother dies. Was it wrong to hope that his father saves the baby?**_

**** _Abraxas froze. Either he allows the murder of his wife or the murder of his child. “The child will still be a squib even if your wife dies. Her core rejected even the smallest sliver of magic.” The man warned Malfoy._

_“My wife. Save my wife.” Abraxas said quickly. If he saved the baby, he would be right back at square one, only now sans a wife. No. He would rather have his daughter die. The squib shame would die with her and no one would have to know._

_The decision had taken too long and both of them started to lose consciousness. Lucinda took a giant gasp of breath when the tainted magic combined with her original. The magic began to tear at the existing magic and twist it until the magic combined fully and then in turn attacked her body. She took one more gasp of air before she went utterly still. The baby was making gurgling noises as she seized on top of her mother._

_“What’s happening? I don’t want the child. I want my wife!” Abraxas shouted._

_“Sard!” The man swore under his breath and immediately took his dagger and plunged it into the barely alive baby’s stomach. He vanished Lucinda’s clothes before putting his fingers into the baby’s blood and started to draw runes onto Lucinda’s chest and stomach. He began chanting in another language that wasn’t recognizable._

_**Lucius squeezed his eyes shut as his whole body began shaking. Closing his lids didn’t help any. He could still imagine the dagger sticking out of his sister’s chest. He could still hear the gurgling as the baby tried to breathe. He could hear the chanting that sent fear through him. The spell the man had used to transfer the magic had been Latin. Lucius wasn’t well versed to know all of what he said but he could still recognize it. But this language was nothing like he was used to hearing. He didn’t know much but he just knew that it wasn’t from this world. Chanting like that was something else, something dark and dangerous. Whoever this man was, he was not to be messed with.**_

**** _Abraxas’s eyes widened when he felt the dark magic take over the room. This was not what he had signed up for. He went stock still as he realized just what type of magic this was. The man was sacrificing his daughter’s life for the life of his wife._

_When the baby took her last pitiful breath and moved no more, the man breathed out a sigh of relief. There was a giant shuddering breath from Lucinda as the ritual was completed. The sacrifice had worked._

_The man looked up at the obviously scared Malfoy. “She is alive. She only has half of her magic despite the failed ritual. There is nothing that I can do about that. Your baby however is no more.” There was no remorse or despair on Malfoy’s face. Only relief and resignation._

_“I will dispose of the child.” The man said in a tone that booked no argument. Abraxas was uneasy at that but not enough to argue with the man. Especially after the ritual that he had just witnessed. If he had known just what kind of magic the man could perform then he never would have called him._

_The man looked down at his hands covered in blood and marveled at the contrast that the bright red made against his pale skin. He lifted his index finger and sucked into his mouth and closed his eyes when the flavor hit his taste buds. This right here made the whole trip worth it. He opened his eyes and took in the disgust on Malfoy’s face with a smirk._

_“We will be in touch. I don’t know when but sometime in your pitiful life I will be back to collect the debt that you owe me.” The man demanded before making his way over to the floo with the dead baby in his arms._

_Abraxas couldn’t find the words to speak even if he had wanted to. He just nodded his head in a show of approval. His mind was on overdrive wondering what kind of things that man would request of him later on. He wasn’t a whimsical man but he prayed with everything that he had that the man would forget about their deal as the years go by._

_**Lucius couldn’t believe it. His sister was dead. His sweet innocent little sister was dead all because of his father. Just because she had been a squib. He had never hated his father more than he did right now. He felt like his whole world had been shattered. Lucius had only seen his baby sister from a far but he already felt like she had blessed his life. How could something so sweet and innocent be wrong? How could such a life be bad? How could his father be okay with the outcome? His sister had just as much of a right to live as everyone else. She was just a baby. A tiny whimper escaped his mouth and his eyes widened.**_

**** _The man had been about to release floo powder into the fire when a noise caught his attention. He turned his head all around the room trying to discover what could have made the sound. There was a dresser near the door that was casting a shadow too big to be normal. He ignored the curious look of Malfoy as he made his way to the dresser._

_**Lucius began to panic when the sound of footsteps started to make their way over to him. There was nowhere to hide. He was done for. The man was going to kill him too. He didn’t want to die. He was only six. He hadn’t even gotten the chance to sell a painting or to tease girls. He wanted to be able to mourn the loss of his sister before dying. He wanted to give his sister a proper send off before he too would follow her into death.**_

**** _The man stopped short when he saw the outline of another child. Ah this must be the heir. He knelt in front of the shaking boy with a wicked grin. “And what might your name be little one?”_

_Abraxas sighed heavily. Of course his son had disobeyed his orders to stay out in the hall. The child was such a disappointment. He would have to obliviate him. There was no other option. Lucius wouldn’t be able to keep this quiet._

_**Lucius clenched his fists at the sound of his sister’s murderer. He wasn’t going to die being afraid. If he was going to die it would be with dignity. He looked up at the man and would have stepped back if he could. The man was younger than his father by a long shot and his brown eyes were wildly mad. This man was dangerous. There was more than just murder luring in those eyes. Lucius squared his shoulders and glared at the man. “Lucius. My name is Lucius.”**_

**** _The man was impressed with the way the boy was handling himself. Not many people would have been able to stomach seeing a ritual like that and have the guts to talk to him in such a manner. Sometimes children were really something else. “Well Lucius. Did you know that it isn’t polite to eavesdrop on grown-ups? This really wasn’t anything that you should have witnessed.” He lifted his dagger and started playing with it. The blood on his fingers were nearly dry but a small smear made its way onto the blade to mix with the blood that was on the dagger._

_**Lucius narrowed his eyes at the cloaked figure. “I am not afraid of you.” The statement was mostly true. Lucius was not afraid of anything the man could do to him. Death was something that everyone goes through eventually. If it was his time to go then that was something that he could handle. It wasn’t like his life was that enjoyable anyways.**_

**_He refused to look at his sister or he feared he would break down. He didn’t want to see the lifeless baby in the man’s arms._ **

_Abraxas raised his brows. After what his son must have witnessed he was surprised with the tenacity that Lucius was showing. He had never known his son to behave like this._

_The man let out a delighted laugh. “Oh I like you.” He said with a smirk as he lifted a bloody finger to stroke the side of the boy’s face. “Such a shame that I can’t have a matching sibling set for my collection. You would be lovely next your sister.” The man whispered so only the child could hear him. “Such beautiful eyes.” The man murmured. “Not as pretty as some in my possession but grey is a lovely comparison to the boring brown and blues of the world. Don’t you think?”_

_**Lucius wrinkled his nose in disgust. There was something wrong with this man. He just knew it. He didn’t think the man needed a response so he wasn’t going to say anything.**_

**** _The man gave one last caress to the boy’s face before straightening up and walking back over to the fireplace. “Take care of him.” He demanded before disappearing in a flash of green._

_**Before Lucius could even open his mouth to say something his father already had his wand pointed at him. “Obliviate.”**_

**_Lucius woke up later in his bed disoriented and confused. He had been waiting in the hallway for the announcement of a baby brother or sister. What was he doing in bed? Had that been a dream? No. The more he thought about it the more he could remember being walked back to his bedroom. ‘Your mother unfortunately lost the baby. There will not be another. It appears that you will stay an only child.’ That was what his father had told him before closing the bedroom door._ **

**_He was saddened that his mother lost the baby. He had read up on the delivery and the book said that sometimes babies are stillborn. That must have been what happened. He wondered if the baby had been a boy or a girl. He had wanted a baby brother really bad but for some reason there was an appeal for a baby sister now. That was odd._ **

**_Lucius resigned himself to the fate of being an only child. He would have to be the Malfoy heir after all. For some reason he had this sense of purpose in being the heir. Like being Lord Malfoy one day was okay as long as… as long as… his mind was drawing a blank. There was a reason why he was okay with being the heir. But for some reason he couldn’t remember why that was. Just this morning he had been dreading his fate. So why was he okay with it now? He was starting to get a headache just thinking about it._ **

**_Well if he was going to be a proper heir then he would have to stop the drawings. He would have to throw them away and really buckle into his father’s teachings. Because proper pureblood heirs don’t do frivolous things like become an artist. He really wished he could remember why he was feeling like giving up art was okay. Why was he so willing to give it all up? He sighed when nothing was coming forward. Perhaps he was losing it._ **

**_Lucius stared at the ceiling for a long time. “If I am going to be the next Lord Malfoy then I might as well learn all that I can.” With the new resolve to be the best Lord Malfoy that the world would ever know he closed his eyes. He could get rid of his drawings in the morning._ ** __

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay now that the seriously depressing and disturbing chapter is over, what did you all think? When you thought of the missing memory, was this how you thought it would go down? Or did I surprise you with the turn of events?
> 
> I do have to say that I absolutely love little Lucius. Writing in a mindset of a child was a little difficult at times. But I very much adored him and his little dreams of being an artist. 
> 
> I hope you picked up on the fact that I was describing a hammer with the muggle tool. As silly as it sounds I struggled with that description. I asked my sister to describe a hammer and she said, 'An instrument that has a wooden or metal handle and a metal top.' Hopefully my description was a little more detailed than that. :) No worries. I love my sister anyways. 
> 
> I really hope that you guys can see the how this ritual was nearly the same one as the one done on Ethan. I am not talking about the botched squib one. I am talking about what he did at the end. There was no alter but the runes that he drew on the body were the same runes used in Ethan's ritual. And the concept is the same as well. The Flamels were taking Ethan's life force and putting it inside the stone. This ritual was taking the baby's life force and putting it inside Lucinda. Slightly different but the concept is the same. This may leave you with questions and feel free to ask. 
> 
> Yes I do realize that it is not what you would think of when you hear Necromancy since it is taking the life force instead of bringing it back buttttt it is a small branch off of Necromancy that will be explained tomorrow. 
> 
> I know there was never a name and it probably annoyed you all that he was referred to as 'the man' constantly. But I do feel like I gave enough clues to figure out that yes he was Finneus. 
> 
> Thoughts on Abraxas Malfoy? Sadly enough I could picture that many purebloods would do rituals like this to their squibs or probably just kill them. I think he is a colossal idiot for agreeing to an open ended deal like that. Any guesses on what Finneus might have asked for before Abraxas passed away?
> 
> For the Latin that Finneus used in the botched ritual basically said, 'flow of magic divided into two bodies' It's a literal translation and I switched around some words. 'Sard' is an old curse word that would have been around in the time that he was from. It basically means fuck. 
> 
> And isn't it just sad that Lucius can't remember that the only reason he was okay with being the Malfoy heir was because of his sister? I wonder what would have happened if he had told his father to get bent and became an artist. Hmmm.... 
> 
> Let me know what you guys thought of this chapter. 
> 
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	56. Emotions in Abundance

           Everyone stared at Lucius with growing worry. He had been gaping when Harry told him that he should look into Necromancy but when he didn’t say anything in response, it got the attention of the rest of the room. As amusing as a gaping Lucius was, Harry was concerned. Had something happened to him? Was the thought of Necromancy scary enough to render the great Lucius Malfoy speechless and immobile?

            “Oh Merlin.” Lucius choked out covering his face with his hands. His body started to shake and he couldn’t stop it. He felt sick. Utterly and completely sick. He had always known that Abraxas Malfoy was a bastard but to think that the man would have had a hand in murdering his own child was unthinkable. A squib _was_ a humiliation to their world but nothing would have made Lucius kill a child. He himself would have loved to have another child. Squib or not. He had always wanted a little girl and never really knew why but now it made sense. A sister. He had a baby sister and she had the life snuffed out of her for no reason other than she didn’t have magic. 

It was unthinkable. His father could have just sent his sister to the muggle world. That was still cruel but at least she would’ve been alive! The fresh memory of his younger self at seeing the beauty of his sister for the first time was crushing. How is it possible to love something so much in such a short amount of time? That sweet baby had changed his world and Lucius hadn’t even remembered it. She was the reason he had become so determined to be a good Malfoy heir. He can remember the surprise of his father over the couple of weeks that followed that day when Lucius had buckled down into the teachings. His father probably thought it was something he had done. And in a way that was true. His own father had obliviated him and made him forget. Part of him was horrified that at six he had witnessed something so gruesome and so awful. Just seeing that would have changed everything in Lucius’s world. He knew without a doubt that 90 percent of his life’s choices wouldn’t have happened if he had remembered the memory. There is no way that he would have done anything that his father wanted of him after witnessing his sister’s death.

            With a pang, he could still feel the dream of becoming an artist. That dream had never gone away. It had faded into whimsical fantasy over the years. Something that he wasn’t allowed to think about. It was harder than one might think to lock that part of him away. Every time he saw a painting he would spend too long admiring the work and artistry of the painter. His wife was always wanting art work in their home but it would have been too hard to keep those thoughts at bay if he had to see such beauty every day. It was hard enough as it was without any reminders.

           There were times when he would have a relapse and his hands couldn’t help but draw something. During it was nice, it was wonderful to be able to set aside his worries and just live in his artwork for a moment. But then when it was over, he would feel like he had failed somehow. Failed his life and failed himself. Good heirs don’t become something as frivolous as an artist. He replayed the words that his father taunted him with over and over throughout the years. Every time he would say the words to himself it felt like a little piece of himself had died. Lucius had never been able to stop the longing every time he saw spare quill and parchment. It was like a drug. It was something that he knew he shouldn’t do but couldn’t help but crave.

            He had hoped long and hard that Draco wouldn’t have picked up any lingering skills for art from him. Because there was absolutely no way that he would be able to smash his son’s dreams like that. He thanked everything that could be listening when his son took up potions. That was a skill that he wouldn’t discourage. That was a skill that was practical for an heir. That wasn’t something that he could have a problem with. But a tiny part of him had still felt disappointed. He wouldn’t have encouraged his son to go for a career in art if that was what he wanted but he also wouldn’t have discouraged it either. He would have been happy living his art dreams through his son but that hadn’t happened. His son had not a single artistic bone in his body.

            Lucius knew that he was dangerously close to a breakdown and that now was not the best time but he couldn’t shake it off. The memory was so fresh and raw in his mind. Even though it had been over thirty years ago, it felt like it had just happened. He could still hear the begging of his mother as she pleaded for his father not to harm the baby. He could still hear his sister's raspy dry breathing as she struggled for breath. He could still hear the sickening plunge of the dagger as it made contact with his sister’s body. He could still hear the insane voice of Finneus as he chanted the Necromancy ritual. He could still smell the blood of his dead sister. And even with his eyes closed he could still remember the hunger in Finneus’s eyes as the man stroked his cheek. He could still feel the revulsion as the man talked about wanting him for his collection. He could feel it all. He felt dirty and gross. He felt as if he wasn’t going to be okay for a long time. He just felt off and so emotional.

            Malfoy’s aren’t supposed to be emotional. Malfoy’s are strong and dignified, they stand proud of their heritage and demand respect. Emotions are for the weak and the poor. Emotions cloud your judgement and weaken the mind. Emotions are something that stays locked behind a mask where no one can see them. He repeated all of that over and over but it wasn’t working. Nothing was working. Everything was coming in flashes.

            His dead sister. ***Flash*** His crying mother. ***Flash*** Finneus touching him. ***Flash*** The murderous gaze as the man looked at him. ***Flash*** The sounds of his sister dying. ***Flash*** The blood dripping from Finneus’s dagger. ***Flash*** His sister crying. ***Flash*** His sister’s lifeless gaze. Over and over they repeated themselves until he wasn’t even sure where he was. Was he in the memory or was he somewhere else? It was all too much. Too much to handle and too much to see. How do you make it go away? How do you lock away something so awful as that? Is it possible to unsee it? Is it possible to obliviate yourself? Does he want to? Yes. Anything to get the dead baby out of his mind. Why isn’t it working? Why can he still see it all? Why?

            “Lucius!” Narcissa yelled as she laid her hand on her husband. Everyone was staring wide eyed at the shaking man. What happened?   

            Lucius could hear his wife but it wasn’t making sense. How was she in his mind and in his memory? Or was she somewhere else? He knew his body was shaking. He could feel it. He could feel the tremors that rocked though his frame. Wet. Something was wet. With horror, he realized it was him. Merlin no. Not tears. He hadn’t cried since he witnessed his son die and before that it had been when he was a child. He couldn’t do this, he couldn’t lose himself now. He had to get out of here, he had to escape this memory. He just had to.

            Lucius opened his eyes and dimly realized that his hands were covering his face. When did that happen? He lowered his palms and had to blink away the light of the room so that his eyes could focus. He would have been embarrassed by the looks of shock on everyone’s faces if he had a control over his emotions. Holding things back isn’t healthy. He had known one day that the walls of his mind would come tumbling down but he didn’t think it would be like this. He didn’t think that a damn would burst and flood his veins with so much emotion. He was powerless to stop it all. How do you control what is now a chaotic storm?

            To say that Draco was worried was like saying that Harry’s hair was only slightly messy. Never in his entire life had he witnessed something so… frightening as his father losing it. What in the world was going on? Had Harry’s statement caused that much discomfort? Something else must be going on.

            Harry bit his lip as his eyes widened. Wow. This was not something that he had ever thought would be possible. During Draco’s death he had witnessed emotions from Lucius but that was to be expected. It was his son that had just died so it made sense. But this… what was this? Had he done something wrong? He didn’t mean to upset him. He just thought that it was the next plan for Lucius to look into.

            There are lot of firsts in Severus’s lifetime that stuck out in his mind. The first time his father struck him. The first time he could remember doing accidental magic. The first time he had to hide from his father. The first time he saw Lily perform magic. The first time he realized he had a friend. The first time that he sat on the Hogwarts Express and knew his life was about to change. The first time he had seen Hogwarts for himself. The first time the marauders bullied him. The first time he realized that potions is what he wanted to do when he grew up. The first time that he knew that he would become a deatheater. The first time that he realized he made an error in the previous first. The first time he murdered someone on The Dark Lord’s orders. The first time he laid his eyes on his godson’s face. The first time he knew he needed to switch sides. The first time that he had seen Harry and how much he was a carbon copy of Potter in his looks. The first time he realized that protecting the insane boy was a lot harder than he ever thought it would be. The first time he had to go back into The Dark Lord’s service. The first time killing someone that meant a lot to him. The first time facing The Dark Lord and knowing that he was about to be killed. The first time he saw the love between Harry and Draco manifest. And now…. This… This was definitely a first that would not sit well with him. He had _never_ seen Lucius look anything but the dignified Lord Malfoy. Draco’s death didn’t count. Extenuating circumstances and all.

            “Lucius?” Narcissa asked hesitantly. She knew something was wrong but she wasn’t sure just what it was. This had more to do than what Harry had said. Did his memory come back to him? Is that what was going on?

            Lucius was staring at the table lost in thought. He needed to calm down and at least control his emotions enough to be able to talk to them. He knew he must look an awful sight right now.

            Remus shook Severus’s arm and ignored the glare the man was sending him. He rolled his eyes. “Give him one of your potions.” Remus demanded.

            Severus cursed himself for not thinking of that himself but to be fair he was still caught up on the fact that Lucius was losing it. He quickly pulled out a calming draught and slid it across the table to Narcissa who uncorked it and put it under Lucius’s face.

            Lucius looked at the potion that was blocking his vision of the table curiously. He had no idea what it was but the chances were pretty high that it was Severus who was the one to make it. That meant it was safe to take. That meant it was okay. He downed the potion with distaste. Ergh. That tasted gross. Almost instantly he felt calm and relaxed. Now that he was calm it was easier to sort through his emotions. It was easier to sort what was a memory and what was a feeling. He was able to put away the memory to where he could recall it with ease but he was able to take a step away from his emotions slightly. It wasn’t perfect but it would have to do for now. The wayward tears had now dried and without the potion he probably would have been upset that everyone had witnessed this little breakdown but right now he knew that he needed to tell them what he had seen so that he could disappear into his bedroom and not leave for days. He was beyond done for the day.

            Lucius took a deep breath and looked up at the concerned faces of everyone else. He wasn’t going to apologize for the lack of control nor was he going to pretend that it hadn’t happened. Both would be pointless. “The missing memory has come into recollection.”

            Harry and Draco’s eyes widened and they could feel the growing horror through the bond. A memory had done that to Lucius? Harry was uneasy about asking him what is was, he knew that it was personal and if it had caused a reaction like that then he knew that it was not a good memory. But he had said that the chanting was familiar and if it was somehow related to the stone than they needed to know what the memory had been.

            Draco just stared at his father without saying anything. He knew that he was staring and that it was probably making his father uncomfortable but he couldn’t bring himself to look away.

            Narcissa reached over and grabbed one of her husband’s hand and squeezed letting him know that she was here for him. Lucius was incredibly grateful for his wife. It was the _only_ thing that Abraxas Malfoy had done right in his life was when he drew up a contract between the two of them.

            Lucius took a deep breath. “My father obliviated the memory from me. I am not sure why I suddenly can remember it.” He mused out loud. He had heard of that happening but he had never really paid it much mind. His line of work with The Dark Lord it was easier to kill people than mess with their minds.  

            “The more stressful the memory that one tries to obliviate, the more difficult it is to cover up. Over time the hold on the memory can start to break if the caster didn’t put enough force behind the spell.” Severus said immediately. If the circumstances were different, Lucius might have smiled. Leave it to Severus to never stop being the teacher.

            “To be honest I am surprised that the memory didn’t come to me before now.” Lucius shuddered slightly. He missed the worried looks that everyone was sending each other.

            “I was six.” Lucius whispered. “I had a baby sister.” No one missed the past tense reference. Narcissa covered her mouth with her hands. Everyone else was just staring at him with horrified looks.

            Lucius closed his eyes. “I was there when she was born. She was a squib.” Draco and Severus’s mouth dropped open in shock.

            Harry and Narcissa blinked rapidly at him. Harry couldn’t wrap his mind around the fact the Malfoy family had once had a squib in the family. He knew that purebloods found squibs as something horrendous that could happen to a family. He wasn’t sure if Lucius was ashamed that his sister was a squib or not. It was hard to read emotions with the man’s eyes closed.

            Lucius opened his eyes and the pain in his eyes was obvious. “She was beautiful.” He whispered reverently. “I never got to hold her and only saw her from my hiding spot but she was the prettiest thing that I had ever seen. I hadn’t wanted a sister but seeing her for the first time changed all of that. I didn’t care that she was a squib.” Draco raised his brows. That was a tad surprising. He wasn’t sure where that had come from. The Yaxleys had a squib child 80 years ago and their family was still being judged for it. Well that was until their heir had joined The Dark Lord.

           “I just wanted her to be safe. I knew that my father would do something awful to her but I was just a child. What could I do?” He ran his fingers through his hair, ignoring the surprised looks that the action brought. He knew that he was not acting like himself but this was not the time to care about all of that.

            “My father stunned my mother and called in an acquaintance.” Lucius narrowed his eyes. “It was Finneus Flamel.”

            Draco, Narcissa and Remus gasped. Harry closed his eyes as he fought down a shiver as he remembered how creepy the teenager had been right before Ethan had died. Lucius’s father calling him would have been disastrous. He could already understand why the man was so shaken up.

            “Finneus agreed to widen my sister’s core in exchange for an undisclosed boon to be repaid at a later date.” Severus furrowed his brows in distaste. Why would such an intelligent man succumb to a stupid agreement like that?

            “He didn’t agree do that did he?” Draco asked aghast. What a moronic move. His grandfather couldn’t have been that desperate to hide the existence of a squib, could he? 

            Lucius nodded once. “He did. Even as a kid I couldn’t understand why he would do that.”

            “I can’t believe he would widen someone’s core. I didn’t even think that was possible.” Remus breathed in wonder while Harry nodded in agreement.

            Severus and Lucius shared a slightly amused look. It was almost endearing how innocent Remus and Harry were. Obviously the light side never warned them of the dark evils of the world very well.

            “It required a sacrifice of magic. My father _volunteered_ my mother’s magic.” He sneered in disgust.

            “Woah hold up a minute.” Harry said in frustration. “Was she still stunned?”

            Lucius nodded and Harry and Draco shared a look of disgust. “She didn’t even have a say in the matter?” Draco asked in disbelief.

            “Nope. I have no idea if he ever told her about it. But he sacrificed half her magic. The ritual was supposed to put the magic from my mother into the new widened core of my sister but things went wrong.” Lucius took a deep breath.

            “My sister’s body was rejecting the magic and it wouldn’t go back into my mother either. He said that the other half of my mother’s magic was treating the magic as a foreign substance that had been tainted. He told my father that he would have to force the magic into one of the bodies and that person would die. He had to choose either my sister or my mother.”

            Lucius felt a little guilty when he remembered that he had hoped that his father would pick his sister over his mother. It wasn’t that he didn’t love his mother… no wait, that was exactly it. His mother had _never_ looked at him like the way she looked at his baby sister. His mother was just as cold and mean as his father. She didn’t talk to him unless it was to complain about the way he was behaving. At least his father talked to him… yeah it was only in lessons usually but it was still nice to hear _someone_ say things to him. The house elves talked to him more than his own parents.

            Harry’s breath escaped him. He couldn’t imagine a decision like that. He was slightly feeling bad for Abraxas. Only slightly considering it was his own fault that it had happened to begin with. He was really aching for the innocent baby. She didn't deserve any of it. It wasn't her fault that she was a squib, it was just something that she was.

            Remus was having a hard time grasping the fact that a father would be okay with doing that to a child. He couldn’t imagine loving Teddy any less if the boy had been a squib. There was nothing that would have made him want to do something so dark to his own child. What in the world had Abraxas been thinking?

            “Flamel told him that even if my sister was the one to be saved she would still be a squib. My father told him to kill my sister. He said that he would rather her be dead than to be a squib.” Lucius’s voice cracked slightly and he clenched his eyes. He loathed that everyone was witnessing this. He felt like he was disappointing them somehow. He was supposed to be strong and emotionless, not this weak person in front of them.      

            Narcissa squeezed her husband’s hand that she was still holding. She knew exactly what was going through his head right now and she wasn’t sure how to help him. There were many many times throughout their marriage where she was able to completely see her husband and she cherished those moments but this was not one of those times. She knew that he was most likely ashamed and she knew that no words of comfort would be able to change that. This was something that Lucius had to get over on his own.

            “Why did he have to put the magic in one of them? Couldn’t he just release the magic?” Harry wondered out loud. If it was going to kill someone then wouldn’t it make more sense to just release it?

            Everyone turned to look at Harry with raised brows, even Remus. He blushed when he realized that it was probably a stupid question. There was still so much about the wizarding world that he didn’t know. “I’m sorry.” He said looking down.

            Draco pushed his chair back slightly and pulled on Harry’s hand. Harry looked up curiously he smiled slightly when Draco looked at him pointedly. Harry got up and sat down in Draco’s lap and rested his head in the crook of Draco’s neck.

            Draco smiled down at Harry when he felt the embarrassment fade away and a sense of contentment flow through the bond.

            For the first time since witnessing the constant undignified sitting in one another’s laps, Lucius found the sight endearing. It was a normal recurrence and right now he was needing normal. He was needing for something to stay the same. It was almost grounding him. 

            “Don’t feel bad Harry.” Lucius said softly. “I tend to forget that there is a lot that you wouldn’t know. I should have expected that.” He said in an apologetic tone.

            “Magic is volatile without a container.” Severus began in his teaching voice that made everyone smile. “It is wild and at the best of times unmanageable. If Flamel had released the magic instead of placing it inside a vessel or a repository then the magic would have exploded out of the body and into the room. There is no saying what the magic would have done. The easiest way to explain it would be like a tornado being released into the room. Wild magic can level buildings and destroy bodies. Half of a wizard’s magic may not seem like a lot but it is. Putting that much magic into an infant is not smart. Abraxas was desperate and didn’t think through what he was doing. The chances that the magic wouldn’t have been rejected were slim.”

            Harry blinked as he took all of that in. The more he heard the more he had to question Abraxas’s sanity. Why would he have taken the risk to do that to a baby if it wasn’t even guaranteed? Flamel must have known all of this and still did the deal knowing that it might not even work. Such a Slytherin move.

            “Do you think the ritual didn’t work was because Lucinda didn’t _know_ that her magic was being taken?” Harry’s statement was met with blank stares, so he rushed to explain. “I just mean that if wild magic can take out buildings when released then that would mean that it can be somewhat sentient. Look at accidental magic. It happens to children when their emotions get the best of them. That in of itself is somewhat sentient. It is reacting to the children’s wants which means that we are essentially its vessels. So if she had known that her magic was going to be used to help her daughter’s core then perhaps the ritual would have worked.”

            More silence. Harry wondered if he was making any sense. It was just a thought. He was about to apologize again when Severus spoke.

            “I love the way your mind works.” Severus was as surprised as Harry that he had just said that. Harry blushed but was rather pleased. Draco squeezed Harry’s waist as he kissed the top of his messy hair.

            “That actually makes perfect sense.” Lucius said as he furrowed his brows thinking back to the ritual. He had been wondering why his mother’s body would reject the magic that had only been vacated from her body for such a short amount of time. But if it was sentient than the magic had been forcibly taken and then changed to fit into his sister. The remaining magic could have been rebelling against the magic more than rejecting it.

            “Intriguing.” Remus murmured. He wondered about the different spells that could be worked on with going in this direction. He felt a twinge of excitement at the many different ideas.

            “Where does the chanting come into play?” Draco wondered as he tried to get back onto the subject at hand.

            Lucius frowned. “Before he could place the magic back into my sister, the magic entered my mother and attacked her own magic.” Gasps could be heard all around.

            “Flamel stabbed my sister in the stomach and used her blood to draw the same runes that had been on the alter during Ethan’s ritual. He began the same chanting as in your memory. I don’t know if it was the _exact_ same chanting but it was definitely the same type of language. He sacrificed the life of my sister by putting her life force into my mother. It worked.” The last bit was said bitterly as he stared down at the table with a dark glare.

            Harry couldn’t imagine what it would have been like to witness the murder of your own sibling. Seeing any murder at the age of six was horrible but to witness your own sister made it so much worse. Poor Lucius. And to think that the memory had been taken from him too.

            “I thought you said that it wasn’t a known dialect.” Draco said confused. Lucius snorted. “Well that is true. Harry was right in saying that this is Necromancy. Flamel was speaking the language of the dead.” He couldn’t believe that he hadn’t realized this before.

            “The dead have a language?!” Harry said in disbelief. How do dead people who can’t speak have a language? This was a paradox. His mind was now hurting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. There is some more explanations coming tomorrow but the emotional part of this is somewhat done with. 
> 
> I do realize that Lucius handled his memory a lot worse than Harry handled his memory of being murdered. I like to think this is because Lucius has denied his emotions for so long. He just kept burying them behind shields. Kind of like a Vulcan does. Anybody remember Sarek? (Spock's father) There was an episode of him on The Next Generation where he lost control of his emotions. Somewhat misguided comparison lol so I am hoping that makes sense. 
> 
> It was sad writing him lose control but I think the fresh memory would wreak havoc on anybody's mind.
> 
> I liked comparing his art longing to drugs. I do realize that it isn't the same thing but when you deny yourself something that you want for so long that I think it makes a decent comparison. Like when you are on a diet and you cave and eat the chocolate cake slice (or the whole thing) It feels like a relapse. You know you shouldn't have eaten it but you did and now it feels like you failed. 
> 
> I still haven't given you much information on necromancy but that will be discussed tomorrow. I think I already said that yesterday so sorry for that. But I needed a good spot to end today's chapter and this was where it was at. 
> 
> What did you think?
> 
> -XxTheDarkLordxX
> 
> *Note* Also I would like to say that this Thursday the 16th is my birthday. I do not think that I will be posting a chapter that day. I might if I can find the time. But if I do, it will probably be a short chapter. I feel kind of bad about this. It will be the first day since starting this journey that I will not have posted. I will try but I make no guarantees. Sorry!


	57. Dementors and Hallows

            Severus rubbed his face with his hand. “Yes and no. It is hard to explain. Necromancy is the darkest magic known to man. Sacrificial magic is just as awful so I suppose it might depend on who you ask and the perspective of the opinion. The dead aren’t meant to come back alive. There is a reason they are dead to begin with. Breaching the veil and disturbing their slumber in the afterlife is no easy feat. Only select few can even master that. Which is why they are incredibly rare. Necromancy isn’t a good thing, people on both sides of the magical spectrum are wary of it. Light, Dark and even Grey don’t mess with necromancy. The people who dabble in that type of magic are in their own little category. The Dark Lord had used the only necromancer that he could find and we already told you how low level the guy was when it came to necromancy.” Severus paused for a moment and Lucius picked up the thread of conversation.

            “But what the Flamels were doing isn’t something that I would classify as normal necromancy. They aren’t bringing the dead back. With Ethan’s ritual, they were sacrificing lives by putting their victim’s life force inside the Sorcerer’s stone. That is a tricky category. Because Ethan wasn’t dead at the start of the ritual but did end up dying to make the stone. So, it is a tiny sliver on the Necromancy scale of things. I am quite disappointed with myself for not making this connection sooner.” He said wrinkling his nose.

            “How are we supposed to fight against necromancers?” Draco asked in frustration.

            Severus arched a brow. “Who said that they were necromancers? Just because they can perform this small branch off of the necromancer magic does _not_ mean that they are actual necromancers. I am not saying that they aren’t because we have nothing to go off of but don’t just assume that they are.”

            “But wouldn’t the use of the language of the dead be proof that they are necromancers?” Harry asked curiously. He wasn’t sure if they were necromancers or not but they sure were creepy enough to be ones.

            Lucius tilted his head considering the question. “I don’t know. It would mean that they either are some form of a necromancer or they learned this from one. Even 700 years ago necromancy wasn’t something that people openly admitted doing. The _only_ time the ministry sanctioned the use of one was when they implemented the dementors into Azkaban.”

            Harry wheezed. “Are you telling me that dementors were once _people_?” His voice came out hysterical. He had always just thought that dementors were some obscure magical creature that liked being under the control of wizards, like house elves.

            Severus shot Harry an unimpressed look. “Harry they eat souls to sustain their existence. You can’t kill a dementor once it has been created. Dementors are a level above Inferi but not by a whole lot. One glaring difference is that inferi have to maintain a constant supply of magic to keep them going. Which is not the case with a dementor. Every single dementor at one point had been a dead body, just like an inferi. They were reanimated and twisted by the dark magic. I can’t really say that there is a point to dementors. They were created by a necromancer who wanted to wreak havoc on the world. Dementors aren’t completely mindless like an inferi. Inferi can’t think for themselves. They only do their masters bidding and that is it. There _is_ some conscious thought among dementors. Most people think that the ministry has them under control but that is the furthest thing from the truth. The dementors only guard Azkaban because they _want_ to.”

            “Because of the supply of happy memories that they suck out of the prisoners?” Harry supplied.

            Lucius snorted. “No. Hogwarts really needs to up their syllabus.” Remus agreed, the Ministry had implemented select courses that were ‘no go’ lessons. There were things that they were not allowed to teach the students. A lot of the lessons were common sense, things that parents should be teaching if they wished. But there was a lot that the students should be learning but the teachers just weren’t allowed to teach them.

            “That is a common misunderstanding. A dementor doesn’t suck the happy memories out of you because they like it. They suck the happy memories out of you because they _thrive_ on the darkness that is left over once the memories are gone. Do you think that even after a couple months of being in Azkaban that a prisoner would be able to have any memories left for the dementors to take? No. The prisoners wallow in their depressing memories because that is what actually feeds the dementors. They stay and guard the prison because it is a large supply of unhappy memories but they frequently go elsewhere as well. What the ministry won’t tell you is that there is absolutely no way to control a dementor. They can be repelled with a patronus but that is a temporary fix. They can easily waltz into any city or town and feast on the population. Which they do, the Ministry just covers that up. There aren’t as many of them as you would think. They can’t reproduce and the only way to have more of them is a necromancer.” Severus explained.

            Harry furrowed his brows. He had always known that dementors were deadly and dangerous but the more he was learning about them, the more worried he grew. He didn’t like the fact that they couldn’t die.

            “You said that they need souls to sustain life. Why? Are the depressing memories not enough to feed off of?” Harry asked.

            Lucius squinted trying to come up with the words to explain. “It would be like if you were to only ever eat once a day and a very small portion. That would keep you alive but it isn’t all of the nutrients that you need to survive. Doing so will leave you unhealthy. The depressing memories that they feed off are like the small portion. They _need_ souls to keep them going. I suppose the earlier statement of not being able to kill one is false. If you were to starve a dementor it might die. To be honest, I am not sure what would happen.”

            Harry scrunched up his face as he thought about what he was saying. That made sense in a way. “Where are they getting the souls that they need? I highly doubt the Ministry is providing enough criminals that need to be kissed.”

            Severus arched a brow and looked at him pointedly. Harry gasped in horror. “You mean they are just swooping into towns and sucking souls out of people?”

            Severus and Lucius nodded together. “Mainly muggle towns. A soul is a soul. It matters none to them if the soul is magical or not. They are smart enough not to get caught by going to wizard towns. If they did, it might start a war. One that I am not sure we would win.” Severus said honestly. Not everyone can perform a patronus. Dark wizards by nature have a hard time performing the spell. Not because they don’t have any happy memories but because of how light the spell is. Their magic doesn’t automatically bend to it like a light wizard might. So starting a war against the dementors would cause huge casualties.

            “But if they are doing this then wouldn’t the muggles get suspicious? I mean they are going to notice a shell of a person. They would be alive but not aware of anything.” Harry piped up with furrowed brows.

            Remus shook his head. “Harry think of all the people who are in a vegetative state or deep comas.”

            Harry’s mouth dropped open. His whole world just shifted slightly. “Woah woah wait. Are you telling me that all people in comas and vegetative states are dementor attacks? What about those stories that you hear about someone waking up from a coma years later?”

            Severus rolled. “No. Not all of them. But a large portion of them are. Strokes that people never recover from. Accidents that seemed to happen with no direct cause that leaves the driver in a coma. How some people can be perfectly fine one day and then the next have succumbed to some infection that attacked the brain. And the people that wake up from a coma are _not_ victims of a dementor attack. You will never be able to recover from having your soul sucked out of you. So yes, there ware thousands of dementor attacks that go unnoticed by the muggle world.”   

            Harry was having a hard time processing this. He wondered how many dementor victims there really were. All those families out there hoping that their loved one will one day wake up and they never would. His heart went out to anyone that was going through that. If only there was a way to help them.

            “I am confused.” Draco said with a frown. Severus and Lucius arched a brow. They knew that Draco knew about all of this. What was there to be confused about?

            “What do vegetables have to do with muggles and dementors?”

            Harry and Remus busted out laughing. Severus covered his face with his hand and his body was shaking from trying not to laugh. Harry laughed so hard that he almost fell off of Draco’s lap. If it wasn’t for Draco’s hands around his waist he might have done just that.

            Draco pouted and looked to his mother and father. Lucius shrugged. He had no idea either, but his lips were twitching as he watched the three half-bloods lose it.

            Severus was the first one to recover. His mouth was still twitching but otherwise he was fine. He rolled his eyes when Harry was still chuckling. “It has nothing to do with vegetables.” Draco scrunched up his face. Then why was did it have vegetable in it?

            “It means a state of inactivity. Someone in a vegetative state will still maintain their respiration and their cardiac function but they will have no cognitive function or awareness. There is no awareness of themselves or their environment and they cannot interact with people. Occasionally a limb may move but there is no conscious response being the cause.”

            Draco hummed in thought. He understood what Severus was saying but it didn’t explain why muggles called it vegetative. Muggles were weird. He supposed that was a good enough reason. He just nodded his head and pretended that it all made sense.

            Harry could still feel the lingering confusion and he smiled softly before leaning back and giving Draco a chaste kiss. Draco hummed again but this time in pleasure at the kiss and lifted a hand to stop Harry from pulling away.

            A couple coughs jarred them apart. “Sorry.” Harry said sheepishly. “I’m not.” Draco said unrepentantly with a cheeky grin. Lucius shook his head at his son. Of course he wasn’t sorry. That would be asking for too much, wouldn’t it? Narcissa rolled her eyes at her husband. She honestly thought that Draco and Harry were adorable.

            “Hey.” Harry said slowly when he focused back on what they were discussing. “Do you think that dementors can speak the language of the dead?”

            Severus and Lucius shared a considering look. “I don’t know.” Lucius finally said. “They don’t talk. I am not saying that they can’t but they certainly don’t talk to us if they can. Even when I was in Azkaban I never heard them say anything. Sometimes they would let out these breathy noises to one another but that could have been just a coincidence. They might communicate to each other in other ways that we don’t know about.”

            Harry frowned. “Were they created at the same time or was it slowly over time?”

            Lucius shook his head. “The Ministry only allowed the one-time use. There might have been necromancers that made more over time but if so it was never announced. So the ones that we have guarding Azkaban were all made at one time. Why?” He wondered as he took on the expression on Harry’s face.

            “I was just wondering if maybe they behaved in a hive mentality. Maybe they don’t communicate out loud because they have a collective consciousness.”

            Lucius blinked rapidly. “I love the way your mind works.” He repeated the same words that Severus had said earlier. He had no idea if that statement was true or not considering the dementors weren’t releasing that knowledge. But it was an intriguing idea.

            Draco grinned down at Harry and kissed the side of his temple. Harry flushed but he couldn’t help but be pleased. Part of him wondered if there was a way to test out the theory but that could be an experiment done later on, after the darkness was taken care of.

            Severus was impressed. He wished Harry had thought like this during school. It would have made teaching him much more enjoyable. He opened his mouth to input his thoughts but Lucius held up a hand. “Severus later.” He begged. He really didn’t need to start another side conversation. They were getting off track. Plus he knew that look, Severus would talk his ear off about god knows what for the next hour if he let him. Severus scowled and glared at his friend darkly.

            “How are we going to know what they were saying in the ritual if none of us can speak the language of the dead? Can we attempt to reverse the ritual without the chanting?” Remus wondered.

            Lucius and Severus frowned. “I think it would be unwise to attempt to reverse it without knowing what they were saying.” Severus said continuing to frown. Lucius nodded in agreement. “I agree. You can’t counteract what you don’t know.”

            “I wish we could talk to the dead.” Draco said in frustration before he shook his head. No, actually that did not sound appealing.

            Harry blinked a couple times before his eyes widened. “Merlin’s shriveled up ball sack!” Harry swore as he breathed heavily.

            Draco and Remus snorted. Lucius looked a little offended at the genital discussion. What was with them bringing up such things in polite conversation? Narcissa and Severus just stared at Harry with a curious expression.

            “I thought the left was in an accident?” Draco asked as his mouth kept twitching. Harry leaned back trying understand what Draco was talking about before he understood.

            Harry laughed. “He got a generous transplant. It was good as new until they shriveled up.” He tried to keep a straight face but Draco’s humor was making that difficult.

            “I think he needs to see a healer about this. His privates are having a really bad time of things.” Draco said before he and Harry cracked up laughing.

            “What are you five?” Severus asked with resignation.

            Draco and Harry both scoffed. “No. That is quite rude of you.” Draco said with a pout. Harry nodded. “Yeah, we are at least six.” Harry added with a mock glare. Everyone but Severus broke out in laughter.

            Severus looked up to the ceiling. “Why do I even bother with you lot?” The question was directed to himself more than to anyone else.

            “I have no idea. I don’t think I could put up with us either.” Draco said with a smirk. “You must be just as insane as us. Birds of a feather and all that.” Harry added smiling.

            Remus quickly spoke up before Severus could say anything, the man looked insulted. “What was the thought process that brought up your… er… interesting choice of expletives?”

            Harry nearly smacked himself for getting side tracked. “It’s just that I have spoken to the dead.”

            Silence. The type of uncomfortable silence that makes you squirm in your seat and wonder if someone had just died. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you look at it, his seat happened to be Draco’s lap.

            “Harry!” Draco squeaked and stilled Harry’s moving hips. Harry tilted his head back and gave him an apologetic smile.

            “Explain.” Severus said with an odd glint to his eyes. Harry was still looking at Draco. He wasn’t sure how best to go about this. He wasn’t sure he wanted to tell them about the Hallows.

            Harry started fiddling with Draco’s fingers that were still wrapped around him. “What do you guys know about the Hallows?”

            More silence. Harry was _really_ started to get irritated with the silences. Lucius raised both brows and shot a stunned look to Severus who had his mouth opened slightly. Remus had his brows furrowed. “But that is just a story.”

            Severus, Lucius and Narcissa all looked at Remus incredulously. “No it’s not.” Lucius argued.

            Draco narrowed his eyes. “Hey! You told me that it was just a myth for people who never grew up.” Draco accused to his father.

            Lucius winced and then glared when Severus snorted. “You were fascinated by the story Draco, I had to tell you that or who knows how long you would have obsessed over them.” Draco’s eyes were still narrowed. He wasn’t sure he thought that was a good enough excuse to be lied to.

            “There is no way they are real.” Remus said with a hint of awe in voice. Harry scoffed. “Are you calling me a liar? I have _seen_ them all.”

            Severus, Remus, Lucius and Narcissa all gaped openly at him, making Harry squirm again. Draco smacked his stomach lightly trying to tell him to knock that off. He couldn't help his body from reacting to Harry's movements and he really didn't need things to get more uncomfortable than they already were.           

            “In person?” Narcissa asked with wide eyes. Her mind was working in overdrive. She couldn’t even imagine seeing them. They were stories that have been passed down from one generation to the next. She had wondered if they had been wrong considering no one had over come out and admitted that they had one of them. Not that she blamed them, that would have made them a target for sure.

            “Mhm.” Harry said as he nodded his head. “I owned all three for a brief moment.” He decided to just go all in. If you can’t trust your family, then who can you trust?”

            “What?” Remus breathed. His mind was drawing a blank. He had always thought that the Hallows were just a story. Sirius and James had believed in them but he didn’t. He could still remember the adventure that Sirius wanted to go on to find the Hallows once they graduated. Remus had flat out refused to go on such a silly trip. James had wanted to go but then he got engaged to Lily and the trip fell through. He would love to have seen their faces if they got confirmation that they were real.

            “How? When?” Lucius said in wonder. Merlin, to think that all three of them had been found and united. That was something that hadn’t happened since the creation of the Hallows.

            “It is a really long story. I will just say that the resurrection stone was given to me by Dumbledore.” Severus made a surprised noise in the back of his throat.

            “Dumbledore owned a Hallow?” Severus questioned. “He owned more than just one but yes.” The man let out a little whimper of shock.

            “What did you do with it?” Remus said as his stomach turned. He didn’t like the sound of the stone. Anything that can bring the dead back even in a ghostly form didn’t sit well with him.

            Harry looked down at his lap and frowned. Draco sent him a wave of comfort and reassurance through the bond, which he was grateful for.

            “Right before I walked into the forest to face off against Voldemort I used the stone to talk to my parents and Sirius. I- I thought that I was going to die. I just wanted to see them before it happened.” Harry blinked back tears as he remembered that they had said that they had been proud of him. He can remember just wanting to get it all over with so that he could go and see them. So that he could actually meet his parents. With them by his side it had made it possible to walk to his death.

            Remus closed his eyes tightly at the wave of despair that hit him. He couldn’t even imagine what Harry had been going through. The sheer determination and lack of fear was mind blowing. To think that Harry would have been okay after talking to his parents enough to confront Voldemort. That was how you use the stone. He hadn’t liked the idea to use it to disturb someone’s rest but to use it the way Harry had made him admire him even more than he already did.

            Severus sucked in a sharp breath. Harry had spoken to Lily. He couldn’t fathom what that would have been like. He himself had lost his mother early on but at least he had gotten to know his mother. He was still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that Dumbledore had been the one to give Harry the resurrection stone. Goodness, that was… he wasn’t exactly sure what that was.

            Narcissa’s heart ached for Harry. The mother in her couldn’t imagine what that would be like. To think that that was the last conversation that Harry had had before walking off to this death. She just wanted to reach out and pull him into a hug. Oh, her heart hurt.

            Lucius thought back to the moment that Harry had walked into the clearing that night and he couldn’t remember any indication that Harry had just had a life changing moment. That seemed like an emotional moment that he wasn’t sure how Harry had been able to just bounce back from.

            Draco nuzzled the top of Harry’s head. “I love you.” He whispered into his ear. “It’s alright.” He reassured him as he sent all the love that he could through the bond.

            Harry turned his head until it was buried in Draco’s neck. “I love you too.” He choked out. Draco ran his hands up and down Harry’s spine.

            “It’s alright.” Draco whispered again. “I’ve got you.”

            Harry stayed wrapped up in Draco’s embrace until he was able to cope again. He tried not to think about that conversation too much, seeing Sirius had been the hardest part. He loved his parents, he really did but he didn’t know them. He had no real connection to them. It had been wonderful seeing them and hearing them speak to him, other than the night in the graveyard but Sirius had been the one he had really longed to see again.

            Lucius cleared his throat and Harry tilted till he could see him. “The resurrection stone is not the same as necromancy. So even though you were able to speak to them it isn’t the same language that the Flamels were using. The language of the dead isn’t actually speaking to dead people. Does that make sense?” He asked softly.

            Harry shrugged his shoulders. “Not really.” He admitted. Why call it the language of the dead if you aren’t speaking to the dead?

            Severus hummed. “The name is misleading. Really it is more the language of necromancers. They call it that because essentially the necromancers are speaking to the dead when they reanimate their corpses.”

            Harry frowned. Why didn’t they say that in the beginning? Muggles weren’t the only ones to do things weird. Now he understood what Draco must have been feeling.  

            “So until we can find a way to translate it there is nothing that we can do?” Harry questioned.

            Lucius sighed. “Unfortunately no. We can still do work on the runes and spells and prepare for when we can translate the language. Instead of researching, I can try and find a necromancer.”

            Harry and Draco shared uneasy feelings through the bond. “I don’t know about that.” Draco finally said with a queasy look. “I don’t think it would be wise to bring in a necromancer. Not to mention the negative attention you will receive if word gets out.”

            Harry didn’t like this idea. He didn’t want to be in the same presence as a necromancer. No thank you. Not to mention that if the Flamels got wind of Lucius looking up obscure rituals _and_ wanting a necromancer, that just sounded suspicious. It could bring attention to what they were doing and they did not need that at the moment.

            “What if we looked for necromancer books instead of an actual necromancer?” Severus offered.

            Lucius considered this with a small inclination of his head. “That won’t be easy. It will still draw attention to me no matter how discreet I am. I can try and search under an alias but if I want to use any of my social standing then I will need to show who I am. Either way we could get found out.”

            Harry grumbled. This was more complicated than he had first thought it would be. “What if we put that aspect of it on hold. We can work through everything else together and then search for the books as a group as well. If there is ten people looking for necromancy books than it might be easier. If we all spread out and ask around, then it won’t be so suspicious as a lone guy wanting to know. Hide out in numbers.”

            Lucius didn’t really like that idea either but they didn’t have a whole lot of options. It didn’t have to be decided right now. It could still be discussed at a later date.  

            “Alright. For now that will work.” Lucius conceded. “Let’s get to work on the runes.”

            The group spent the rest of the day working on runes and discussing theories on the meanings behind them. There had been a tense moment when Severus and Lucius disagreed on whether _exhaurdire_ meant to drain blood or to drain life. Harry had worried that they were about to enter a duel. He couldn’t remember the last time he had seen either one of them so angry.

            "I will bet you a back rub that Sev wins." Draco whispered into his ear. Harry scoffed. "Back rub? How boring. I think your father will win. If he loses than later tonight I will get you off with only using my tongue." Draco had wheezed in surprise before choking back a groan at the mental picture. Turns out they weren’t as quiet as they thought they were because when they had turned to see how the argument was going, Narcissa and Remus wouldn’t meet their eyes and Severus and Lucius were looking a very unhealthy shade of green.

            “At that thoroughly horrific thought process I think it is time to call it a day.” Severus declared. Merlin what was wrong with those two? He would say it was their young age but he couldn’t ever remember acting like that.

            “I think that is the only thing we have agreed upon in the last hour.” Lucius told him with disgust in his tone. He wasn’t sure which one of his children were more perverted. He was tempted to throw them away and start over. But for some reason they had grown on him. He must be getting ill.

            Harry stood up quickly and grabbed Draco’s hand. “Well if that is all Draco and I… have somewhere to be.” Harry said as he pulled Draco to the floo, who was smirking in delight.

            Remus and Severus snorted. “Yeah I bet you do.” Lucius said under his breath. The two boys disappeared without even a goodbye.

            Remus started collecting his things. “I should be going to. I need to pick up Teddy from Andromeda’s.”

            Severus stood up with him. “I will see you out.” He offered. Remus shot him a small smile as they both made their way to the floo.

            Once the two of them were gone Narcissa turned to her husband. “I wish they would just get together already.” She said in a disappointed voice. “They are the only ones in the family that are alone.”

            Lucius rolled his eyes. “There is no use in complaining love. Severus will probably dance around Remus for another solid three months, most likely.”

            Narcissa frowned. “Oh no, that is not good enough. I can’t take the suspense of three more months. What if we sped things along?”

            Lucius snorted. “Merlin, you sound like a meddling child. I can guarantee you that the children have already thought of this. Let’s just let them come together on their own.”

            Narcissa scowled at being described as a child. She thought back to the children’s odd huddle moments that she would sometimes catch them in. She wondered if Lucius was right. If they were planning anything than they were going to need some experienced help. “Sure love.” She readily agreed even though she meant the opposite.

            “I have some wedding planning to get to. I will see you shortly for dinner.” Narcissa told him before kissing him on the cheek.

            Lucius smiled softly as she walked out of the room. “Just don’t go overboard on the matchmaking.” He called after her. He knew his wife enough to know that she wasn’t going to drop this. Her beautiful laughter filled the hallway making his smile grow. Merlin, he adored her.

            He tapped his fingers on the table repeatedly before he cursed and went up the stairs. He knew that his wife was most likely in the bedroom so he knew that he would be undisturbed. He stopped in front of Draco’s old room and breathed heavily before pushing it open. This room used to be his when was younger. While Draco had been living in it, it hadn’t resembled anything close to the way he had organized it as a child. But now that the room was empty and bare he couldn’t help but picture the way it used to look. He looked to the bed and swallowed before waving his wand and sliding the bed over.

            The hole in the wall was still there. He never did throw away the old drawings. He knelt down on the floor and pulled them out. The parchment was old and fading in spots but he could still make out the outlines of his work. He ran a finger across the pages delicately as the rush of drawing came back into his mind. He wasn’t aware that he had shed any tears until they dropped on the edge of the paper.          

            Lucius wasn’t sure what he was crying for, whether it was a dream unfinished or for his sister who never got a chance to live. Either way he didn’t bother trying to stop them. He lost count of how long he sat there staring at his art. He grieved for the baby that never got to live but maybe an hour. He grieved for the life that she could’ve had. He grieved for the moments that had been robbed from him. He grieved the loss of never getting to be the big brother that he had always dreamed of. He grieved for the dream of being an artist. He grieved for all of the things that he had refused to show emotion for in his life. He grieved for it all. He grieved for everything.

            He wasn’t aware that Narcissa had entered the room until he was suddenly embraced in her warmth. She didn’t say anything. Words weren’t needed. She just held her husband and let him work through his emotions on his own. This had been a long time coming and she would make sure to be there for him. Just like she always had been.   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts on this chapter?
> 
> I would like to hear some thoughts on if you guys think the Flamels are necromancers or just know the language of the dead and the small branch off of necromancy. 
> 
> What did you think of the dementors being a necromancy ritual? I find it interesting. I like to look at necromancy in levels. The lowest form being inferi and then comes the dementors and other things that have yet to be mentioned. ;P
> 
> Okay, I am not making light of anyone that has known or have loved ones that have been in a coma or a vegetative state. No offense was intended. This was just a way my imagination was going and I hope you all see that. 
> 
> I love the friendship that Lucius and Severus have. Poor Sev, no one ever lets him geek out his thoughts. I think Lucius is slightly prudish but I find it endearing. I can see how discussing sexual things in polite conversations would be a no go in their pureblood training. 
> 
> Now Booklover_17 was the one to ask about the resurrection stone and if that would mean that Harry knew the language of the dead or if it had any play to the plot. I realized that it was a good point but wanted to explain why it was different. Thank you for the question and hopefully I explained it well enough. :) If anyone else has questions or theories let me know and you just may find it in a chapter. :) Other people have brought up the hallows as well and hopefully my comments explained that. 
> 
> Now when it comes to Harry discussing the Hallows. I didn't want him to go into detail like he had once done with Draco. I don't think that they needed to know that he held one in his possession or that he broke the elder wand. I think the less it gets discussed the better. 
> 
> Did anyone else catch how Lucius thought of the both of them as his children? Swoon moment. 
> 
> Uh oh. Narcissa joining Operation: Get Severus a man? Sounds like trouble. Haha. 
> 
> Let me know your thoughts on this chapter. 
> 
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	58. Finally

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay you have my sincerest apologies for posting this a little late. Also I fear that I have lied to you. I know that I said that it would be awhile for another side character chapter. That was only five chapters ago butttt I really needed a Severus and Remus development. So hopefully you all enjoy the chapter! Sorry again for it being a tad late.  
> -XxTheDarkLordxX

            Remus flooed into the Manor a little later than normal. Andromeda had wanted to take Teddy to her annual knitting club or whatever else she liked to do and his son had been a little fussy this morning.

            “Sorry that I am…” He trailed off when he entered the room and noticed that only Severus, Lucius and Narcissa were there. “Late.” He finished before sitting down next to Severus.

            Narcissa smiled warmly at Remus before she had to hide a grin when she noticed that Severus was just staring at him.

            “Where’s everyone else?” Remus wondered before he slid the book that he had last been working on yesterday to him.

            “The quartet is at their shop. Something about hiring more testers for their products.” Narcissa said in amusement as Severus still just continued to stare.

            Lucius raised a brow at his longtime friend. What was with him? “Harry and Draco said that they had business to take care of at Gringotts, something to do with laws because Draco was checking up on creature rights before they left.” Lucius said with a slight frown. They had been dressed in suits with briefcases, he wasn’t sure he wanted to know what they were doing. He just hoped that they didn’t insult the goblins. The last thing that they needed right now is _more_ enemies.

            Remus raised his brows in surprise. He wondered what they needed to do with creature rights at Gringotts. Maybe the goblins were needing their help with something but he highly doubted it. The goblins were still upset with Harry over the break-in. Remus turned to look at Severus because he had yet to say anything but he was surprised to find the man staring at him. The softness in his eyes took his breath away.

            They had been growing closer and closer over the past month and Remus was wondering where this might lead them. He was unsure of what exactly Severus was feeling regarding whatever was between them but he was growing tired of waiting. Severus was not the easiest person to get along with but when you look behind the harsh words there is a delightful person underneath all of that. Someone who knows the cruel aspect of the world, someone who has been hurt before and trusted by no one. Someone who is lonely but cherishes the bonds he does make. Someone who Remus couldn’t help but yearn for.

            Part of him was terrified of falling for someone so shortly after losing Tonks. What would people say? Was he breaking mourning etiquette? Is there a time limit that he is supposed to be following? He wasn’t sure what to do. He loved Tonks and he always would but she wasn’t here and he couldn’t spend the rest of his life hiding himself away in her memory. The rest of him was guilty. So guilty. What he had felt for Tonks was nice, warm and comfortable. Falling in love with Tonks was easy. It was like falling asleep at night after a long day. It was something that he never had to think about, well once he got over the age issue. But it wasn’t meant to be. He knew he had a soulmate out there but that wasn’t what he was meaning. It wasn't meant to be, in the way that she was just the best thing for him at the time. People don’t want a werewolf for a lover. The stigma of being a magical creature carries over into their chosen partner as well. It isn’t just him who faces the prejudice. Any partner of a magical creature then in turn gets judged as well. So a lot of werewolves only marry other werewolves or magical creatures. Mainly because they understand what the prejudice is like but also because being with them won’t cause any unjust prejudice.

            Being with Tonks made her social status drop. Tonks didn’t talk about it too much but he knew that her job at the Ministry had gotten a lot tougher. They treated her badly just because she married a werewolf. He had known going into the relationship that Tonks wasn’t the one meant for him. Not in a soulmate way or even just a normal way. But he loved her regardless. He knew that Tonks would eventually grow tired of the stigma and tired of the way that he couldn’t love her as much as she loved him.

            Falling for Severus was not easy. It was not like falling asleep. It was like the tossing and turning in the middle of the night when you can’t sleep. It was the frustration of knowing that you had to be up in three hours but sleep still wouldn’t come to you. Falling for Severus is difficult and uncomfortable at the best of times. And hot. Hot in a way that he knew he could be burned at any moment but the self-preservation abandoned him. Despite the gut clenching heat that Severus brought him, Remus wouldn’t change it for anything.

            Severus was the complete opposite of Tonks in every single way. Where she was kind and gentle he was cruel and brutal. Where she was open and giving, he was closed off and always taking. Tonks had seen the beauty in everything that she did. She saw colors in the unusual and joy in the mundane. But Severus… Severus didn’t look for the beauty in the world. The world to him wasn’t something to enjoy or to love. He had known the harsh reality of the world for so long that he didn’t bother with looking deeper. He was unique in his bitterness. Severus was pessimistic to the point of nearly being unenjoyable. But there was something so raw and attractive of someone that saw the negative in things. Remus had never met someone who saw the negative before ever considering the positive. It was not the way he did things or the way that would make being around someone like that comfortable.   

            But despite all of that, there was something so real and so alluring about the man that made Remus ache for him. Sometimes when it comes to a relationship you don’t know the worst side of your partner till you are already knee deep into the commitment. But Severus broadcasts the worst side of him as a tactic to keep people away. Severus boldly admits the harshness to his personality. He doesn’t leave room to show anyone the best side of him. The side that Remus knows is there. The side of him that he will catch glimpses of when Severus forgets to be his cold and aloof self. The glimpses draw Remus in. A single glimpse of the man underneath is stronger than anything he had ever felt with Tonks.

            If falling in love with Tonks had been warm, then Severus is an inferno of fire that scorches his insides. The raw desire that he has for Severus scares him. Severus isn’t his soulmate either but Remus could care less. The longing of his soulmate diminishes to just a dull ache when he thinks of Severus. Remus wasn’t even sure that if he had his soulmate in front of him that it would be enough to keep him from Severus. Every single thing about the man makes Remus want more. More of his personality, more of his witty comebacks, more of his stinging insults… just more. He feels greedy and selfish because it isn’t enough. He needs everything that Severus has to offer and his patience is wearing thin. It gets harder and harder every day to look at the man and not jump his bones. His werewolf nature demands that Severus be his. Fighting the primal urges is nearly impossible when the object of his desire is right there. The knowledge taunts him, Severus is right there within reach but he can’t grasp him. His desire mocks him. Wanting what you can’t have, or rather what you aren’t sure you are allowed to have.

            Remus wants Severus. That much is undeniable. He wants him more than he has ever wanted anything in his entire life. He wants more than just a sexual partner. He wants Severus with him at all times, wants to live a life with the man. He wants to make a future with him, wants to share his home and his life with Severus. Everything. He wants to share everything with him. Every happy moment, every frustrating experience and even the depressing fights. He just wants the man and he wants him **_now_**.

            Remus wasn’t sure how long he stared into Severus’s eyes as he became lost in his thoughts. “Yes?” He breathed out curiously when Severus continued to stare.

            Severus reached up a hand to run his thumb across Remus’s cheek. Remus’s breath hitched at the contact. Severus pulled his finger away and Remus frowned when he realized that Severus’s thumb had something on it. “Baby powder.” Severus murmured.

            Remus wiped his cheeks hastily and tried not to let the disappointment that he was feeling show on his face. Of course the man wasn’t touching him because he wanted to.

            Lucius cleared his throat causing both men to jump in surprise. Narcissa kicked her husband in the shin hard. Lucius had to use every ounce of control not to show any emotion but his eye began to twitch as the pain of his leg hit him. Fuck. That hurt.

            “Oh my. You know I just realized that I have got a hunch on something for the ritual that the Flamels used. I need to see a friend and get their input, Lucius dear come with me.” Narcissa demanded before standing up and clearing the books in front of her.   

            Lucius tilted his head to the side slightly. What his wife on about? Narcissa narrowed her eyes and looked at him pointedly. He cleared his throat. “Of course. Let’s go.” He hoped the confusion that he was feeling wasn’t leaking out. Sometimes his wife made zero sense. But it was always better to along with her because and upset Narcissa was not a sight to see.

            Severus barely paid them any mind. His mind was having a hard time focusing on anything but the small spot of baby powder that Remus had missed. Part of him hated the close proximity that he had to spend with the man. Not because he detested Remus’s company. No it was just the opposite. He craved it. He longed for the moments that he got to spend with Remus. The man was smart and could hold an intelligent conversation with just about any topic. Remus was kind, almost nauseatingly kind. It should be a crime that someone could be that kind. One would think that after facing the prejudice of the world that Remus would be bitter or cynical but he isn’t. Severus was positive that there wasn’t a cruel bone in the man’s body.

            His whole life he had never spent time with anyone who was kind, except for Lily. The company he kept, deatheaters and purebloods, don’t know the meaning of the word. Most people, well actually all people, grate on his nerves. He didn’t like kind and considerate people. They churned his stomach. Kind people are more prone to lie, to spare the feelings of others. People like that disgust him. Who cares about silly things like feelings? No, people who look at the world and see beauty are just odd. Severus didn’t like people like that. They were the complete opposite of him and made him wary.

            But Remus was different. Remus’s personality and presence didn’t make him want to leave the room or to hex him. Perhaps when they had been younger it did. But now… now he just wanted to learn more. He wanted to learn everything about the man. He wanted to see the world through Remus’s point of view. He wanted to see just what made the man tick. He wanted to understand the gentle nature of the werewolf. He wanted to know everything.

            These past few weeks were torture on his control. Everything inside him just wanted to take the werewolf in his arms and never let him go. And wasn’t that thought just disturbing? Severus has never done relationships. They are complicated and messy. People change who they are when they enter commitment. Severus had no desire to change any part of himself. You can’t get hurt if you shut everyone out. That has been his life motto since he was little. Perhaps when he had been in school he might have considered relationships but he was focused on his schoolwork then. He never stopped to consider people at that age. Then when it came to the war and The Dark Lord he knew that he couldn’t put anyone in danger. So he continued to shut people out. Continued to be the loner that he knew he was. Being alone isn’t as sad as it sounds. There were no expectations to live up to or disappointments when he didn’t, being alone. There was no one to listen to but himself.

            He knew that he was a bitter man, a man that wasn’t worthy of the type of person that Remus is but it didn’t stop him from _wanting_ the man. There were many times where he felt like just reaching out and telling Remus what he thought but he didn’t want to change the friendship that they had. Friendship. That was another surprising thing. After losing Lily’s friendship he only ever had Lucius. Friends weren’t something that Severus can say that he wanted. It was dangerous to have friends when your career was a double agent. But that was just an excuse. The war was over and he had nothing to hide behind but yet he was still wary of allowing anyone in. He didn’t want to let Remus in because he knew that the man wouldn’t like what was there. Severus has made many mistakes in his life and done things that can never be forgiven. If he let Remus in, then the man would surely leave. He would if it had been reversed. Severus wouldn’t be able to be with someone like himself. He hated himself in many ways. If he couldn’t even love himself than how could anyone else? Especially as someone as wonderful as Remus.   

            Severus didn’t want to ruin whatever it was that they had between them with his longing. He knew how impossible he was to deal with and Remus deserved better than him. Remus deserved someone who wasn’t messed up and stunted emotionally. Remus deserved someone who could openly admit their feelings instead of hiding behind decades of bitterness and self-loathing. Remus deserved so much more than him. Remus deserved everything that Severus wasn’t.

            “Looks like it’s just us.” Remus said quietly looking down. As much as he loved spending time with Severus he wasn’t sure he could do it now that they were alone. His feelings were growing stronger and he hated the unrequited aspect of this. He was too old to be floundering around like a lovesick teenager.

            “Is that something you oppose?” The uncertainty to his voice made Remus snap his eyes back up and he melted at the hesitant glint to the man’s eyes. It just wasn’t fair. How could every single thing about Severus draw him in? This would be so much easier to fight if Severus still didn’t like him.

            Severus reached up and gently wiped away the spot of baby powder that Remus had missed. “N-no.” Remus said shakily. Severus tilted his head to the side. Was that a reaction to his touch or was Remus lying about being against the thought of it just being the two of them?

            Remus had to fight the urge to close his eyes. Severus’s finger was still brushing against his cheek and it was distracting. “Are you okay?” Severus asked concerned. He wasn’t aware that he still had a hand to the man’s face, he was more focused on the way the light reflected off of the deep pools of amber in Remus’s eyes. They were beautiful. So beautiful.

            “No. I’m not.” Remus said as he closed his eyes. “I can’t do this.” He croaked out before looking at Severus sadly.

            Severus went to pull his hand away but Remus shot out his hand and held Severus’s palm in place. Severus furrowed his brows in confusion. “Can’t do what?” He asked nervously. Had Remus figured out his desire? Had he decided that a friendship was too much?

            “I can’t keep pretending that I am okay with being your friend.” Remus saw the narrowing of his eyes and he shook his head and tightened his hold on the man’s hand when it appeared he was going to pull away again. “I’m sorry that came out wrong.” Remus apologized.

            Severus tried to quash the hurt that the statement brought but he couldn’t. He had always known that being friends with Remus would end but he didn’t think it would hurt this badly.

            Remus sighed heavily. “This isn’t how I wanted this to go. What I am trying to say is that I can’t be your friend because I want more.” Severus blinked rapidly trying to understand if he was hearing him correctly.

            Remus wanted to look away but the black of his eyes made it impossible to do anything but stare deeply. “I like you Severus. I like you more than as a friend. I like everything about you and it is _so_ hard to pretend otherwise. This friendship is killing me. I want to be with you. And I know that you don’t feel the same way and I am sorry that I am ruining-”

            It took Remus about three seconds before he realized that he had been cut off by a pair of needy and desperate lips. Severus was about to pull away when there had been no response from Remus but a hand at the back of his head suddenly appeared and held him in place.

            Remus melted into the kiss and quickly began moving his lips eagerly against Severus’s. Yes. This is what he had been dreaming about for weeks. The taste of Severus’s soft lips was surely heaven. He tentatively licked the bottom lip of Severus’s mouth.

            Severus groaned and opened his mouth and let his tongue come out to tangle with Remus’s. His mind hadn’t caught up to the reality that this was actually happening. He was actually kissing Remus.

            When they pulled away to breathe, Remus rested his head against Severus’s. “What makes you think that I wouldn’t return your affections?” Severus whispered not breaking eye contact.

            Remus bit his lip and reveled in the fact that Severus watched his mouth longingly. “I wasn’t sure how you felt.” Remus admitted. Severus took Remus’s face in both his palms. “Are you sure you want this? I am not looking for anything short term. I like you Remus. Far more than I care to admit.”

            Remus swore that his heart just melted into a million pieces. He began kissing every part of Severus’s face that he could reach. “I am positive. I have never been more sure of something in my entire life.” Remus promised. Severus closed his eyes and allowed the rush of affection for the man in front of him to spring forward. “Even though I am…” Severus trailed off uncertainly, not sure how to voice his opinion.

            Remus frowned and pulled back slightly as he narrowed his eyes. “Even though you are what?” The anger in his tone made Severus snap his eyes open. Severus almost leaned away but restrained himself. He didn’t want to admit it but an angry Remus sure brought out the werewolf in the man. For someone so gentle, the man really could intimidate someone.

            When Severus wouldn’t meet his eyes, Remus’s frown deepened. “You think you don’t deserve it, don’t you? You think you don’t deserve my affections.” The anger in his voice intensified and Severus met the burning gaze steadily.

            Remus growled deeply, an action that caused Severus to shudder slightly. Partly in trepidation but mainly in desire. That sound shouldn’t affect him so much but it did. Remus’s eyes flickered in amusement for a moment and Severus knew that his action hadn’t gone unnoticed.

            “Severus.” The tone of his voice was firm and demanding. “You are a wonderful man. You deserve everything that you desire. There is nothing bad or wrong with who you are. I happen to be partial to everything about you. I should be the one with the doubts not you. I should be the one asking you if you are sure that you want to be involved with a werewolf. There is no a single thing about you that I don’t like. You think I haven’t given this some thought? I know you Severus. We have known each other since we were eleven years old. Sure, we didn’t know each other well but now I have the pleasure of saying that I know you. There hasn’t been a single thing about you that would make me not want to be with you. There is so much that I don’t know about you and I can’t wait to figure them out. I can’t wait to explore who you are. I look forward to it. So please don’t think that you aren’t worth this. Because you are. You are worth everything Severus.”

            Severus closed his eyes tightly. No one had ever said such words to him before. No one had ever thought that he was fine the way he was. He had already been sporting a gigantic soft spot for Remus and now he was pretty sure there would be no turning back. Severus opened his lids and drank in the truth in those amber eyes. He surged forward and crushed his lips against Remus’s in a brutal kiss. Remus pushed his seat back slightly, still maintaining the kiss before pulling Severus out of his seat with surprising strength and pulling him into his lap. Severus made a startled noise before deepening the kiss.

            Severus pulled away slightly and straddled Remus’s lap more comfortably. He leaned in to press kisses along the man’s jaw. “I don’t care that you are a werewolf. That has nothing to do with who you are. If you don’t want me to have self-doubt than it is unacceptable for you to have any as well.”

            Remus was pretty sure he just fell even harder for the man in his lap. “We should go somewhere else.” Remus breathed sharply when Severus’s tongue probed against his ear.

            “Hmm?” Severus mumbled as he pulled Remus’s lobe into his mouth. “Oh god.” Remus swore before clearing his mind. “We should take this somewhere where Lucius and Narcissa can’t walk in on us.”

            Severus pulled back and arched a brow. “Not very adventurous I see. But I suppose that you are correct.” Remus narrowed his eyes dangerously. “Not adventurous?” He said with a scoff.

            Remus stood up so rapidly that Severus had to entwine his legs around Remus’s waist or he would have fallen. Remus rested his hands on Severus’s arse as he began to kiss the pale neck in front of him. “I will show you adventurous.” He mumbled against the skin of Severus’s neck before he sucked and nibbled the skin.

            Severus let out a shaky breath. Who knew goading the man would have such a delightful outcome? He tilted his head to the side to allow more room for that sinful mouth. He vaguely noticed that they were moving. Remus lifted one hand to pull at the floo on the mantle and threw it in before muttering his destination. Severus took advantage of Remus’s distraction and it was his turn to attack Remus’s neck. He hummed lightly before sucking on a pulse point as they disappeared in a flash of green.

            Remus bucked when they walked through. He knew he wasn’t going to make it to his upstairs bedroom. So he walked them over to the couch and sank down on the seat.

            “Nice place you have.” Severus mumbled as he dragged his tongue across the man’s jaw. Remus snorted, Severus hadn’t looked around once. Remus squeezed and kneaded Severus’s arse causing the man to buck forward and pushing their equally hard clothed members into contact.

            They both threw their heads back and let out low moans. “I need to feel you.” Remus whispered as he thrust upwards needing the friction. Severus blinked rapidly trying to think through the heavy lust that had permeated his mind. He pulled out his wand and waved away their clothes.

            “Yes.” Remus whispered at the feel of skin on skin contact. He looked down and couldn’t help but lick his lips at the gorgeous body that was now his. Severus shivered slightly at the pure want in those beautiful eyes. “Gorgeous.” Severus mumbled as he took in the little of Remus that he could see. He shifted slightly and moaned when their exposed groins rubbed against each other.

            “I want you Severus. I want you so bad but I don’t think I can last for long. I have been fantasizing about you for weeks.”

            Severus arched a brow. “What do you think about?” He asked as he ground his hips downward against Remus’s thick cock. He wanted to do a lot to the man but he wasn’t going to last long either. This would have to do for now.

            “I think about how amazing you are going to feel inside me.” Remus reached down and closed his hand the best he could around the both of them. Severus groaned loudly as he brought his own hand down to wrap around them as well. “You are going to stretch me open wide. Mmm. I can’t wait.” Remus moaned at the thought and bucked up hard reveling in the breathy moans that Severus was releasing.

            “I think about bending you over the side of my bed and pounding inside of your delectable arse.” Remus whispered.

            “Fuck.” Severus swore. Who knew the man had such a dirty mouth? It was always the quiet ones.

            “Would you like that Severus?” He asked as they continued to grind against one another. Severus quickened their joined hands to rub up and down faster. “Would you like to feel me open you up with my mouth and my fingers before sinking into you and showing you exactly how bad I want you?”

            Severus grunted inelegantly before tightening the hold that he held on their cocks. Remus arched and moaned loudly. Severus would have smirked down as the man lost his dirty fantasies but the pleasure was too much to focus. He leaned down the best he could and whispered into the man’s ear.

            “Oh I want that. I want to feel you show me your dominance.” Remus’s breath hitched in his throat as his werewolf nature howled at the idea of showing Severus just whose he was. Severus really did smirk this time. He knew exactly what he was doing to the man.

            “I will get my pleasure of being inside you as well but I can’t wait for you to hold me down and show me how much of my body is yours. I want you to show no mercy. I want to feel the way you will _own_ me.”

            Remus growled and threw his head back. It was too much. That was exactly what he wanted to hear. He wanted that. He wanted to be inside the beautiful man on top of him. Severus moaned filthily inside Remus’s ear. “I am yours.” He whispered.

            That was it. That was what drew him over the edge. Remus arched and bucked up hard as he moaned Severus’s name as he came on their entwined hands.

            “Mmm.” Severus breathed as he watched Remus shake through his orgasm. The expression on the man’s face was enough to pull him into his own climax. “Remus.” Severus whispered as he threw his head back and spilled over Remus’s own come.

            Severus slumped forward boneless. Merlin, had they just thrusted against each other like teenagers? They hadn’t even done much and it was already more intense than anything he had experienced with anyone else.

            Remus wrapped his arms around Severus’s waist and nuzzled into his neck before pulling out his wand and clearing away the mess. “That was perfect.” Severus mumbled his agreement and closed his eyes.

            Remus chuckled lightly. Severus frowned but didn’t lift his head. “Pray tell what is so funny?”

            “I think we have just ruined the children’s plans.” Severus lifted his head to blink at him in confusion. “What plans?”

            Remus smiled widely. “They have been conspiring against us to get us to admit our feelings.” Severus arched a brow. “I knew they were up to something! The odd huddles when they thought we weren’t looking. I just thought it was teenagers being… well teenagers. To be honest I didn’t want to know what it was that they were discussing. I feared it would scar me.” Remus busted out laughing and Severus was sure that he had never seen anything quite as beautiful as that before.

            “Did they tell you about their plans?” Severus wondered as he kissed the side of Remus’s head. Remus closed his eyes briefly, savoring the sweet gesture.

            “No. They tend to forget that my ears pick up a lot. They should have been smarter to plot when I wasn’t in the room.”

            Severus shook his head slightly. “I would say that I can’t believe them but the truth is that it sounds like something they would do.”

            “They call it Operation: Get Severus a Man.” Remus said biting his lip to stop from laughing. Severus narrowed his eyes dangerously. “They are getting poison in their tea.” Severus decided. Remus snorted. “I can brew it without a smell. They would never even suspect a thing.” Severus assured him.

            Remus laughed this time. “Murdering teenagers is wrong.” He pointed out. Severus let out a disappointed noise. “Is it though? Is it?" Severus countered. Remus shook his head as his mouth twitched. "I say we mess with them." Remus piped up.

            Severus arched a brow. "What did you have in mind?" He asked delighted by the suggestion. He still felt like poison was his best bet. Remus shrugged. "I am not sure. Nothing too drastic. They only wanted our happiness." He pointed out. Severus scoffed. "Did they have to call it that? It implies that I can’t find love on my own.” He grumbled before he realized what he said and lowered his head into Remus’s neck.

            Remus ran his fingers through Severus’s hair and smiled softly. He felt like this was a dream and he wasn’t sure if he ever wanted to wake up from it. He bit his lip. “Do… would you…” Severus lifted his head and looked at Remus curiously. The previous sex god was now replaced with a hesitant man. The different sides to Remus fascinated him.

            “Would I what?” Severus asked quietly as he reached a hand to rub against Remus’s cheek. Remus smiled at the now familiar gesture. “Would like to stay the night with me?”

            Severus smiled softly. “Of course.” There wasn’t anywhere else that he would rather be.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, what did you guys think? This chapter has been coming for awhile. 
> 
> Strugglingwithin23 it is finally the smut that you were requesting. It only took 22 chapters. Lol sorry! No worries, there will be heavier ones later on. 
> 
> So this chapter wasn't really filled with a whole lot but it sure does make me smile. I really like Remus/Severus now. I think they are perfect for each other. Hopefully you guys liked this chapter as much as I do. 
> 
> Did anyone else catch what I was aiming for in the beginning of the chapter? Yes, Harry and Draco are on their way to discuss Fleur with the goblins. 
> 
> Let me know what you think of this chapter.  
> -XxTheDarkLordxX
> 
> *REMINDER* I won't say that I won't be posting tomorrow because I am unsure. Like I said a couple days ago, tomorrow is my birthday and I don't know if I will have time to post a chapter. If I do then it will most likely be a short chapter.


	59. Enlightenment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This may be a little confusing until you get closer to the end of the chapter but just stick with it! It will make sense, I promise. This chapter is a tad shorter than what I normally post so bear with me. :)

_Life. Such a simple but complex word. When you are young, life is a big adventure that you just can’t wait to experience. The patience leaves you and you just want to enjoy it **now**. Who cares that you will have the rest of your life ahead of you? That is in the future, you just want it now. Immediately. That is the problem with children. They don’t want to live in the present. They don’t want to prepare for the future. They want the good in life without waiting for it, without earning it. It doesn’t matter what world you live in, muggle or wizard. Children are the same. The impatient youth turns into the impatient teenager who then turns into the entitled adult. Always wanting what you can’t have. That is a simple problem that hasn’t changed nor will it ever. Children want to grow up too fast. Teenagers think that they know it **all**. And adults don’t end up knowing anything. _

_Life is an endless circle. You live, you grow and you die. Sometimes life is filled with wonder, joy and happiness. Then other times life is filled with sorrow, despair and misery. Environment plays a key role in the product of one’s life. Not the outside environment of the world. No, the environment of how one is raised. If you are raised in a predominantly dark family, then the chances of you being dark is highly probable. That isn’t an absolute. There will always be exceptions to the rules. Same thing goes for muggles. If you are raised in a prejudiced environment than the chances are pretty high that you will also be prejudiced. Again, there are exceptions. Children are more easily influenced than parents would like to believe. Some parents will religiously not allow swearing around their children because they don’t want them to pick up ‘bad habits’ but they don’t realize that children watch **everything** that you do not just what you say. Sometimes what you don’t say has a bigger impact than what you do say. Your life choices and daily routines will rub off on your children. They see the way you lead your life and want to either be just like you or the furthest thing from you. _

_But ultimately life comes down to choices. You could have the perfect picture family and still turn out bad. You could have the worst family in existence and turn out to be wonderful. Yes, life starts out by the environment by which you are raised but there comes a point in your life where **you** have to take credit. Blaming your family will only get you so far. It is the choices that we make that define who we are. Are the choices that you make today going to be ones that define who you are you for the rest of your life?_

_The average lifespan of a muggle is about 80 years. The average lifespan of a wizard is about 115. When you go through life knowing that your time on earth is limited, that changes your mindset. Everyone dies at some point. That isn’t a what if or even up for debate. It just is. Every single person whether you are muggle, wizard or magical creature will at some point die. If you knew when and where you were going to die, it might lead you to live life to the fullest. It might make you wake up and stop living for other people, it might make you see past the mundane and grab a hold of life’s reigns. Live everyday like it were an adventure. Or it might just depress you to the point where you can’t even get out of bed the next day. The beauty of life is that it is different for every single person that experiences it. Your life compared to someone else’s, is drastically different. There are no two people who will have the same life. No two people who will have the same experiences. What is good for you might be someone else’s nightmare. Perspective._

_Perspective. It is unique. Two people can look at the same problem but see vastly different solutions. Perspective on life changes with each person. The opinion of one is not the opinion of another. When you believe that just because you see something a certain way that that must mean it is the **only** solution, your perspective has now been skewed. Emotions tend to run wild when people disagree on someone else’s perspective. When does a simple difference of opinion become a debate? How long can you debate something before you realize that you are now fighting? Emotions._

_Emotions. Humans by nature are emotional beings. That is a way of life. To look at the world without emotions is like looking at the world through sunglasses. It dulls the senses. You are viewing the world but you aren’t really **seeing** it. How can you truly experience the wonders of life if you don’t stop to feel it? Emotions are a give and take. Some emotions like love, are what people live for. Emotions are intoxicating in their own rights. But there is always a balance. You can’t only have the positive without knowing the negative. How can you love something if you have never felt loves opposite? Those who crave love must also be willing to put up with the loneliness when love cannot be found. The same goes for joy. People want a happy life, no one wants go through life feeling the depressed sadness that everyone is capable of. But you cannot know joy without knowing its opposite. That is the balance of life.   _

_Life is messy and complicated. There is no manual, no instructions or even the correct way to do things. You will mess up. You will make gigantic mistakes that seem like the end of the world. There will be times that you think that you can’t do it, that you have to give up. But there will always be **something** that makes life worth it. For some it is their families. For others, it is their careers. Sometimes it can be your friends.  _

_What makes life worth it for me? That is a difficult question. I don’t see the beauty of the world anymore. I don’t see the colors that make up life. I don’t see the never-ending wonder that can be found when you just bother to look. I used to. I used to be able to see all of that and more. But now, I walk through life with those sunglasses that shade my perspective. Perhaps at one point my life was full of colors, nothing bright or happy but still there were once colors. There aren’t even shades of grey or dark colors that fill my canvas any longer. The monotony of my daily life is the same pattern that it has been for **so** long, that I don’t know what to do with myself. There hasn’t been any excitement in such a long time, that I think I have forgotten how to live. I think I have forgotten how to enjoy the little things. I think that I have forgotten how to experience the joy that surrounds us. I think I have forgotten how view the world in its many wonders. I think I have forgotten what it is like to just **be**. To exist as just one of the many billions of people that make up this world. _

_Since I can no longer experience those things myself, I dedicate my time to watch others. I people watch. People are so busy, always on the move. Always having to go somewhere or be somewhere. Always doing something. They never have the time to slow down or just exist for a moment. People who do that are taking granted of everything that makes up this world. People who aren’t aware of their surroundings while they build up their lives are not people that I respect. People just don’t understand the gift that they are throwing away. I would give anything to be able to experience life like they could if they stopped choosing to ignore it._

_Life ends at some point, I already emphasized that. Unless you cheat the system. Unless you find a way to break the cycle of life. I like to imagine that were death and life to be real and not figuratively concepts of our world, that they would be friends._

_Death and Life are opposites in so many ways. Death isn’t complicated like life. There aren’t any hidden meanings or even the wrong way to go about it. As surely as life will always go on whether you are prepared for it or not, the same is to be said about death. Under normal circumstances death can never be stopped. Life is the temporary roadblock on the adventure to death. People fear death because it is the great unknown. What is on the other side? Is there even another side? Is there really a higher power at work? Does reincarnation truly exist? Is there an afterlife? And will dying give the purpose to life? Will dying finally give us the answers that we have been looking for? Those are questions that I fear I will never be able to answer. When one is fated to live forever there is no death._

_There are days where I dream that I will die. There are days where I think that this will be the last time I take the Elixir. But then that fear comes back in. Death is my fear. To take the final plunge is scarier than anything that I could face in the living world. The statement that there is always something to live for is true. Mostly. What is there to live for when you have seen it all? To live seven lifespans leaves little room for new things. How do you go on living every single day when it is just an endless pattern that won’t ever change? Even in death there is nothing to look forward to. If I was to die than I wouldn’t want to know it was coming. I don’t want to leave this world through suicide. Stopping the Elixir would be just that._

_How I do change things when my own my mind is becoming the enemy? Continuing life is becoming a chore. A monotonous chore that is nearly impossible to finish. Waking up every day gets harder and harder to accomplish. If I could go to sleep and never wake up I would do it. I could use spells or potions to make that happen but that would be the suicide aspect again. To take the final plunge is scary in ways that make me a coward. Being a coward is something that is not a foreign concept to me. Perhaps not in the normal definition of the word. I am a coward in silence. The silence of knowing that something is wrong but not having the courage to do something about it. The silent cowardice is far worse than the cowardice of admitting that you can’t do it. The silence is far worse because it gives the illusion that you are okay, it gives the illusion that nothing is wrong. Silence can be a deadly weapon or the catalyst to your own undoing._

_It doesn’t take a genius to depict which one applies to me. My silence used to be a coping mechanism for the disturbing childhood that I had to endure. There is an excuse buried in there somewhere. I could blame my parents or even life for that matter but again, there has to be a point where **you** have to take credit for the choices you make. You can only blame others for so long. That is an ignorance that I used to blindly dive into. A blanket blame that had nothing to do with me, is what I used to believe. My parents are **not** people that anyone would want to be like. They are not parental figures. They should never have had a child. Nor should they even exist, really. But, I can’t blame them completely any longer. I can blame them for my upbringing to an extent. Again, there came that time where blaming them is juvenile and not palpable. The way my life has turned out is solely my own doing and what I make of it. I could have done a million things differently, I could have turned out the complete opposite of the insane mess that I am, if I had made smart choices. If I had stopped to consider just where my life would take me. I may be not completely right in the head but I think that admitting that I **am** insane is the first step to breaking that silence that is my catalyst. _

_It is too late to change who I am or the things that I do. It has been way too many lifespans for me to alter the path of my choosing. I chose this life and now I have to live with it. There was once a point where I wanted to adjust my lifestyle but I realized that I was going through stages._

_First there was denial. I was refusing to see that the choices I made were my own doing. I was denying that there was even a problem. At the time, it was about three lifespans ago, I still was blaming my parents. I wanted to change but wasn’t in agreement that it was my fault. You cannot get better by blaming others. You have to take credit when it is due._

_Then there came the pain of guilt. I knew what I was doing was wrong but couldn’t find the way to stop. Living forever sounds great and it might be great, if you make the best of what is given to you. But when you do unspeakable things over and over then when you finally do see that you are on a path of destruction, that just means that there are hundreds of thousands of days that are now on repeat. Your mind whirls through them all pointing out every single thing that you did wrong. The pain of knowing what you have done is nearly tangible to actual pain. The pain of guilt and regret is not something that I am used to. How do you stop it? How do you stop what you can’t understand?_

_Third came anger. I was angry at the world, my parents, my victims but mainly myself. Why me? That was something that I couldn’t fathom. Why did I have to go through this? Why couldn’t someone else? The anger had started out as a dull frustration that quickly bled into rage. I lashed out at anybody and anything. For a moment, the stages had blurred and I was angry **and** in denial. It sure couldn’t be my own fault, so therefore it was everyone else’s. It took a long time to see past my anger and denial to realize that I only had myself to blame. If I had a problem with my life than it was up to me to change that and only me. Blaming others wouldn’t bring me any solutions nor would it make me feel better in the long run. _

_Then came reflection. I began to isolate myself. I wanted to be left alone to my own devices. I didn’t want to talk to anybody, I didn’t want anyone to see me until I could get a grasp on my life. I was no longer angry. But in many ways, that was preferable to the now depressive mindset I found myself in. The reflection was in some ways similar to what I experienced in my guilt. My mind was replaying those same images of all of my wrongdoings. But instead of the guilt that I had once felt, the images were now causing a deep gutted depression. Everything that I did was now a sad moment of my day. I couldn’t even get myself out of bed anymore. I was a wallowing pit of despair and there was no end in sight._

_Finally came acceptance. I was able to push past the depressive morbid thoughts of my own mind and realized that I would be okay. I began to adjust to my lifestyle. For a brief moment, my mind tried to come up with solutions to my problems. But I decided I didn’t want to change in the end. I wanted to continue on this twisted convoluted path of my own choices. Knowing that this could end in disaster wasn’t enough to change my mind. Knowing that everything that I do is potentially wrong and vile, was something that I had to own up to. I had to know what I was doing and continue to do it regardless. It may be wrong and immoral but it **is** the path that I have chosen. Screaming at the world for my own choices is pointless. I made this bed, now I must lie in it. That is the way of life.  _

_Acceptance is not a recipe for happiness. Before going through what my father called, a midlife crisis, I was relatively happy. Not happy in the way that normal society would call it, but it was my own version of happiness. But since the stages that I went through, I will never be able to quite get that happiness back. I mourn the loss but look forward to what has replaced it. I still hate my never-ending existence but I have made peace with the knowledge of my life._

_Things are not perfect and in many ways not enjoyable. But I am the one who chose this path. I am the one who continued to walk down that same path. And I am the one who is responsible for everything that happens along that path. Me. Not my parents. Not my victims. Not even life. Just me. I am the one-_

Finneus’s inner ramblings were invaded by the most alluring and delectable sense of power. A power that he couldn’t remember feeling since he was legitimately in his teens, nearly 700 years ago. When he was still a mere mortal on the aspect of life. He closed his eyes and inhaled heavily before moaning in pure pleasure at the sheer depths of power that was radiating from somewhere.

            His nostrils flared as he slowly opened his half-lidded eyes. He had to know where that power was coming from. He had to know what insatiable creature was releasing such beauty. It was so intoxicating in the rich aroma of pure power. It was strong, raw and nearly unfathomable.

            He looked around rapidly and dimly noticed that he had been sitting outside in diagon alley while he people watched. Finneus couldn’t tell how long he had been sitting here, by the ache of his back it had been at least three of four hours. But that was beside the point. Who cared if his back was hurting? Finding that power was the most important thing on the scale of what matters. He could almost hear the call of the magic, almost taste the sensual pull of its will.

            Finneus hadn’t had a purpose like this in a _really_ long time. Nothing like this had gained his attention in centuries. _Oh_ , he had to find the power. He just had to. He wasn’t sure what he would do with the person once they were found. He wasn’t sure how he would handle the witnesses but that was half the fun. He smirked ferally has he stood up, craning his neck trying to sniff out the force of such tantalizing energy. He quickly delusioned himself so that no one would be able to see him. He wanted to stock his prey silently, the hunt was the other half the enjoyment.

            “-Soo going to be late!” Came a disgruntled complaint from near his bench. Finneus looked around quickly to see if this was the person he was looking for. The man in question looked no older than 25, he had black hair and brown eyes. There was something off about him and Finneus didn’t like it. He knew right away that this was not the person he was looking for but there was still something there about this person that intrigued him. The man was walking with someone else.

            “And whose fault would that be?” The man’s friend replied. “You were the one who jumped me right after leaving your parent’s place.” Finneus took the time to investigate the second man. He had brown hair and pale blue eyes. The longer he stared at the man he knew that something was wrong. The look didn’t fit. There was a shiny aura around the both of them that was warring with the surroundings of them. With a jolt, he realized that they were wearing glamor charms. He was impressed by the skill of the charms. If he hadn’t been paying such close attention, then he might not have even noticed the charms. And that just irked him.

            The man with black hair bit his lip. “Yes well, I wanted a repeat of last night. You have no idea the skill that you have with your tongue.” Finneus nearly snorted, whether in disgust or humor, he wasn’t sure.

            The man with brown hair did however snort. “I swear you are the horniest person I have ever met Dra-” He was cut off by a hand to the mouth.

            “Shh. Not here. You never know who could be listening. Let’s hurry up or we really will be late.” The man with black hair demanded before dragging the other man away.

            The man being dragged away sighed heavily but he looked around as if he noticed he was being watched. When the pale blue eyes locked onto his delusioned body, Finneus froze slightly. There was no way the man could see him but it was eerie that he knew someone was there. When their eyes had locked, Finneus knew with every pore inside his body that this was the person who held the power. This was the person that he had been looking for. As pretty as the pale blue illusioned eyes were, he wanted to know what color they really were. Were they brown? Perhaps a darker shade of blue? Or his personal favorite green? He wanted to see the real beauty of the man. Finneus was insulted by the glamor. How dare the man hide his real self behind false cheap images? What right did the man have to deny his power to the rest of the world?

            Finneus took a few steps forward so that he could follow the duo but he had not anticipated that the man would stop walking and in turn run completely into a passing crowd. Finneus’s eyes widened when he realized that he was losing track of both men. The damn crowd coming out of Flourish and Blotts was definitely a school crowd. There were tons of prepubescent sniveling children running around as their frantic parents chased after them. He hated children.

            He picked up his pace and maneuvered around the crowd trying to follow the aroma of the power that had enticed him so thoroughly but he was losing the trail. With so many people it was hard to track the man. If he had an aerial view it would have been easier but down on the ground, he was having a hard time. Finneus searched for a solid twenty minutes before he had to admit defeat. The anger of losing the man was pumping through his veins. He needed to release the anger before it got the best of him. He couldn’t believe that the man had gotten away from him. The sting of failure was singing loudly into his ears and it pissed him off. Finneus checked the time and sighed in relief that he still had an hour before his next appointment. Good. Then he still had time to find his next victim. He almost felt sorry for whoever it would be. They wouldn’t even understand why he was so angry. They would only feel the biting pain of his displeasure.

            “The wrackspurts in your mind are really loud. Your charm isn’t as good at hiding as you hoped to think.” Finneus spun around quickly at arched a brow when he noticed a blonde teenager looking directly at him. Interesting. She could see right through his charm. That should have worried him but he was more focused on the odd way the girl seemed to hold herself. Like she knew things that others did not. The girl had the most interesting blue eyes he had ever seen. They looked almost as if there were white clouds circling inside them. This girl was different in many ways. He could tell just by looking at her. He had no idea what a wrackspurt was and he had to wonder if she herself knew either.

            “Oh yes. I can see you. I can see far more than just your appearance.” Finneus narrowed his eyes at the implication. Who was this girl? And why did she seem to _know_ him? He didn’t like it one bit.  

            He took a step towards her and raised an impressed eyebrow when she just tilted her head sideways in response. If she really knew more about him than she was letting on, then she would have stepped away or screamed bloody murder. Because that was _exactly_ what he planned on doing to her. “I think we need to go somewhere else to get… acquainted with one another.” Finneus said trying to mask the hunger he was feeling. Oh yes, those eyes would make a lovely addition to his collection. This was a shade that he did not have and he was practically salivating at the opportunity.

            “Nargles don’t usually infest things besides mistletoe but I fear that they have infested your whole body.” The dreamy tone to her voice made him pause in his movements. What was with this odd girl? Did she have no self-preservation? Did she not care for her wellbeing?

            The girl squinted and Finneus had the uneasy feeling that she really could see more of him than he thought. She nodded her head once. “I will go with you but make no mistake. You won’t kill me. The wrackspurts have assured me that that is not what you really desire.”

            The finality to her tone made him stare at her in astonishment. Finneus bristled at her words. She was sorely mistaken if she thought that he wasn’t going to kill her. Now he was going to make it hurt too. Torture wasn’t his forte but he would be damned if he was going to let some silly whimsical child dictate his plans.

            Finneus made the final step towards her and didn’t even wait for her to say anything before he apparated out of there with his surprisingly willing victim.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The awkward moment when you learn life lessons from an insane serial killer... 
> 
> Okay, so what did you guys think of this chapter? At first I imagine you were wondering who was the one thinking such intricate thoughts only to be highly disappointed by the outcome. 
> 
> There was a lot of profound knowledge hidden inside his thoughts and there was also some delusional thought process as well. I don't know if you guys picked up on it but those stages he was talking about are the 5 stages of grief. I found a little irony in that but I also think that since he is not quite like his parents that at some point in his long life that he might have regretted his actions. But regret that leads to nothing is kind of shitty. I mean he knows what he is doing is wrong but in the end just decided to say 'fuck it' and keep doing it. 
> 
> This chapter didn't have a whole lot of information on his actual background it just gave you an insight to his mindset. Not sure if I am more concerned prior to what he really thought or now that I know what he is thinking. Disturbing person he is. 
> 
> Yes, that was Harry and Draco that he saw. Hopefully that was obvious. I don't know if you picked up on it but that was the same glamor charms that they used the last time they went to diagon alley (Not counting to Zonkos) 
> 
> And finally Luna. I won't even try and deny it, it was kind of obvious that it was her by the words that she was saying. There is some ditsy dreaminess to her that was missing but considering who she is talking to I needed to make her slightly more serious than normal. I want to know what your thoughts on her willingly leaving with him are. 
> 
> So let me know your thoughts on this chapter. 
> 
> -XxTheDarkLordxX
> 
> *ALSO* I would like to thank everyone who wished me a happy birthday. That means a lot guys. I really appreciate it. I will say it was incredibly odd not to post a chapter. I have been posting once a day for nearly two months now, so I had to clear my head a little and try and have a day to myself. That was odd. I ended up reading and building a puzzle. Hahaha. Due to circumstances that I won't really go into detail, I did have to spend the day alone but that is alright. My lovely sister (Who is still only on chp 8 of my story, by the way. I mean how can it take two months to read 8 chapters??) Set up a Harry Potter trivial pursuit that the two of us could play while we are over 1200 miles apart. So sweet. I totally kicked ass, but honestly, I wasn't even surprised.


	60. Goblin Etiquette

           Harry’s heart was beating rapidly as he stopped Draco from pulling him further. “What-” Draco was cut off when Harry grabbed a hold of him and shoved them into a small crevice between Madam Malkin’s and Flourish and Blotts. Harry could feel the blood pounding in his ears, the adrenaline pumping through his veins and the tension springing up in his muscles.

            Draco froze when he felt the turbulent emotions that the bond was releasing. There was a heavy dose of fear that made his awareness kick into overdrive. What was going on? Had someone recognized them? He didn’t think that was possible. Their charms were superb. Some of his best spell work too. Had Harry seen something that he didn’t?

            “What’s going on?” Draco whispered when the silence was getting too much. Well, mostly silence. He could hear the patrons walking up and down Diagon Alley and they were nothing but loud. Honestly, you would think that people would show some proper decorum out in public.

            “Someone was watching us.” By the tone of his voice, Draco knew that he meant someone was watching Harry not him. He furrowed his brows. People were always watching Harry so that wasn’t big news. But for someone to be watching him in his glamor was. There was no way that someone saw through the spells, so this was something else. “What did they look like?” Draco asked curiously.

            Harry shook his head. “That’s the thing, they were delusioned or under a cloak.” Panic. Draco’s eyes widened and he was beginning to panic. If someone went to lengths like that just to watch Harry, then this was bad news. They could be anywhere and they wouldn’t know it.

            Harry reached over and pulled Draco into his arms. “Hey calm down. It’s alright.” He tried to reassure. Draco shook his head rapidly. “No, it’s not. Anyone could have been watching you. Anyone. And we wouldn’t even know it. I have a really bad feeling about this Harry.” Draco whispered as he clung to Harry. With everything going on they really didn’t need for anything else to happen to them.

            “So do I.” Harry admitted quietly as he rubbed Draco’s back. The admission made Draco feel better. If Harry was worried too, then Draco wasn’t losing it. “What should we do?” Draco wondered. He always adored being in Harry’s arms but being in a dingy little space that was barely big enough for one of them let alone the both of them, was not his idea of romance. He was pretty sure this was a breeding ground for stray animals.

            “I think we should stay here for a couple more minutes before heading back out there. Hopefully the person will have lost us.” Draco frowned into Harry’s chest at the idea. He didn’t mind hiding out but did it really have to be _here_? If the stench of this place clung to his clothes he was seriously going to hurt somebody.

            “You know what I love?” Harry mused out loud. Draco arched a brow at the random question. “Me?” He retorted with amusement.

            Harry grinned. “Well yes. But that wasn’t what I was talking about. I love that you immediately believed me that someone was watching us.”

            Draco lifted his head to frown at Harry. “Why wouldn’t I have believed you?” He wasn’t sure if he was supposed to be offended or not.

            “I tell you that someone was watching us but that I didn’t actually see them. I say that they were in a cloak or delusioned which is something that I can’t prove. If this was Blaise or Pansy what would you have said?”

            Draco raised his brows as he thought it over. “I would have told them that they were paranoid and walked back out of this… alley.” The last word was said with visible disgust.

            Harry chuckled and kissed the tip of Draco’s nose. “Exactly. But you didn’t even question my thought process. Or ask me how certain I am. Just immediately believed me.”

            Draco smiled softly. He wondered if that made him biased. He shrugged slightly as he considered that. If Pansy or Blaise had said the same thing he really would have thought they had lost it. They had been surrounded by people and Harry only looked up for maybe a couple seconds.

            “Of course I did. I will always trust your judgement.” Draco admonished lightly but the grin let Harry know he was teasing slightly despite the conviction in the statement.  

            “Except when I drag you into dirty alleys.” Harry teased, smiling when Draco wrinkled his nose. “Yes, perhaps I spoke too soon. I mean calling it an alley is definitely flattering this crevice of horror.” Harry snorted but didn’t even bother pointing out that Draco himself had called it an alley just a couple of minutes ago. 

            Draco stopped looking around because it was making him sick to think that he was actually standing in a place as dirty as this. He could just imagine what his father would say. Draco looked at the only beautiful thing in the damn place, which was Harry. “Now that you mention it, what did make you so sure?”

            Harry tilted his head to the side as he considered the question. “It was a feeling. I could feel the eyes on me. I am used to the stares considering I can’t go anywhere without someone staring at me. I think I am attuned to know when someone is watching me. But it was more than that. There was this odd sense of danger. I can’t really explain it but I knew that we had to get out of there.” Harry was frustrated that it didn’t make a whole lot of sense.

            Draco furrowed his brows. Harry nearly always knew what he was talking about and his judgement really was almost always spot on. He wasn’t even going to think back to the Flamels. That was only one time. “I wonder who it was.” Draco pondered. That was what irritated him the most was that someone had watched them in hiding. The damn coward couldn’t have done it openly? What did they have to hide? To him it made it seem like they would have recognized the person, why else would you hide your appearance?

            “No idea.” Harry replied with a shrug. He wasn’t sure who it was but he knew that he wouldn’t like it if he ever found out. “Think it has been enough time?”

            “If you are asking me if we can leave this disgusting place, then hell yeah it is time to leave.” Draco retorted and immediately turned around and started pulling Harry out. Harry just shook his head at his energetic lover.

            They made it to Gringotts without any further incidents, well if you don’t count the little girl that spilled ice cream on Draco’s shoes. Harry had to restrain Draco from wanting to hex the girl. He tried pointing out that she was just a little kid but he received a glare and a lecture on the importance of Italian leather in response, and ‘do you know how much these shoes cost?’ Harry really didn’t and he was positive that he didn’t want to find out either.

            Once inside they waited impatiently for the lady in front of them to finish talking to the teller. Harry couldn’t believe that they only had one line open. They had enough goblins that it seemed silly to have only one teller right now. He noticed that they were attracting a lot of attention from the Goblins. He would have worried if it was from the customers too but it seemed only the Goblins were paying them any mind. He nudged Draco gently. “I think they know who we are.”

            Draco looked around expecting to see some of the patrons looking at them but only saw goblins. “Goblins know when people are using glamour charms. I am not sure if they can see past them but they definitely know when someone is using one.”

            Harry frowned when Draco’s words made him think back to the break in and Ron had been somewhat glamoured then. “Why don’t they have something to stop them?” He gestured around the lobby. He already knew about the waterfall inside the lower part of the bank.

            “Glamours aren’t bad things. More people than you realize use glamours on a daily basis. Sometimes to hide a pimple or other times to change the appearance of their hair to see if they like it like that before making changes to it. They can be used in many different ways besides hiding one’s appearance. They would have a lot of upset customers if they had something in the lobby to get rid of glamours.” Draco explained as he began tapping his foot restlessly. How long was the lady going to take? What could honestly be so important that it was taking this long?

            “Then why are they staring at us?” Harry whispered. The stares were starting to unnerve him. Goblins always weirded him out to some degree but the endless stares were giving him shivers. And not the good kind.

            “Goblins don’t particularly trust people who wear glamours. Can’t say I blame them. People who hide bits of who they are, are just kidding themselves. If you can’t like all of you then why bother?” He paused before remembering that he used to glamour the dark mark. With a sinking feeling of being a gigantic hypocrite he swallowed heavily.

            Harry immediately understood what was going on in his soulmate’s mind and pulled him into a tight embrace, not bothering to care that they were in public. “Hey stop that. So what if you used to glamour it away? That doesn’t matter. It’s your body anyways. Who cares what you choose to do with it.”

            Draco closed his eyes and swore that he could feel the mark tingle, like it was mocking him. He really hated the damn thing. If he could just singe it off, he probably would.

            “I love you no matter what is on your arm. You know this. That mark doesn’t define who you are.” Harry promised him.

            Draco sighed before looking into Harry’s eyes. “I know. Just sometimes it gets to me.”

            “I understand.” Harry said as he gently rubbed the side of Draco’s face. “If you wanted to start glamouring it, you know I wouldn’t mind, right? Whatever makes you comfortable is all I care about.”

            Draco shook his head, he didn’t even have to stop to consider it. “No. Glamouring it will mean that I won’t ever truly be able to accept it. You are right, this mark doesn’t define me. I won’t let it dictate my wishes. If I glamour it then the mark is winning. I won’t let it make me feel inferior. I am not the mark.” His voice was full of conviction and Harry had never been prouder of Draco than he was right now.

            Draco pinked up when he could feel the pride rolling off of Harry. He was about to respond when a voice interrupted.

            “Not to intrude on what would no doubt be a touching moment but did you have business to discuss or were you here just to waste my time?”

            They looked up to see a very old and grumpy teller. The lady who had been in front of them was finally gone. Harry wasn’t sure if he had ever seen this goblin before but he knew that he didn’t like him already. What was with the manners around here? Were goblins incapable of being nice? Did they take lessons on how to be rude? If so Severus had probably gone to the same lessons. Hell, the man probably taught the lessons.

            Harry opened his mouth but Draco discreetly squeezed his hand, he closed his mouth and looked at Draco through the corner of his eyes.

            “We need to speak with the bank manager.” Draco declared in the haughtiest attitude that Harry had ever heard. He wanted to groan. What was Draco doing?

            The goblin narrowed his eyes in speculation. “Whatever it is, I am sure that I can help you.” The finality to his tone made Harry wince.

            “That simply won’t do. You will tell Gornuk that there are two _paying_ customers who are needing to see him.” Harry furrowed his brows. Paying? Was Draco implying that they were going to bribe their way into a meeting?

            The goblin’s eyes widened. “Right away sir.” Harry gaped openly. What the hell? He had never heard a goblin talk so respectfully before. He watched the teller scurry over to a group of goblins and they all started conversing in Gobbledegook.

            “What was that about?” Harry whispered in confusion. Draco turned to Harry with a small smile. “You can’t treat goblins like you would humans. They don’t care for pleasant conversations. They demand respect but not in the way that most would think. They aren’t nice or kind and they expect the same treatment in return.”

            Harry scrunched up his nose. “They _want_ people to be rude to them?” The incredulous tone to his voice made Draco grin in amusement.

            “They don’t consider it as rude. That is just the way that they do things. The nicer you are the more fees you end up paying.” Draco said mildly.

            “Wait a minute.” Harry said holding up a hand. “What do you mean fees?”

            Draco arched a brow. “They aren’t responsible for the banks out of the goodness of their hearts. Just because wizards _think_ that by putting goblins in jobs that they want them in, that that means they have somehow one upped the goblins. But that is the furthest thing from the truth. There are so many fees hidden among their documents, clauses added to contracts and loopholes in wills. Goblins are sneaky, underhanded and incredibly devious.” There was a hint of admiration in Draco’s voice that made him pause.

            “What kind of fees are we talking about?” Draco hummed in thought as he tried to come up with an answer. “There is a banking fee that every single person pays annually just to be able to hold a vault. They split the payment up into the twelve months to ensure that everyone will be able to pay the fee. The sneaky part of that is that it isn’t just for that one person. Take the Weasley family for example. Since the very first vault that they opened they signed documents stating that it was okay for the goblins to take out the annual fees. _But_ it never states that it is for the one generation. They don’t consider the vault as paid for when the original owner dies. New descendant, new fees. Every descendant after the original continues to pay the annual fee and when the children grow up and get their own vaults, they also sign documents granting the permission and that extends to their descendants as well. It is an endless cycle of fees that only the unfortunate pay for.”

            Harry blinked rapidly. That was so underhanded and so something a goblin would do that it didn’t surprise him. What was surprising him was the admiration that was still in Draco’s voice.

            “And those are the fees that will go up the more people are nice to them?” He asked in confusion.   

            Draco shook his head. “Oh no. There are so many other fees that they wiggle in. So if a particular customer gets on their nerves then they come up with creative ways to tack on fees. The beauty of the whole thing is that there is nothing the customers can do about it since the contracts their ancestors signed specifically state the approval. There is a lesson to be learned here, always read the fine print.”

            Harry smirked. “Your ancestors didn’t fall for it, did they?” Draco smirked as well. “Nope. They sure didn’t. Which is why I emphasized that we are paying customers. It isn’t often that people catch onto what the goblins are doing, so when someone _is_ aware of it they take notice.”

            “Because they don’t want word to get out?” Harry questioned. Draco hummed. “Sort of. Even if people did know what was going on there would still be nothing they could do about it. The only option they could bring up is taking their money elsewhere. Goblins are greedy and every customer who leaves is free money walking out the door. So keeping those who are aware happy is one of their top priorities.”

            Harry’s eyes widened when he realized that was why Draco admired them. It really was free money. The goblins were tricking people out of their own money by being very Slytherin about it. He wondered how many people underestimated goblins. How many people looked down on them but didn’t even realize that the goblins were stealing from them legally. Hmm. Legally stealing. That was nearly an oxymoron but incredibly brilliant.  

            The goblin came back and ushered them over to a side door. “Gornuk will be right with you.” The goblin assured them. If Harry hadn’t been listening so closely he wouldn’t have realized that the polite tone was false. He highly doubted that the goblins even knew how to be nice. It made sense the more he thought about it, if goblins couldn’t do positive emotions then they wouldn’t like those same emotions being used on them. It explained why they were always so much more upset when people treated them kindly.

            The room had two doors, the one they just entered through and a door behind a desk. There was a black leather couch in the corner and two chairs in front of the desk. Harry was about to walk to the couch when Draco shot out a hand to grip his wrist. “Don’t sit down.” Draco told him firmly.

            Harry raised his brows in surprise. He figured as long as they were waiting he might as well be comfortable. “Why?” He said a little frustrated but mainly whining.  

            Draco leveled him an unimpressed look. “Goblins are diligent creatures that don’t have time for breaks or relaxation. They are always on the move and always busy. They are repulsed by people who can just laze around. If you have time to relax then you have time to work. If you sit down on either the couch or the chair it gives them the wrong impression. It will make them think that you aren’t serious. You see how there is no chair behind the desk.” Harry looked over and nodded when he noticed that.

            “That is because you won’t ever catch a goblin relaxing enough to sit down like that. Even though being in here would be considered working, it is still not something that they would ever do.” Draco explained.

            “Then why do they even put in the couch to begin with.” Harry retorted. Seemed redundant to him.

            Draco sighed. “Because love, they are judging people’s character. If you were to sit down when a goblin offers it, then immediately they aren’t going to do business with you.” Harry opened his mouth slightly in surprise.

            “Well that’s not exactly true. They won’t do _fair_ business with you. By sitting down, you are showing them that you don’t take work seriously. So to them it means that you won’t take an agreement with them seriously either.” Draco finished with a shrug. To a point, he could see where they were coming from but he couldn’t imagine standing day in and day out until it was time to sleep. That was taking work _too_ seriously.   

            Harry thought the whole thing was odd but he supposed that each culture was different and that would extend to magical creatures too. “Why don’t they teach any of this in school? I mean it would come in handy to know how to deal with the different cultures of magical creatures.”

            Draco scoffed. “The Ministry considers any magical creature as inferior to wizards. Is it really surprising that they would neglect to teach children about them? Wizards are blind to their ignorance and one day it will bite them in the arse. The goblins are already getting the last laugh anyways. Robbing people blind and no one is even noticing. Not to mention taking control of dead people’s vaults.”

            “Well when we eventually do petition the Ministry a magical creature class should be implemented too. I mean how can we request a class to educate muggleborns but not educate them _completely_? If we are going to teach them about the wizarding world then we need to include magical creatures, considering they are huge part of what makes up our world.” Harry said with a frown. He just didn’t understand the leaders of their world. How could they dehumanize other creatures just because they can? How can they not educate the masses about those creatures? Doing that just spreads prejudiced and paranoia among the people.

            Draco was about to tell Harry that he thought it was a wonderful plan but Harry interrupted. “Wait, what do you mean ‘taking control of dead people’s vaults?’” Harry asked horrified.

            “Not everyone makes a will. Sometimes their life is cut short before they get the chance to do draw one up. If you open a vault at Gringotts and then die without naming an heir or a will then that money is now legally the property of the goblins. It is all in the fine print of the documents.”

            Harry’s eyes had widened by the time Draco was done. He couldn’t believe how sneaky the goblins were. He was actually impressed. He felt bad for the families that received no money from their dead relative but he couldn’t help but marvel at the lengths the goblins went to, to enact their revenge.

            “Use the Gaunts for an example. They were directly descended from the Slytherin line but three generations ago their ancestor died without having a will and the entire Slytherin fortune disappeared into the goblins control.”

            Harry’s mouth dropped open in surprise. He could remember the run-down shack that the Gaunts had in the memory and he couldn’t understand how people descended from the Slytherin line could live like that. He had always wondered how they never had money.

            Draco was amused by Harry’s reaction. He loved teaching Harry new things. His fiancé was so expressive that it made any conversation enjoyable. “But don’t just think about the money that they lost either. Think about the relics and the treasures that are priceless that were lost as well.” Harry could just imagine all of the incredible things that Slytherin had passed down to his heirs. He hadn’t stopped to think about it at the time but it was rather odd that there was only the locket and the ring that the Gaunts had in heirlooms. Surely, someone like Slytherin would’ve had a lot more heirlooms than just two.

            “I can’t believe their entire vaults were taken from them.” Harry said in wonder. He was really feeling bad for all the descendants who lost their money due to a miscalculated foresight.

            “Then they should have kept a will, or at the very least kept their treasures out of our control.” Harry and Draco snapped their heads up in time to see an amused goblin walk into the room. Well as amused as a goblin could get. There was a feral gleam in the goblin’s eyes that sent a shiver down Harry’s spine.

            “Gornuk.” The goblin said not bothering to offer a hand in greeting. He gestured towards the seats in front of the desk as he stood behind it, shuffling papers.

            “We prefer to stand.” Draco told him firmly as he looked at the chairs in disgust. A tiny flick of the Gornuk’s brows was the only response. He folded his incredibly long fingers and stared at Harry and Draco with narrowed eyes.

            “Why have you demanded to see me?” The displeased tone of the goblin’s voice made Harry’s back stand up straighter.

             Harry was sure a normal question would have been ‘asked to see me’ but to be fair, Draco had demanded. He wasn’t sure how this was supposed to go, he had no idea how to handle goblins. He looked to Draco and nodded his head once letting him know that the ball was completely in Draco’s court.   

            Draco waved his hand and Harry felt the charm fall off of him. A quick glance showed that Draco had released his own charm as well. He winced internally when the goblin’s eyes narrowed in on his face.

            “Mister Potter. What a pleasure to see you.” The Goblin spat at him. Harry winced fully this time. So it seemed they were still angry with him.

            Draco coughed pointedly. It was a warning to Harry not to say anything but also a warning to the goblin, letting him know that Draco was the one leading the conversation. If Harry wasn’t feeling so nervous, he would’ve laughed at the dramatic change the goblin went under.

            “Mister Malfoy I do hope you are well. Same goes for your father.” Draco nodded his head once.

            “We are both well.” Draco didn’t bother asking Gornuk how he was doing. Harry figured this was some tactic that one used when dealing with goblins.

            “I am going to get right into it, my time is important and I can’t laze around when there is work to be done.” Harry thought that had been a brilliant move. Gornuk looked like he actually might smile and Harry was positive that he didn’t want to see that. The goblins were creepy enough and he just knew that a smiling goblin would be no different.

            Gornuk lifted a hand as if to say continue. Draco leveled a glare at the goblin for attempting to put the conversation back in his control. The goblin lowered his hand and tilted his head away from them, Draco knew that the goblin was apologizing for his mistake.

            Harry was so confused. He was sure that they were communicating in more than just words but he couldn’t even begin to understand it all. He was definitely not prepared for this meeting. Thank gods for Draco.

            “Before I get into why we are here, I figured since I would be stopping by anyways, I might as well pay for some relics.” Harry frowned, what on earth was Draco talking about? His brows raised when Gornuk leaned forward and a positively greedy look came across his face.

            Draco reached into his briefcase and pulled out a stunning golden armor that had the Malfoy crest on it. Harry figured there must have been an enlargement spell on the briefcase. He was a little confused as to why Draco would be handing over the armor. Wasn’t it the Malfoys?

            The goblin carefully reached out to take the armor out of Draco’s hands. “13th century hand crafted, gold plated battle armor done by Ragnuk the third. Bought by Nicholai Malfoy.” The reverence in Gornuk’s tone made Harry uneasy. What was with goblins? And why did the goblin know that? Do they remember every single purchase?

            Gornuk looked at Draco curiously. “The last time this was paid for was just a short 18 years ago.” Harry scrunched up his nose in confusion. If it was made in the 13th century for Nicholai Malfoy than why was it only paid for 18 years ago?

            “Yes, that is true.” Draco conceded. “But this has just been passed down to me from my father.” Gornuk’s eyes lit up in hunger.

            “That will be 10,000 galleons.” Harry choked on his saliva. Good lord, what the fuck? Draco glared at him but Harry paid him no mind. What the hell? Who in their right mind pays that much for battle armor that won’t ever be worn? Sweet Jesus purebloods were insane.

            “Actually, it is 9,850 and not a knut more.” Draco argued with narrowed eyes. Gornuk smirked. “It would appear that you are just as level headed as your father when it comes to business.” Draco wasn’t sure if he should take that as a compliment or not.

            Harry honestly couldn’t understand why Draco would pay for something that was already paid for once before. He was going to ask him about it but he vaguely remembered that Bill had once told him that the goblins believed that his great Aunt Muriel’s tiara should have gone back into their control when her ancestors died. Goblins didn’t believe in their creations being passed down into wizard families as heirlooms. It wasn’t as if this was a law to follow, so he wondered why the Malfoys continued to pay for the armor each time it was passed down. But as he watched the look in Gornuk’s eyes when the goblin looked at Draco, he realized it was respect. By doing something that other wizards don’t, it made the goblins respect the Malfoy family. It was pure genius.

            Harry watched Draco read over a new contract for the armor and a sudden idea sprang forward. “You know.” Harry began slowly. Gornuk snapped his eyes to Harry and curled his mouth in disgust. Draco winced, he had hoped that Harry would let him handle the discussion.

            “I have quite a few Black family heirlooms that have been passed down to me. I know for a fact that my godfather Sirius wouldn’t have had time to repay his relic fees.” He caught a gleam of interest from the goblin and he had to force away the smirk that was forming.

            “There are a lot of them that I do not need, despite them being beautiful works of art.” That had been pure bullshit. There was not a single goblin relic that had been made for the Black family that even remotely looked beautiful. It was like they requested creepy to be the main aspect of the relics.

            “Since I am his heir through his will, I will remedy his mistake of not paying for them when he had taken up lordship.” Harry had to bite the inside of his cheek to stop from smiling at the hunger in the goblin’s eyes. “Since I won’t be needing them any longer, I will definitely be willing to give them back to their rightful owners.”

            Draco almost whistled. Harry was saying all of the right things. His lover was a fast learner. He would probably talk Harry out of getting rid of some of the relics. There were interesting ones that their children might like later on in life. He blinked rapidly when he realized what he just thought. Merlin, he was already thinking ahead to when they would have kids.  

            Gornuk tapped his pointer finger once in thought. “You bring the relics with you on your next visit and we will be happy to discuss business.” The hatred had left the goblin’s eyes and was replaced with neutrality. It wasn’t the respect that Gornuk seemed to give Draco but it was a lot better than the open hostility that he was giving him not too long ago. Harry nodded once, not sure how to respond to that. He wasn’t up to speed on how to conduct conversations with goblins. His earlier interruption had been a gut feeling. Now his gut was telling him to be quiet.

            “Now what else can I do for you gentlemen?” Harry almost grinned. The goblin was now including him into the conversation.

            Draco cleared his throat. “We have been hired as attorneys, our client has made a formal complaint against Gringotts and I am here as a courtesy so that word does not make it to the Ministry.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay guys, what do you think?
> 
> I actually had a little fun with this chapter. Goblins are something else that not a whole lot of detail was in the books. There was more on goblins than house elves so I guess there is that. Coming up with their characteristics was kind of fun. The goblins always weirded me out in the books and even the movies. They were kind of creepy. 
> 
> Hopefully you all enjoyed my take on the goblins. I can totally see why the Malfoy family respects goblins so much. They are sneaky little Slytherins for sure. 
> 
> Poor Harry, he is so out of his element. But luckily Draco knows exactly what he is doing. So there is that. :P
> 
> So let me know what you all thought of this chapter.
> 
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	61. The Agreement

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to apologize for the delay. I was having a little burnout moment and nothing was going how I had planned it. So it took me longer than I expected to finish re going over this chapter. Hopefully you enjoy this chapter. It is a tiny bit longer than yesterdays. So there is that.  
> -XxTheDarkLordxX

            Whatever Gornuk had been expecting it sure wasn’t that. The surprise was clearly written on his face, along with indignation. “Gringotts has _never_ had a formal complaint that would require lawyers.” There was a hard edge to his tone that made Harry wonder what happened to the non-formal complaints. He had a bad feeling about that. Goblins would never be his favorite creatures.

            Draco sighed sadly and opened his palms in a show of understanding. “I understand that. We were surprised ourselves. Gringotts is always striving hard to achieve the wonderful things that you guys do.”

            Harry had to applaud Draco’s theatrics. If he didn’t know him so well than he would have really believed the sincerity to his voice.

            Gornuk narrowed his eyes and idly picked up a quill as he considered Draco’s words. Draco wondered if he was laying it on too thick. He didn’t want to come off like he was buttering him up. Goblins can be ruthless at the best of times and pissing off a warrior was not a smart move.

            “Who is the complaint from?” The quill snapped in half and Harry almost took a step away from the sheer anger the goblin was releasing, but he kept his composure. Stepping back would be weak and he knew that would win them no favors.

            Draco raised an unimpressed eyebrow at the emotional display. “Fleur Delacour.” He had to restrain the smirk at the nearly invisible flinch the goblin released. Oh yes, there was not much they could argue about on this front.

            Gornuk straightened up and leveled a glare at Draco. “Whatever her complaint was, I highly doubt it needed to end in retaining lawyers.” The condescending tone grated on Harry’s nerves. He did not like anyone talking to Draco like that.

            “It is a good thing that it doesn’t matter what you think.” Draco said smiling just as condescendingly as the goblin’s tone of voice had been. Harry had to cough to cover up the surprised squawk that nearly escaped. This was the strangest conversation he had been in, in a long time. And that is saying something considering his friendship with Luna.          

            Draco could feel the surprise from Harry but there was no way to explain anything. With goblins, you give as good as you get. If they treat you a certain way, then by all rights it is in your right to do the same. That is how they work. It might seem odd and disrespectful but that is just the way they do things. It wasn't just the rude behavior that you treat them with. It was all of it. If they do something a certain way then you mirror it. He probably should have taken the time before they arrived to discuss the goblins. He had meant to… but… Harry’s tongue was such a distraction. In hindsight, it was probably a mishap but he couldn’t bring himself to regret their delicious afternoon.

            “What was the complaint?” Gornuk demanded ignoring the tone of Draco’s voice. Which puzzled Harry, he thought for sure that the goblin would be upset. Merlin, goblins were odd creatures.

            “Unlawful termination.” Gornuk smirked openly. A sight that churned Harry’s stomach. The goblins pointy teeth stuck out slightly and Harry really didn’t like the victorious look the goblin had on his face.

            “We were within our rights to dismiss her.” Gornuk declared threading his fingers in a calm matter.

            Draco smirked, there wasn’t a chance in hell that he would have been able to hold that back. It was rare to see a goblin calm when he knew he was about to piss Gornuk off again. He could see the flash of unease in the goblin’s eyes and his smirk grew wider.

            “May I ask why you think that is?” Draco asked in polite confusion. His tone suggesting that Gornuk must surely be mistaken. The same type of tone you would use on a child who insists that they have done no wrong.

            “According to the Refusal Act of 1860, any place of business, company or establishment has the right to choose who or why a person can be terminated from said employment.” The confidence was back in Gornuk’s voice. “Gringotts has followed the law accordingly. Not you or the Ministry is allowed to dictate who we hire or fire. There was no violation when we terminated Miss Delacour.”

            Draco had been expecting this argument. It was the one that would gain them the most trouble. But he was confident that they would be able to pull something off.

            “You are right. There was no violation of the Refusal Act.” Draco conceded graciously. He didn’t offer up any further explanations knowing that to keep the upper hand on the conversation that Gornuk would have to be the one to ask.

            They sat in silence for the next couple of minutes. Harry wasn’t exactly sure what was going on but he knew it was some kind of power play. By the determination that Draco was feeling through the bond he knew that it was a game that Draco was not willing to lose. Despite the frustration of being in the dark on the entire meeting, he couldn’t help but be fascinated. Goblins did things so much differently than wizards.

            “Then why are you here?” Gornuk finally spoke. Draco smirked at the resignation in the goblin’s tone. He knew that speaking up cost the goblin a lot of pride but that was the name of the game. The goblin never should have underestimated a Malfoy.

            “You may not have been in violation of the Refusal Act but you are in violation of another law.” Draco told him calmly.

            Gornuk arched a brow. “There are no laws covering partial creatures. If you are saying that we have violated laws, then the only thing close would be the Equality Act of 1950. Since she is not a full-blooded magical creature then I have no idea what us terminating her has to do with anything.”  

            “It is not the Equality Act nor the Refusal Act. You are in violation of the Prejudice Act of 1975.”

            Gornuk made a noise that Harry guessed was a snort. It was hard to tell but he was pretty sure that was humor on the goblin’s face. Or disgust, it was kind of hard to tell the difference.

            “I assure you we did not terminate her because of her blood status. Goblins do not care what kind of blood a wizard or witch has when they are under our command.” Harry arched a brow. Was Gornuk implying that goblins did have prejudice against muggleborns if they aren’t working for Gringotts? That made no sense. “Besides, I believe Miss Delacour is a pureblood, which would have no standing in your argument.”

            “She is a pureblood but that is neither here nor there.” Draco declared. “You _have_ violated the Prejudice Act of 1975 because you terminated our client due to being a part creature.”

            Gornuk frowned as he stared at Draco. He turned to Harry as if hoping for an explanation. Harry was unsure what to do. He could explain it to Gornuk but he had a hunch that the goblin was looking for something specific from him. Draco pushed him strong negative feelings through the bond. Harry took that as a clue to not say anything.

            Draco had to force away the urge to hex the goblin. Despite the confusion that Gornuk must be feeling he still took the time to try and find an upper hand in the conversation. He should have expected that. If Harry would have spoken up then the entire conversation up till now would have been ruined.

            Draco took a step forward and narrowed his eyes at Gornuk. “I will remind you that _I_ am the one you are dealing with at the moment. You will leave my partner out of this discussion.” Harry looked to the ceiling to distract him from trying to understand it all. He was definitely reading up on goblins as soon as they got out of here. Then he was going to move on to other creatures as well, he felt so useless not being able to provide any input.

            Gornuk appeared disgruntled but he did however nod once in understanding. The silence came back but not nearly as long as the first one. Gornuk must have caught onto the fact that Draco was not going to make this meeting easy.

            “Since she is not a muggleborn, then enlighten me on how we have broken any laws.” Gornuk demanded firmly.

            Draco ignored the goblin’s tone and folded his arms across his chest. “The Prejudice Act of 1975 states; that any company, business or establishment cannot terminate an employee based off of their blood status.”

            This silence was one of confusion. It was obvious the goblin still wasn’t quite understanding what they were aiming for.

            Since the silence wasn’t an aim at upstaging anything, Draco decided to explain. “Tell me Gornuk, what makes you a magical creature and not me?”

            Gornuk narrowed his eyes probably trying to decide if the question held some sort of insult. He arched a brow indicating that the question was unintelligent.

            “We are different species…” His tone indicated that he thought Draco was stupid. Harry had to bite his lip to stop from snorting. He could feel the irritation from the bond and he knew that it was directed at him.

            Draco sighed. “Alright then what makes my client and I different?” Draco countered.

            Gornuk’s brow was still arched. “Miss Delacour has creature blood in her while you do not.”

            Draco grinned widely “Exactly. You terminated my client based on her being a partial creature. The blood inside her is what makes her a partial creature. And that right there is the violation of the Prejudice Act of 1975.”

            Gornuk blinked rapidly as he stared at Draco with an unreadable expression. “There is no precedence for something like this.” Gornuk said slowly, like he was still processing this turn of events.

            Draco raided his brows. “Just because something has never been done before does not mean that it shouldn’t be done. We have the law on our side and the facts to back it up. You really should have given her a different excuse as to why you were firing her.” He figured if she had been a full-blooded creature that they would have given a different excuse or they would have violated the Equality Act. The Ministry really needed new laws that covered the rights of partial magical creatures.

            There was a low growl that came from the goblin that startled Harry. He filtered through the bond and was surprised to find that Draco wasn’t even concerned. It was the opposite. He seemed more pleased than before.

            “How far is your client willing to take this?” Gornuk demanded. Draco was pleased by the question. Good, that meant that the goblin wasn’t going to argue their chances on an unprecedented case.

            “As far as necessary. Even to the Wizengamot.” Another growl came from the goblin and Harry was wondering if he was okay. He did not seem to be taking the news very well.

            Draco knew that Gornuk was worried about public attention. If this case went to the Wizengamot then the goblins could be put under investigation and a lot of things could be discovered under a formal investigation.

            “Even if we agreed to keep the case in closed court, I am sure you are aware what kind of public attention that a case being tried by Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy would cause. Not to mention that we are taking a new stand on a sensitive law. Why I am sure that this would extend far past Great Britain.” Draco didn't like dropping their names like that but if it got the message across then he wouldn't care too much.

            Harry was fascinated to discover that goblins can blanch. The poor thing was losing color rapidly. He was impressed at how well this was going. He had been worried that they would have been kicked out of the office a long time ago. If they needed to, they really would have taken the case to court. It would be a difficult battle but it would be worth it in the end.

            Gornuk clenched his fist tightly for a moment and Draco knew they had won. He knew how much the goblins would want to keep this quiet. “Is your client willing to settle without taking this to court?” The false even way he spoke let Draco know that he would need to speed this up or the goblin might get too heated.

            Draco nodded. “She is. She does not want her job back but she does want the loss of income that she would have had until now since you _illegally_ terminated her. Not to mention interest to compensate for her emotional distress.”

            “Emotional distress?” Gornuk said dangerously as he narrowed his eyes. Harry really did not like the sound of his tone. It was a tone that promised pain if the goblin had a chance to enact upon it.

            “Oh yes. As a magical creature yourself, I am sure that you know the prejudice that is in our world. My client thought that she had found a kinship at the bank but to be told that she was being terminated, not for something she did wrong mind you, but just because of who she is. Well that has a certain amount of emotional heartache in it.” Draco said in the most saddened voice that he could muster.

            Gornuk breathed through his nose heavily. “I see…” He trailed of narrowing his eyes further. “What exactly does she want?”

            Draco smiled slightly. “I was hoping you would ask that.” He produced a contract from inside his briefcase. “This has outlined all of Gringotts faults in the violation of the law and it also outlines everything that she wishes to receive as compensation.”

            Gornuk snatched the contract as he read it over. “Excuse me.” He said before he stormed out of the room and slammed the door.

            Harry looked at Draco in bewilderment. “What was that about?” Draco snorted before entwining their hands together.

            “He is probably going to make contact with his superiors.” Draco mused. Harry furrowed his brows. “I thought he was in charge of the bank.”

            Draco nodded. “He is in charge of _this_ bank. They have hundreds of divisions all over the world.”

           “Why didn’t we just talk to his superiors instead of him? Wouldn’t it have made more sense to go to the people who make the final decision anyways?”

            Draco shook his head. “No. Not when dealing with goblins. The leaders of their race do not deal with trivial matters until it becomes a problem. If we had gone to them instead of going through the bank and the leaders decided that it wasn’t worth their time, then they would have had grounds to complain to the Ministry. Depending on how the Ministry handled it, we could have been offered to them as a peace offering.”

            Harry looked at Draco in horror. “What kind of peace offering?” Draco hid his amusement as best as he could. “It is a tradeoff. Going to them without it being worthwhile would have broken the understanding that Wizards have with the goblins. There shall be no interference between us and the goblins. If we have a problem with something that they have done, then we have to follow the proper channels instead of just going to the top for answers.”

            Harry scrunched his face up as he considered this. “You didn’t answer my question.” He pointed out.

            “Since we would have broken the understanding that us wizards have then the goblins could openly declare war and it would be our fault. The Ministry might have offered us as peace offerings to halt any battles. We would be at the goblins mercy.”

            Harry gasped in horror. “That doesn’t seem fair! All that for just going to the leaders?”

            Draco hummed in thought. “For example; say the war  with Voldemort ended peacefully and that both the dark and light came to an understanding. Then someone on the light was having trouble with a few dark members. Instead of going to someone who could help they went straight to Voldemort and complained to him. What do you think he would do?”

            “Murder the shite out of them.” Harry wasn’t sure about this example. He was still caught up on the ‘say the war ended peacefully’ bit. Yeah right.

            “Well yes. But that’s not what I am trying to get at. Oh nevermind. It is just something that is done. If you have a problem with the goblins, then you have to follow the appropriate chain of command otherwise it could start a new war.” Draco finished in frustration.  

            Harry still thought it was odd but so was everything else he had learned about the goblins so far, so he just nodded his agreement. “I wish I had learned more about the goblins before we came.”

            Draco narrowed his eyes when he felt a sense of inadequateness from the bond. He pulled hard on Harry’s hand and ignored Harry’s surprised yell as he pulled him into his arms.            

            Harry closed his eyes when he felt Draco card his fingers through his hair. “It took me a long time to tame it, you know.” Harry mumbled into Draco’s chest. Draco snorted loudly. “You call this tamed? It doesn’t even look like you tried.” Draco smiled at the outraged noise Harry released.

            “Tell me what is wrong.” Draco demanded before kissing the top of Harry’s head. Harry sighed. “I just feel so out of my element. I would have bombed this meeting without you.”

            Draco frowned before putting a finger under his lover’s chin. “We are a team, aren’t we? You don’t always have to be so knowledgeable. Not knowing things about the goblins isn’t a bad thing. You were never taught about them, you can’t blame yourself for that.”

            “Of course we are a team.” Harry whispered as he stared into Draco’s eyes. The love he could clearly see in them melted any insecurities he might’ve had. Harry reached a hand up to run his palm along Draco’s face.

            Draco smiled softly as he nuzzled into Harry’s hand before leaning down to press his lips against Harry’s in a chaste kiss. Harry sighed in delight before deepening the kiss. Maybe it was the emotional state of the day or perhaps he was just desperate for more, Harry shoved his tongue into Draco’s mouth and groaned when their tongues came in contact with each other.

            Draco broke away and panted slightly. “As much as I enjoyed that, now is not the time angel.”

            “No it is not.” They both looked up to see the disgust on Gornuk’s face. They took a step back from each other and tried not to look like children who had just been caught doing something wrong.

            Harry tried flattening his hair to resemble something half way decent. Gornuk raised a brow at his attempt and Harry had to bite back a groan. Even a goblin thought his hair was a lost cause. Harry glared at the amusement he could feel from the bond. Oh just wait until they leave, he was going to make Draco regret finding humor in his suffering. He could see the challenge in those sparkling grey eyes and it made him narrow his own eyes in response.

            Gornuk straightened the parchment on his desk and looked back and forth between Harry and Draco with a considering expression. Draco arched a brow and looked at him pointedly.

            “I have discussed this over with my superiors and Gringotts will agree to your client’s demands.” Harry wanted to jump for joy but knew that would probably have a negative effect at the moment.

            Gornuk lifted up a quill and signed the bottom of the contract with a small wince of pain. It was obvious that he still felt that they had done nothing wrong. With the signed contract, Harry could care less what they thought. They could keep their sense of pride if they wished.

            Draco reread over it once Gornuk handed it back, making sure that they hadn’t added anything extra to the contract. He sighed in relief when he noticed that it was the same. He was intrigued that the goblins hadn’t come up with a counter offer. He had put the price a little high just in case they had wanted to talk the number down some. It was unusual that the goblins hadn’t argued the price. They were known as greedy for a reason. It wasn’t like them to not barter. Draco looked at him in suspicion.

            Harry may not know much about goblins but he was positive the innocent expression on Gornuk’s face was 100 percent false.

            “We would request your utmost discretion when filing this contract at the Ministry.” Ahh, that would explain it. The goblins were offering more money as insurance that they would keep this quiet. Well that worked just fine for them. The only people that would be receiving a copy besides the record department would be the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.

            “Of course.” Draco conceded. Relief flashed through Gornuk’s eyes and it made Draco wonder what exactly his superiors had to say on the matter. He would have loved to be a painting on the wall for that conversation.

            Draco slid the contract back into his briefcase and sent Gornuk a respectful nod. “Well that is all of the time that we will take from you.” They were almost to the door when Gornuk cleared his throat. They turned back around and were surprised to see the goblin not meeting their eyes. Harry wondered if there was a certain way they were supposed to say goodbye.

            Draco furrowed his brows. This was not the typical action of a goblin. With the meeting over Gornuk should have vacated and gone back to work. What else could be on his mind?

            “This is not my place to say, but I would recommend wearing dampeners if you do not want the knowledge of your soulmate status to get out.”

            Harry and Draco dropped their mouth open in shock. Harry knew that there must have been more of reason than glamours to cause the goblins to stare at them like that when they walked in. He had felt like they could see something that he couldn’t.

            Draco was slightly blown away. He knew that the goblins had magic that wizards didn’t know about but to be able to see their bond? That was news to him.

            “You can see it?” Draco breathed out a little nervously. If goblins could see it than that must mean that other magical creatures might be able to see it as well. If they really wanted to keep this quiet, then they really would need to look into dampeners.

            Gornuk leveled him with an insulted glare. “Goblins can see a great many things that wizards will never be able to.” Draco rolled his eyes at the superior tone to his voice.

            “Do you know of other magical creatures that will be able to see it?” Harry asked biting his lip in worry.

            “See it? Not sure. Sense it? Perhaps. I do believe Veela can sense the magic behind soulmates. Werewolves I believe can smell the unique scent that changes after completing the bond. Incubi and Succubae can’t lure soulmates so that in a way can identify a soulmate bond. House elves can sense the bond but not see it. There are other creatures like Trolls, Centaurs and Giants that I am unsure of. Same applies to fairies and leprechauns. You would have to ask them.” Gornuk explained as he looked between them instead of at them.

            Harry realized he was looking at the bond. He wondered why the goblin was taking the time to look now when he could have done so sooner. Perhaps the business aspect of the conversation had to be taken care of first. That would make sense when you take account of how much work means to them.

            “What does it look like?” Draco asked. This was not a business transaction so normal etiquette did not apply. The conversation could be taken in a much more relaxed way.

            There was hunger in Gornuk’s eyes when he stopped looking between them and met Draco’s eyes. “Beautiful.” Harry had nearly forgotten that magical creatures have soulmates too. He wondered if there had ever been a goblin who had found their other half.

            Draco would’ve asked him to elaborate but there was a hint of pain in the goblin’s eyes and he didn’t want to push. He didn’t need a description of their bond to know that it was beautiful. That much was already so obvious. Draco reached over and entwined his fingers with Harry’s.

            Harry’s heart ached a little when Gornuk swallowed heavily and looked away from them. As if staring at them made him hurt. It was hard for Harry to look back and think about not having a connection with Draco. They have been together through three life times, this was the only one with the tangible bond tying their emotions together but they have always been connected. Since the moment Harland offered the troubled king a flower.

            “It is so bright. Brighter than any magic I have ever come across.” Gornuk said staring in the opposite direction. “Treasure what you have. You don’t know when you might not have it.”

            Before either one of them could respond Gornuk cleared his throat. “Well if that is all then I really must bid you both a good day. I have work that needs to be done.” He turned around and walked out the door behind his desk.

            Harry and Draco stared at each other in surprise. “That was…” Harry trailed off not really sure how to describe what he was feeling.

            “…Yeah.” Draco finished in understanding. He wondered if the pain the goblin had been feeling was just the amplified longing that magical creatures have to endure or if it was something else. Draco raised his hand and reapplied their glamour charms so that no one would suspect anything.

            “I will have to talk to my father or Uncle Sev to see if one of them can show us how to apply a dampener. I can do a normal one to hide the evidence of magic but not on a person.” Draco explained as they made their way out of the room.

            This time when all of the goblins stopped what they were doing to stare it made more sense. Harry blushed when one of the goblins began staring at them in awe. It made him feel like he was on display.

            Harry turned to Draco when his words registered through his embarrassment. “Hide the evidence of magic? Like covering up a crime scene?” He asked with raised brows.

            Draco coughed a little uncomfortably. “Just one of the many lessons my father taught me.” Harry stopped walking and looked at Draco a little incredulously. It shouldn’t have surprised him, really it shouldn’t. But it did. His mind was imagining a little tiny Draco being taught the proper way to cover up a crime. Merlin, Draco could have turned out horribly. Who teaches their children things like that?

            “Think you can teach me?” Harry blurted out before he realized what he said. Draco blinked a couple times before bursting out in laughter. They were right outside of the bank and they were drawing some curious looks.

            “Why angel, are you thinking about committing crimes that I am not aware of?” Draco teased through chuckles. Harry grinned widely before linking their arms together as they started walking again.

            “I might be. You never know.” Harry retorted back. Draco shook his head. “I shall teach you but only if I am allowed on this crime spree of yours.”

            Harry raised his brows. “Crime spree? Here I was thinking that one was bad enough.”

            Draco sighed in mock disappointment. “You have to aim high, Harry. Just one? No that just won’t do. If we are becoming criminals, we might as well go on a spree. Sounds _so_ much more fun than just one.”

            Harry kissed the side of Draco’s temple. “Ahh what would I do without your infinite wisdom my Lord?”

            “Be a plebian ingrate.” Draco deadpanned seriously. Harry snorted. “Tell me how you really feel.” They locked eyes before letting out snickers. They knew that people were staring at them but they just didn’t care. Today had been a good day.

            “Should we stop by the shop? We haven’t seen the quartet in a little while. I think I miss their horrid humor.” Draco said with a shudder.

            Harry laughed warmly. “We could always just firecall them later tonight.” He said a little nervously.

            Draco stopped a couple feet from Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes and turned to look at Harry in surprise before grinning wickedly. “You are scared, aren’t you?”

            Harry stuck his tongue out at him. “Perhaps a little. I don’t _want_ to know the horrid things the four of them cooked up.”

            “Where is my strong, brave Gryffindor?” Draco cooed. He was really enjoying this.

            “Hiding with the Hufflepuffs.” Draco let out a startled laugh.

            “Now now Harry that wasn’t very nice. Wasn’t it you who said that you had Hufflepuff pride?”

            Harry sighed heavily. “You are right. I just made a Slytherin mistake and judged the Hufflepuffs unfairly.”

            “Hey!” Draco puffed out indignantly. “You have just alienated two houses within the span of one minute.”

            Harry grinned unrepentantly. “Wasn’t it you who told me to aim high?”

            Draco rolled his eyes. “Come on you big baby.” Draco shoved Harry towards the door. Harry locked all of his muscles and Draco ran into his back. He grinned when Draco let out a ‘oomph’.

            “What if I don’t want to?” Harry argued. Draco had to stomp the urge to roll his eyes again. Honestly, sometimes he wondered how his fiancé ever managed to get into Gryffindor.

            “You know.” Draco breathed into Harry’s ear and grinned when he felt a shudder go through his body. “You aren’t the only one who is good with their tongue.” He emphasized this by licking Harry’s earlobe.

            “Oh gods.” Harry choked out. In the back of his mind he vaguely realized that they were in public and they should not be doing this.

            “If you bravely walk in there and not make a big deal out of this, then I will show you exactly what this tongue can accomplish.” Draco breathed into his ear.

            Harry closed his eyes and forced down a moan. He had been mainly kidding around but hell, this was a wonderful idea.

            “Can you do that for me Harry?” Another lick to his ear. “Yes!” Harry practically yelled. Draco chuckled before stepping away and straightening his clothes. He noticed a lady covering the eyes of a baby and he rolled his eyes. It wasn’t like they were doing anything indecent. Some people were just too sensitive. Like his father. He grinned when he imagined what his father would have said to an open display like that. _So_ not behavior of a proper pureblood. Oh well.

            Harry had to think about Remus and Severus having sex to make his erection disappear. He wrinkled his nose in disgust at the thought.

            Once he was okay enough to continue did he open the door and walk in. The store only had a couple of customers so it was easy to look for the quartet. He frowned when he couldn’t find them.

            “You two do that out front of the store and people will flock right in.” Harry looked over to see Verity behind the counter fanning herself. Draco coughed to hide his humor.

            “I’ll say.” Another voice piped up. Harry’s eyes widened when he recognized Romilda Vane. Oh gross. She was staring at them with a glassy dazed expression and Harry _really_ didn’t want to know what that was about.  

            “We are looking for Misters Weasley and Weasley.” Draco said straightening out his tie. Harry was interested to know what Draco was playing at.

            Verity lifted her brows. No one called the twins that. “May I ask who you are?”

            “Certainly. We are their attorneys.” Her brows rose even higher into her hair line. They had told her about the new shop and that they had retained attorneys but they didn’t tell her how _hot_ they would be.

            She cleared her throat before pointing to a door near the back of the shop. “They are in the back room with Pansy and Blaise. They are testing out some products with one of the testers.”

            They nodded to both of the girls and made their way to the back. They both shuddered when Romilda whispered loudly. ‘I am in a sudden need of an attorney.’ They could hear Verity’s snort of laughter all the way to the door.

            Draco didn’t even stop to knock. He just opened the door with a bang and smirked at the way everyone in the room jumped in surprise. Harry shook his head and followed Draco in.

            Harry frowned as he shut the door. He was getting a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

            “Hey guys! Just give us a couple-”

            “More minutes with Finley and we can all-”

            “Go somewhere out to eat.” Fred finished not looking up from his clipboard.

            Draco waved at Pansy and Blaise and smirked at the odd get up that they were wearing. The two of them had on goggles and what looked like some protective plastic surrounding their robes. What on earth were they testing out in here? Perhaps he should have been more concerned like Harry.

            Harry looked around the room trying to understand where this feeling was coming from. His eyes locked onto wide brown eyes and all the breath left him in a whoosh. These were eyes he remembered very well. 700 years did nothing to hide the insane glint to those wild eyes. He was staring at the shocked face of Finneus Flamel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay guys what did you think? I am not even going to deny it, that cliffhanger was soo intentional. No hate! *Grins sheepishly*
> 
> I am aware that I did not have her name as Fleur Weasley. I debated about that but I really hate the way it sounds. So I just had her keep her maiden name. It doesn't affect the validity of a marriage. So why not? 
> 
> So what do you think of the odd intricate ways the goblins do things? I can understand Harry's confusion with the whole meeting. They handle conversations in odd ways. Not to mention the whole chain of command thing too. 
> 
> I don't know if you remember this at all but about 16 chapters ago is when Finley was first mentioned. George had a gut feeling of not liking him, does that ring any bells? My foreshadowing is pretty subtle now that I think about it. But I did want you guys to wonder why George didn't like him. Not sure if that stuck in anyone's heads though. That's alright. 
> 
> Friday's chapter ended with Finneus taking Luna. Do you remember when he thought about his meeting that he had in an hour and that was enough time to take a victim? Well he obviously made it to his appointment. So what do you think that that means for Luna?
> 
> Let me know what you think. 
> 
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	62. Forgiveness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Warning* This chapter is dark. That is about all the warning I have got. 
> 
> Also I would like to give a huge shout out to all of the people who leave me comments. It is my favorite thing about writing. I love to see your feedback or just your thoughts on the chapter. I love discussing your theories on the story. I am a huge talker so I adore any chance to start a conversation. Thank you to everyone who leaves me comments. I really appreciate them. To anyone who hasn't left any comments, I still appreciate you as well! :) 
> 
> Sometimes it is hard to find the motivation to keep writing daily like this. The effort to write so much takes its toll on me once in a while. That is why some of my chapters come out later than usual. I am so burned out it isn't even funny, but no worries. I will continue to see this story through because I love it and love all of you. If chapters end up shorter than you are used to, I apologize. Again it is the burnout feeling. But I am steadily trucking forward. Hopefully you all continue to like my story. Even creepy ones like today's chapter.

**(About an hour ago)**

 

            Finneus landed from the apparation and immediately bound the strange girl in a full body bind. He didn’t bother to look around, no one ever came onto his property. He dragged her inside and threw her against the wall. The shackles that he had chained to the wall immediately sprang forward and held her in place. He reached out a finger and rubbed against the _Attenuatius_ rune that was branded into the metal. The shackles started to glow brightly before they tightened their hold on the girl’s body.

            He summoned a very old and delicate trunk. Finneus ran his palm up and down the trunk with reverence. It had been too many years since he broke out the tools inside. He was going to have a lot of fun with this one. Excitement tingled throughout his whole body as he began plotting all of the things he was going to do to her. He mourned the fact that he would have to cut this session a little short. Normally an hour is plenty of time to dispose of his victims but after losing that tantalizing power source earlier and the deluded comments from this blonde girl, he was not in a merciful mood.

            Finneus ended the spell keeping his latest victim still. He watched enamored with the way that her eyes blinked in confusion. This was one of his favorite parts. Their eyes always show a wide range of emotions. First it is a boring neutrality when they first meet, then they grow panicked when he kidnaps them. The panic fades after he either knocks them unconscious or just binds them. He loves the way they look as they are suspended helpless and not even aware of it. There is a certain beauty to helplessness on others. He loves the constricting binds that tie them still. The way that they struggle even in a stupor. They don’t realize quite the vulnerable position that they are in. They don’t appreciate the hard work that he has put into getting them this far.

            Life is so chaotic at the best of times and he figures that he is helping them move on. He helps them do the one thing that he can’t do. Which is die.

            Soon their almost sleepy confusion fades away and the panic comes back full force along with such terror that makes his blood sing. He lives for the terror that he can inflict upon them. Terror looks beautiful on anyone. Man, woman or child. The aesthetics to terror fascinates him. Finneus is aware that that is twisted. He has heard that a thousand times over from his victims but that is okay. Being normal is overrated. He is perfectly content with being twisted. There is no way he would have lasted through the centuries if he was as mundane and boring as the rest of society.

            While muggles watch their telly and go to theaters as they drool over the newest celebrity, he is happy with watching the life leave his victims eyes. He never did understand the fascination that people have when it comes to celebrities. Why should it matter what so and so is doing? What does their life have to do with anyone else’s? Instead of getting caught up in the life of meaningless stars, he would rather get caught up in the lives of his bleeding victims. They say films are pieces of history that will always be remembered but in 100 years nearly all of the films will be nonexistent. Culture changes throughout each generation. What once was popular 500 years ago is completely dead now. The things people are fascinated with in this time period won’t matter in the long run.

            But what will really live forever is him. He will still be alive to witness the new trends and the new things that muggles and wizards will get themselves into. Every one of his victims is a million times more appealing than any film that someone’s imagination can come up with. Films are _not_ pieces of history. What will always be history to him are the keepsakes that each of his victims will end up donating.

            They say eyes are the windows to the soul. There couldn’t be a truer statement out there. People can mask emotions on their faces but the eyes never lie. The eyes are so expressive and beautiful and can never hide away. There is never an ugly eye color. Sure, some may be a little more boring than others. His own eyes included. But there are _so_ many amazing colors out there. Not to mention the intricate shades and different hues. Eyes have always been a fascination of his, ever since he was a child. The pure wonder of it all makes him ache to have as many eyes as he can keep.     

            Over the many long years of his existence he has seen every single possible emotion known to man. He has seen joy, wonder, sorrow, despair, hate, anger and thousands more but none of them can compare to terror. _Oh_ how he just adores terror. The single emotion in his victim’s eyes is the only thing that keeps him going anymore.

            He couldn’t wait to see the blonde weirdo’s eyes fill with terror. He was nearly squirming at the thought. Finneus frowned when the girl’s eyes became clear and focused. There was no terror or fright. There wasn’t even a hint of discomfort. Just a dreamy gaze. He was beginning to grow frustrated. Just how odd was this girl? She really did have no self-preservation.

            Finneus watched as the girl looked around the room with interest. He himself looked around trying to see what could possibly keep her attention. He took in the multiple shackles along the wall, for days when he needs more than just one screaming victim. He took in his bed in the far corner, close enough that his victims can still see him but far enough that he can sleep through their screams. He took in his favorite part of the room, his collection. Every wall except for the one that hosts his prey is lined with shelves. Shelves filled with jars upon jars of perfectly preserved eyes. The solution they float in was one he made himself from trial and error. He has them all catalogued by color and then shade. No two eyes are the same.

            He remembers every single one of his victims. His mother thinks that type of skill is useless while his father is somewhat proud. When he was younger his attention span to spells and enchantments were dismal. He was the failure that his mother never wanted and the work in progress that his father sculpted. His memory was lacking in all things that mattered to them. But when it comes to his delectable victims he has a perfect recollection of every single moment they spent with him. He remembers every scream, every pant, every drop of blood, the pleading, the crying and every last breath that they took. Those eyes are his most treasured possessions. If he could take them with him wherever he goes he would. They are marvelous things that deserve to be broadcasted to the world. But unfortunately, society frowns on things like that. Artists are always misunderstood. Because yes, these eyes are a work of art. Their beauty is more gorgeous than any painting or photograph could ever hope to muster. In a way, they are his sculptures that have captured the best part of life.

            Underneath every jar is a plaque to keep their memory alive. It would be rude to just house their eyes and not give name to their sacrifice. So for every pair of eyes there is also a name and date associated with each set. There are times when all he can get out of them is a first name and that is okay. Other times he knows they have given a false name and that is alright too. The name doesn’t matter in the end. After all he is just honoring them in the only way he knows how.

            There aren’t enough shelves to house his collection. What his victims don’t know is that there is a trap door under his bed that leads to his remaining treasures. The ones that they get to see are his favorite ones. The ones that shine the brightest. Really, they should be grateful for the privilege of witnessing such beauty.

            Finneus looked around and took in the dried blood on the walls that he had been meaning to clean up. It is so rude not to have the place clean for his guests. No one wants to see a messy house. And this was his house. Some people might be squeamish at the thought of combining his home with his work space but that is just the fun of it all. His mother thinks this is just his torture room, he never corrects her. She would be horrified to learn that he is living in such a small confining space considering their wealth. But money can’t buy you happiness no matter how much his parents believe so. This… this place brings the happiness that galleons will never be able to fill.

            He was curious to know what the girl thought of his humble abode. Normally by now his guests would be recoiling in a mixture of horror and terror. The horror is insulting. They are the chosen ones that get to experience the wonders that only he can provide them and they have the nerve to be horrified by his house and his collection. Sometimes Finneus really doesn’t understand humanity. He has been alive so long that he no longer considers himself apart of the human world. It is like a ghost existing among the living. Ghosts are dead but in the living world. They get to exist but never touch. With Finneus, he is alive but will never be able to join in on the pleasures that humanity thrives on. He is among them but not one of them. On days where he just reflects upon his existence he realizes that he is the alien to the new era that humans have found themselves in. He is the tourist no matter where he goes because he will never fit in. Finneus will be the guest in humanity as long as he is alive.

            His mind usually wanders during his sessions but the pleading or whimpers always bring his mind back into focus. Not this time. For some reason the girl was just silent. Silence is not something that his victims ever are. Occasionally when they know that the final blow is about to happen do they start to go silent. That is when the acceptance over their fate has kicked in. But that is in the end, so her silence now, makes him highly curious. He hasn’t found someone as interesting as her in a really long time. He is not interested enough to consider taking a different victim however.

            Finneus stopped looking around the room and instead focused on the girl. At some point she had stopped staring at the room and started staring at him. He narrowed his eyes when he detected sound coming from her lips. Sometimes wizards will chant things hoping to break themselves free but the dampening spell weaved into the runes on the shackles makes the chanting useless. He leaned forward slightly and frowned when he realized she was singing about a king named Weasley. He couldn’t remember a king with that name but to be fair he never did pay that much attention to muggles long enough to know their politics.

            “Well?” He asked arching a brow when she continued to sing quietly.

            “You should filter more air through here, winged parstilios are attracted to the death surrounding this room.”

            Finneus blinked rapidly and opened his mouth to say something but closed it with a snap when he realized that he had nothing to say. He knew his memory wasn’t that great but he was _positive_ that he had never heard of a winged parstilio.

            The girl looked around his head as if she could see something he couldn’t. He furrowed his brows as he took another look around the room trying to find whatever creature she supposedly could see.

            “They like damp spaces. If you let in more air, then it might make you feel better.” Finneus turned his head back to look at the odd girl, he wondered if she had drunk a potion that had gone bad and perhaps that is why she was so strange. Or maybe, she belonged in a psych ward and somehow escaped. The latter seemed more likely.

            “Are you implying that I am not well?” He asked narrowing his eyes. You would think that the girl would be careful how she worded things, he _was_ in control of her life.

            The girl gave a light whimsical laugh, a laugh that set his teeth to grinding. This was not a place for happiness and laughter. This was a place where the unfortunate spend their last moments on earth.

            “You have nargles that have infested your body, wrackspurts that have invaded your mind and winged parstilios that crawl upon your skin. You are perfectly healthy.” The seriousness to her tone startled him, she had been talking to him in a dreamy quality that seemed to suit her earlier. He had no idea who this girl was but he was positive that serious was not in her usual vocabulary.

            “If I am healthy then why did you suggest that air would make me feel better?” He couldn’t believe he was humoring her. Why was he talking to her when all he wanted to do was watch her bleed?

            “Because it would.” She said simply. She began to hum to a tune that he didn’t recognize. Finneus scratched his head as he watched this girl, unsure of how to continue. He was out of his element.

            “You talk as if those creatures exist.” He pointed out just for the sake of saying something.

            The girl smiled at him, which caused him to frown deeply. No one had _ever_ smiled in this room besides him. She was making a mockery of his work by not giving this room the proper respect that it deserves.

            “Just because you have never seen something does not mean it doesn't exist. That is where faith comes in.”

            Finneus rolled his eyes upward and prayed for patience that he didn’t have. “Have you seen them then?”

            The girl regarded him steadily. “There are many things on the earth that people just walk right passed and never even notice. It is there if they just bothered to look.”

            “Right…” Finneus trailed off uncertain if that meant that she can see them or not. Couldn’t she just talk in clear sentences?

            “Why are you not afraid?” He asked the one question that had been bothering him since he saw her in Diagon Alley.

            “Death is but a friend after all. I do not fear what I don’t know. Besides, the itucadores will guide me safely.”

            He knew better, he really did. “What is an itucadore?”

            The girl looked at him sadly. “They are wind spirits that guide people into the afterlife.” This was the first time that she mentioned something that could be remotely believable. He still thought it was fantasy but at least it sounded better than a wrackspurt.  

            “Not fearing death is something that I might be able to grasp but don’t you fear what I can do to you? The pain that I will bring you?” His voice had gone deep and quiet, nearly a whisper. The tone was filled with danger. He narrowed his eyes when that didn’t garner a reaction from her.

            “Pain is temporary.” Finneus nearly growled at her response. She was single-handedly the worst person he had ever spoken to, let alone brought home as a victim. 

            He had enough of this conversation. If she didn’t want to talk to him in a normal way, then he would just have to cut her open. That at least would put him back in his comfort zone. He opened his trunk and pulled out his favorite dagger. He ran a finger up and down the blade and inhaled the coppery tinge that never went away no matter how many times he cleaned it.  

            “If pain is temporary then you won’t have a problem with me inflicting it upon you.” Finneus taunted as his eyes locked onto her pretty blue ones. There wasn’t an ounce of fear in those eyes and it angered him. Who was she to be so strong? Who was she to defy his wishes? Who was she to mock him? Just who did she think she was?

            The girl didn’t say a word. Which surprised him, she had been a chatter box up until now. Had she already accepted her fate? Her silence was much better than her mythical creatures. He preferred his victims with a looser tongue so that he could revel in their pain but he would take her silence as a gift.

            She didn’t say a word when he took her palm and cut it open. Didn’t flinch or wince. He watched wide eyed as the blood dripped steadily out of her hand and onto the floor. He could watch blood for hours. This was one of the many things that he had in common with vampires. While vampires needed blood to sustain themselves, he needed it to feel alive. Finneus had never gotten along with vampires much, they treated humans as a food source and never treasured the body that had been given to them. Yes, blood was a delectable part of the human body but there was so much more to the beauty of a victim than blood.

            He cut open the other palm and licked his lips as the blood seeped out of that hand as well. Finneus took his pointer finger and stabbed it harshly against the open wound, dousing his digit in blood. He lifted the finger to his face and closed his eyes when the rich aroma of her blood reached his nostrils.

            He opened half lidded eyes to look at the girl who was still watching him. “What’s your name?” He whispered before licking his finger. Finneus moaned at the tangy flavor that danced along his taste buds.

            “Luna.” Was her reply. He mulled over the name as he sucked his finger into his mouth and savored the taste. He pulled his finger out of his mouth with a popping noise.

            “I killed a Luna once. She said her name was Luna Moon. To be fair she was a stripper so that might not have been her real name.” He took a step back and walked over to one of the shelves on the wall. He pointed to a pair of dark blue eyes. “She had beautiful eyes don’t you think?”

            Luna frowned slightly and Finneus reveled in the action. Finally, he was getting a reaction from her.

            “Why aren’t they all named?” She asked in confusion.

            Finneus tilted his head to the side as he arched a brow. “What are you talking about? I have a name for every single jar.” He argued. He quickly looked over the shelves and made sure that all of the plaques were still in place. When he triple checked that they were, he turned around to glare at the stupid girl.

            Luna pointed a finger the best that she could while restrained at the bed in the corner. Finneus turned and the air left his lungs. There near his pillow like it always was, sat a jar with bright violet eyes. No one had ever noticed that jar before. Even his parents looked over it on the rare occasion that they came to visit.

            “Ignore that one. They aren’t apart of my collection.” Finneus demanded. He didn’t talk about those eyes to anyone. They weren’t up for discussion.

            “That person meant something to you.” There was no question in her voice and he had to clench his teeth to stop from yelling at her assumption. Instead of talking he stalked forward and cut a line across her collarbone.

            He watched as Luna ignored her bleeding torso and regarded him with curiosity. “That’s why you do this.” Finneus growled and dug another cut into her skin, this time her arm.

            “Be quiet.” He snapped, twisting the knife further into her arm. Still there was no pain in her eyes. No terror or horror. Just a curiosity that made his stomach clench.

            “What are you searching for when you take their eyes?” Finneus ignored the question as he ran his finger through her blood hoping that the feel of it would calm his nerves. He didn’t like the way this was turning out. No one had ever wanted to know _why_ he was the way he was. What did that matter, when they were about to die anyways?

            “Whatever it is, you haven’t found it yet. Not even after all of these years.” Luna said sadly.

            Finneus snapped his gaze up to meet her eyes. “You don’t know who I am.” He was confident that she didn’t know. Only the old dark pureblood families knew of them and he had given nothing away to even hint that he might be one of them.

            Luna shook her head. “You are right. I don’t know you but I can recognize and old soul when I see one. You have walked the earth for a long time and yet still have not found what you are seeking.”

            The tone of her voice made his blood run cold. “You speak as if you know what it is I am looking for.” He was angry that there was a shaky quality to his voice. Damn her. What was with the way this girl seemed to read his very soul?

            “You seek forgiveness.” Finneus snapped his hand forward and backhanded the girl so hard that the smack echoed around the room. The still painless face was filled with curiosity and now pity. He didn’t need her pity.

            “You don’t know what it is you are talking about.” He spat out. “You think I feel guilty for killing people? Well you would be wrong. There is no guilt or remorse for the things that I have done. I long ago accepted the type of person that I am. So you keep your baseless opinions to yourself.” The demand was clear in his voice.

            “I was not speaking of guilt for all of them.” She gestured her head towards the shelves. “I was speaking for her.” Luna pointed again to the lone jar by his pillow.

            Silence broke out as he stared at her, his breath coming in as pants. “What is it you think you know?” His voice wavered and he clenched his fists and eyes tightly.

            Luna tilted her head, he didn’t have to open his eyes to know that. He could picture it. “Not everything is as clear as the water you hide yourself under.”

            Finneus opened his eyes and glared. “What the fuck does that even mean?” Luna gazed to the lone jar and smiled sadly.

            “I only know of the guilt that you carry. You caused an unintentional death and the need to be forgiven drowns you. The person that you need to be absolved from can’t give it to you so look for it in others. You don’t fear death for the unknown. You fear death for who you will see on the other side.”

            Finneus had to use every ounce of control to keep the panic out of his veins. Her words were replaying in his mind on repeat. He refused to bring forth the memory that he pushed down 700 years ago. He refused to think about her. No. That was from another era altogether.

            “Stop.” He demanded. The demand came out pitiful. It was broken and his voice cracked.

            “They can’t forgive you but I can.”

            Finneus locked gazes with her and his eyes widened. “What is it you can forgive me for?” He swallowed heavily.

            She kept the gaze and never looked away. “To look for forgiveness from people who weren’t there is meaningless. One day when you die, she will forgive you. But for now, I can forgive you for the things that you will do to me.”

            He frowned into her eyes. “What happened to your belief that I won’t kill you?” He sneered at her.

            Luna shook her head. “I have not changed my mind. I know that you won’t kill me but we _both_ know that I won’t be leaving here fully intact. You keep souvenirs. It is what you do.”

            Finneus raised his brows in surprise. “You knew all along that I would be taking your eyes?” He was almost in a belief that he was asleep and imagined this experience.

            “I knew that you would be taking something from me. Something that I can give you.”

            He shook his head. “Why would you willingly allow me to take your eyes?” This girl was so far from normal that it was actually concerning him.

            Luna smiled sadly. “I was meant to find you. Just as you were meant to take my eyes. How can I forgive you if you don’t take them?”

            Finneus scrunched up his nose in confusion. “Why would you _want_ to forgive me?” He was having a hard time believing that this girl was so open about the loss of her eyes.

            “My forgiveness is a gift to you. The last gift you will receive before leaving this world and finding your own forgiveness in the afterlife.”

            The clang of his dagger hitting the floor reverberated across the room. He ignored the sound and stepped forward.  

            “Are you saying that you are going to kill me?” The disbelief in his voice was written clear as day but there was a twinge of hope that made him wince internally.

            Luna shook her head rapidly. “It is not I who will kill you. But it will be friends of mine who do. Not in revenge for me but of a means to an end for you.”

            Finneus wasn’t sure what to believe and what to throw out. The fact that she can ‘see’ creatures that he can’t makes him firmly believe that she is mad. But he can’t deny that she knew of part of his past. He ignored the calm threat to his life.

            “Are you a seer?” He wondered out loud. That was the only thing that he could think of.

            “When one labels things you overlook the importance of the subject at hand.”

            Finneus growled in frustration. She was tempting his patience. “Is that a no?” He asked attempting to breathe through his nose, hoping it would calm him.

            “Perhaps.”

            “I give up.” He declared before bending down and picking up his dagger. He considered the strange girl that he stumbled upon. “I will grant you your life.” He said graciously before lifting his knife to her face.

            “But I _will_ be taking your eyes.” He pulled out his wand and aimed it at her.

            As he shot the stunning spell at her, he distinctly heard a small whispered, ‘I forgive you’.

            This was the first time that he didn’t enjoy taking someone’s eyes. This was the first time that he let someone _live_. Normally they would have already died before he took their eyes. Or sometimes died while he was taking their eyes. He had to take extra care when cutting those beautiful blue eyes out as to not damage Luna beyond repair. He didn’t bother healing the cuts he had sliced into her body but he did heal her now empty sockets the best that he could.

            After her eyes were safely inside a brand new jar, he didn’t bother making out a plaque or setting the jar on a shelf. He walked over to his bed and set Luna’s eyes right next his most treasured pair of eyes.

            Finneus delusioned himself before apparating Luna right outside St. Mungos. He didn’t bother waiting for someone to find her before he went right back to his room to clean up.

            And if tears streamed down his face while he got to work, well no one was there to witness it save for his collection.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay that chapter is now done. It took me a bit to get over the darkness of it all. 
> 
> This chapter was difficult for me in a lot of ways. Not really the disturbing aspect to it but mainly because of Luna. She is a difficult person to write for. I did have to make up a couple creatures. That was kind of fun. I am sure you are aware that there wasn't a single point where I showed you what she was thinking like I do with all of my other side characters. Part of that was just because I can't write her like I can everyone else. It is easy for me to put myself into the shoes of all of the other characters but there is a block when it comes to her. Oh well. She isn't that big of a character to my story so I don't think it is a big deal. 
> 
> Writing Finneus was not at all difficult. Which kind of worries me. I mean I had no problem delving into the mind of a lunatic serial killer but I couldn't even think like Luna. Lol. What does that say about me? 
> 
> I was seriously tempted to kill Luna but I decided it would be better to keep her alive. And honestly, there was no way she would have been able to manage to walk out of there with her eyes intact. He is too disturbed to not do something to her. If this came as a surprise to anyone that he took her eyes than I must have failed somewhere at setting up his character because I thought that this was definitely right up his alley. 
> 
> Hopefully you guys picked up on the Weasley is our King reference. I thought it was kind of funny. Lol. Also I realize that he said muggles during that part, he was assuming the song was about muggles since there are no kings in the wizarding world. 
> 
> Here is a nugget of information. When I was about 10 or 11, I told my mom that I wanted to name my first child Luna Moon. I thought it was cute. She said it sounded like a stripper name. Well that ruined that dream, hahaha. Figured I might as well get a kick out of it in here. 
> 
> I teased you with some slight knowledge into why he is the way he is. There will be more on that later on. His background is a fascinating story. Well, to me it is haha. 
> 
> The forgiveness kind of choked me up. I think that is more of the fact that I am more invested in Finneus than you guys. Perhaps when his back story comes out, you will revisit this chapter and be choked up too. Or I could just be a big baby. But you guys already knew that. 
> 
> If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask. I love answering comments. 
> 
> Let me know what you guys thought of this chapter. 
> 
> -XxTheDarkLordxX 
> 
> *Attenuatius is a rune that means to weaken, it was to dampen anyone's magic that his shackles chained them to. 
> 
> Side note. The bit about films being pieces of history that will always be remembered, yeah I have no clue if that is true. Totally made that up. Haha.


	63. Silent Communication

           Harry looked around the room trying to understand where this feeling was coming from. His eyes locked onto wide brown eyes and all the breath left him in a whoosh. These were eyes he remembered very well. 700 years did nothing to hide the insane glint to those wild eyes. He was staring at the shocked face of Finneus Flamel.

            Draco felt the panic and fear from Harry and he swung his face towards him. He noticed that his lover was locked in an odd stare off with the tester. He wondered if this was the person that Harry had sensed earlier, or if this was something else. The person didn’t look remotely familiar so that didn’t help him there.

            Blaise looked up when he noticed that neither Harry or Draco responded to the twins’ words. He noticed immediately that something was wrong. Draco looked worried and Harry looked like he had just seen a ghost. Blaise nudged Pansy lightly and nodded his head in Draco’s direction.

            Pansy frowned when Blaise broke her concentration, she was trying to count how long the sulfur in their Lucky Lozenge could maintain its consistency. She looked up to snap at him or at the very least sigh but she froze at the expression on his face. She slowly turned her head towards Harry and Draco as to not raise suspicion. She didn’t know what was going on but her Slytherin instincts to be discreet were kicking in.

            Finneus couldn’t believe it. After he lost the two men earlier he feared that he would never come across such power again. The smell was intoxicating. Its rich aroma smelt sweeter than any flower in existence. He could feel the glands in his mouth producing more saliva as he nearly salivated. The room was so small that the power had nowhere to go and it was radiating off of the man in front of him. So much raw power. He could feel the haze of his mind start to go slightly fuzzy and he knew it was the power working overdrive to his senses. He felt drunk and alive. More alive than he has felt in centuries. His skin was nearly vibrating with the sheer aura of the man’s presence. _Oh_ , he wanted. He wanted this power. He wanted to immerse himself and never stop. If this power was like a pool of water, then he wanted to drown himself and get carried away in the waves of its energy.

            Harry felt sick. Utterly sick. There was something so awful about the man that made his stomach twist and want to empty its contents. There was such a darkness to him. A brewing storm of absolute evil radiating off of him. It was almost tangible. It was almost too much. He wanted to tear his eyes away and either run away or fight to the death. But he couldn’t stop staring. It was almost as if his eyes couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He had known that the Flamels were still alive but to actually see one of them was an entirely different thing. He did have to admit that Finneus was probably the most tame out of the family but that wasn’t much comfort considering the man was a raving lunatic. Finneus hadn’t aged a single day since the last time that Harry had seen him as Ethan. He thought that maybe the teen would’ve waited a couple years before taking the Elixir. Who would want to remain a teenager for the rest of their lives? Being a teenager is the awkward stage where you are considered an adult but not wise enough to be taken seriously. He couldn’t imagine going through nearly 700 years as a teenager.

            His appearance was nearly the same as well. Finneus’s hair was longer but it was the same shade of sandy brown that it had once been. Harry wasn’t sure what he had expected when he finally saw Finneus again but it sure wasn’t this. He never thought the man would be employed by the twins or just so openly around in public. He thought they would have to search for a long time just to come up with a whisper of their whereabouts. Things falling literally right in front of him was not something that he had ever prepared for. He wasn’t sure what to do or how to go about this. He couldn’t release his glamour charms or Finneus might recognize him. Harry didn’t think that Finneus would assume he was Ethan. Because his family had killed him. But he might think he was a descendant of Ethan’s.

            Harry could see the longing in those brown eyes and it made his stomach churn. Obviously, the man was still just as twisted as he once was. He wondered what it was about himself that made Finneus want him. Whatever it was it was disturbing to think about. Harry wanted to warn everyone else but he couldn’t make his voice work. He couldn’t make himself stop staring at the murderer. He was frozen in partial fear and uncertainty. He couldn’t move if he tried.

            The silence of the room made Fred and George look up from their clipboards. Fred frowned when he took in the rigid way that Harry and Draco were holding themselves. He was about to open his mouth and ask what was going on but Blaise held up a hand to keep him quiet. He was impressed that Blaise knew he was about to talk, considering he wasn’t even facing Pansy or Blaise.

            George narrowed his eyes at Finley. Whatever was going on had to be related to him. The fear and tension in Harry’s posture made him nervous. Harry wasn’t one to really be afraid of things. Unless it was for Draco’s wellbeing. What was it about Finley that was making his brother act like this? He knew it had to do with Finley based off of the staring contest that was going on between them. He had to give Harry props because he himself couldn’t look into Finley’s eyes for more than a couple seconds. The guy freaked him out on so many levels, how Fred never noticed was beyond him. You could practically feel the darkness from him.

            Draco noticed that Pansy and Blaise had caught onto the fact that something was wrong. Good. He knew that once words were spoken the odd trance Harry and this Finley guy were in would be broken. He didn’t want any harm to come to Harry so they would have to play this very carefully. Draco quickly made eye contact with Pansy for a couple seconds and then with Blaise. He lifted his hand and made some hand gestures.

            Fred and George shared a look. What on earth was Draco doing? Fred wondered if he was losing motor control in his hands. It looked like his hand was jerking uncontrollably. George wondered if this was sign language. He had come across a muggle one time that was deaf and they used hand gestures too. He had wanted to treat the muggle but knew that that would be unwise, there was no cure for deafness in the muggle world and it would raise questions. Deafness in the wizarding world had been cured centuries ago when potions were discovered that could go in and fix the problem, whether it be nerve damage, trauma or just hereditary.

            Blaise frowned when Draco’s hand movements reached his attention. Merlin, they hadn’t used hand signals since they were children. Draco’s house elf had taken him to the wrong day care to pick up Pansy and Blaise when they had been about 5. Draco had told them in whispers that the day care had been a muggle one and the children were watching moving pictures about please-men. The please-men used hand signals to tell other please-men where the bad guys were. They had come up with their own signals and played Grindewald vs Dumbledore. Pansy was always the one who got stuck being Dumbledore while Draco and Blaise took turns playing Grindewald. Of course their version always ended with the destruction of Dumbledore… er rather Pansy.

            Pansy frowned trying to remember what the hand signals meant. It had been such a long time since they used them. Their games were never very fun for her. The boys got into it but being Dumbledore sucked balls. She never got to be Grindewald because her friends were arses, so she wasn’t good with the signals. They wouldn’t tell her what all of the signals meant because she might catch on and beat them. She was going to have to leave this one up to Blaise.

            It took at least three times of Draco repeating the signals before Blaise finally got a grasp of what was going on. Blaise turned to Pansy and gave her several meaningful looks and a couple signals that he knew she would be able to understand.

            Pansy’s eyes widened and she looked to Draco and nodded once so that he knew that she was onboard. Pansy slowly inched her way until she was close to Finley. Pansy inched her way behind his chair and sent a discreet look to Blaise to let him know that it was okay to continue. Blaise quickly cast several charms around the room. He had to focus really hard on the nonverbal aspect to it. Nonverbal was not his strong suit but he knew that he needed to get a hang of it right now to help out his friends. Once he had gone through every spell that he could think of he cast a dampening charm preventing any further spells inside the room.

            As soon as Draco got the confirmation form Blaise he cleared his throat and inched closer to Harry.

            The noise of Draco clearing his throat broke the trance. Both Harry and Finneus jumped slightly, almost like they forgot where they were.

            “Misters Weasley and Weasley.” Draco said in his most authoritative voice that he could muster. Fred and George raised their brows in surprise, what was Draco playing at?

            Harry blinked rapidly trying to clear his brain. He heard Draco speak but why was he acting so oddly? Did he have a plan?

            Finneus stared at these two men with interest. There was something between them that he hadn’t been able to pin down just yet. It was familiar and it was angering him that he couldn’t figure it out. The man with black hair was powerful as well, not nearly as powerful as the man with brown hair but powerful enough that it was impressive. But there was a hint to the power that screamed a combination of the two of them. Which didn’t make a whole lot of sense to him. Unless they performed binding rituals but that wasn’t something that had been done in centuries. It was similar but different than a binding ritual. He supposed that it could be a spell gone wrong and now their powers were comingling. It was a puzzle that he didn’t like. Puzzles are meant to be solved but he had no patience to figure them out. He wanted to understand what was going on between them right now.

            Finneus narrowed his eyes at the way the man with the strong power was looking at him. It was almost like he recognized him but he knew that the man hadn’t seen him earlier so that couldn’t be it. If he had detected a hint of his magic, then it is perhaps possible that the man recognized that. But he doubted it. He knew without a doubt that the man couldn’t have recognized him as who he really was. There was nothing to give that away. His mind was trying to come up with a plan on how to lure the man out of here without his shadow. He doubted that the two men went anywhere without the other and he was skilled enough to take on one of them but not the both of them. If it came down to a fight it would be a hell of a battle.

            “Yes?” The twins answered at the same time.

            Draco gave them both a polite smile. “We have come to assure you that your third shop has been confirmed. We came by to bring you the documents for you to sign.”

            If the twins were confused by Draco’s words, then they didn’t show it. They both adopted giant grins and immediately got into the roll that Draco wanted them to play.

            “Of course, right away.” George began.

            “We are so happy to hear that-”

            “Everything went smoothly but-”

            “We both know how wonderful lawyers that you are.” Fred said laying on the compliment pretty thickly.

            “So we weren’t even worried.”

            “You are too kind.” Harry said forcing away any lingering unease. He could do this. He could pretend to be okay while he played into whatever game it was that Draco was beginning.

            Finneus couldn’t take his eyes off of the man with the tantalizing power. He was so captivating that it took his breath away. Once he was able to push past the power there was something so dark inside of him that he almost closed his eyes and moaned. But he knew that now was not the time for that. He had to keep his composure and make it just a little longer. He was fascinated that someone with so much power also had so much darkness inside them. The darkness seemed familiar too. The darkness was massive, it lured him in just as much as the power did. He wanted to reach in and grab the darkness and never let go. There was something so empowering about his darkness, so rich and clandestine that it made his blood boil in a good way. Finneus knew that he had come across this darkness before but he couldn’t quite place it. It was familiar but different. He knew that once he figured it out he would probably smack himself but for now he was content with just trying to figure it out. What was with this guy?

             Finneus’s eyes widened before narrowing as he caught a giant cavern of light within the strange man. He furrowed his brows in confusion. Never in his entire existence had he come across someone with such power, darkness and light inside them. He was so incredibly confused. The darkness alone was enough to fill several dark wizards but this light… this light was so bright. Brighter than anything he had ever felt in his entire life. This light was so warm and beautiful that it stunned him. How could someone even exist with so much light inside of them? This light could fill not just several wizards but hundreds of light wizards. He was so blown away with the sheer depth of light inside of him. It was so… unreal, so unfathomable. Finneus was more confused than ever before. How could someone have so much light and darkness inside them? A lot of grey wizards have both. They have a mixture of the two magical spectrums. Always one side is higher than the other but they still have both. He knew that there wasn’t an ounce of lightness inside of himself. Same applied to his parents. He knew that they were as dark as they come. But this man in front of him could rival his own darkness. But to think that the lightness inside of the man _far_ outshone the darkness made no sense.

            How could someone have so much inside of them and still manage to function? Finneus wasn’t a conceited person like his mother. But he knew how powerful he himself was. It was no laughing matter. But to be able to contain _that_ much darkness and _that_ much light was unbelievable. He wondered if that is where such power was coming from. Surely to be able to contain such depth to both of the spectrums would require a lot of power.

            Draco was thankful that he had the contract from Gringotts in his briefcase or this plan would have tanked already. He pulled it out and handed it over to Fred. “Look it over and let us know what you think, we will wait if you don’t mind. The offer won’t stand for too much longer, so the quicker we come to an agreement the faster you get your third store."

            Fred was surprised that Draco had a document in his briefcase. He was still entirely in the dark about what the hell was going on but he knew that he needed to play along. He turned to George and they bent over the document together.

            The silence while the twins looked over the document was stifling. Draco narrowed his eyes when he looked back over to Finley and realized that he was still staring at Harry. He didn’t like the look in the man’s eyes. It was like he just wanted to eat Harry up. That would happen over his dead body. Who did this guy think he was? Harry was _his_.

            The twins were impressed with the document. They knew that they didn’t actually have to read it but the contract was intriguing. What was this? They couldn’t remember Harry or Draco mentioning that they were having issues with the goblins. They unknowingly were making the whole situation more believable by their mutterings that could be heard by everyone else.

            “Really now?” Fred murmured.

            “Wow. That is a lot of money.”

            “They sure struck a hard bargain.”

            “Impressive negotiation skills.” George said.

            Pansy and Blaise shared impressed looks. They had no idea that their partners were such good actors. Blaise wondered what was on the paper or if the parchment was blank. There would have to be something on it for Draco to pull it out of his briefcase. They had to have been doing something relating to the law or else they wouldn’t be dressed the way they were or in the glamours. He was tempted to read the document too.

            Harry tried looking everywhere else but at Finneus, but it was rather difficult. He could _feel_ the hungry gaze on him. It was so distracting and creepy that the man wouldn’t look away. He wanted to snap at him and tell him to quit but he needed to be strong right now. He didn’t want the man to suspect anything.

            Draco didn’t like the unease that Harry was feeling. How in the world did Finley make it this far in life without someone hexing his balls off for his creepy tendencies? He couldn’t make the possessive urges go away. He tried, he really did but the unwavering stare from Finley directed at _his_ soulmate was just too much. Draco moved closer to Harry and wrapped an arm around his waist and glared at Finley.

            Finneus tore his gaze away from the man with brown hair and raised an eyebrow at the hostility in the other man’s eyes. Well jealousy is not becoming. Obviously, the man with black hair was staking his claim. It wouldn’t matter in the end, he _would_ have this power. He would be damned if he was going to allow someone to interfere.

            Harry furrowed his brows and turned slightly to look at Draco. He almost busted out laughing when he felt envy floating through the bond. The idea that Harry might be into Finneus was so nauseating and farfetched that it was laughable. He laid his head on Draco’s shoulder till his nose was pressed into Draco’s neck. He knew it was unwise to not have his eyes on the enemy but he trusted Draco enough to protect him. His lover needed comfort and he was going to provide it. Besides, it sure as hell beat looking at the floor to avoid looking at Finneus.

            Harry kissed Draco’s neck. “I’m yours.” He breathed quietly. He let the smell of Draco calm down his nerves. Harry pushed his love for Draco through the bond hoping to reassure him.

            As soon as Draco felt Harry’s lips on his skin he started to relax. He knew that he was being silly but he didn’t like it when someone threatened his position on their love. The simple statement of Harry’s was just what he needed to hear. Draco narrowed his eyes when Finley clenched his fists. Was it possible that he had heard what Harry said? It had been too quiet for normal ears.

            Finneus nearly growled. It had been obvious that these two were an item but now he knew that he was going to have an incredibly hard time separating the two of them from each other. What irked him was the simple phrase. No. He was not the other mans. No. This power would be his. There was no doubt about it. None.

            “So you guys are their lawyers?” Finneus asked hoping that his voice came out as polite.

            Harry felt his skin crawl at the sound of his voice. ‘I want to keep you.’ That had been the last thing Finneus had said directly to Ethan before Perenelle interfered. He had to bite on his tongue to stop the bile from coming up. Merlin, he was having a flashback to that night. He almost whimpered but managed to keep it at bay. This was not the time to panic. This was not the time to lose it. He could break down later, he could lose control of his emotions later but right now he needed to be strong. He needed to be rock. He could do this. Hopefully.

            Draco was nearly panicking at the emotions coming from Harry. He had never seen him like this. What was it about this Finley guy that set Harry to edge? He knew that he had to be missing something important. He just had to be.

            “Yes.” Draco said evenly. He didn’t bother striking up a conversation or extending this one. He didn’t even want to talk to the man. He didn’t like anything about this guy. What on earth had the twins been thinking when they hired this weirdo?

            Finneus glared when the man with black hair was making this difficult. All he had to do was play nice. Even pretending enough for a conversation would make things less awkward. How could he convince them to go somewhere with him if they wouldn’t even talk to him?

            The twins cleared their throats and made a show of pretending to sign the contract. They blocked Finley’s view so that the man wouldn’t get suspicious before they handed it back to Draco.

            Finneus narrowed his eyes as he cocked his head to the side. Something suspicious was going on here. There had been no flare of magic when the signatures were signed. There had been no magic at all surrounding the document.

            “Well sorry to cut this short Finley.” Fred said with the most sincere voice that he could muster.

            “But we have things to discuss. So if you would-”

            “Come back-” Fred was cut off when Finley sprang up out of his seat startling everyone.    

            Finneus pulled out his wand and narrowed his eyes when no one else even bothered. “What is going on?” He demanded to know.

            “What do you mean?” Blaise asked innocently as he slid his wand back into his robes. Draco would have snorted if it was any other time. The idea that Blaise could be innocent was laughable. “You are the one who drew your wand.” Blaise pointed out.

            Finneus ignored Blaise and looked to the twins. “There was no magic when you signed that. Something is wrong here and I want to know now before I hurt you all.” He threatened. He frowned when still no one pulled out a wand. His four ‘bosses’ didn’t worry him. He could take them all on at one time and still win. He knew this. But the other two, they would be a problem.

            Fred and George were itching to pull out their wands but they were following everyone else’s lead. They did not appreciate being in the dark right now. As soon as whatever was happening got taken care of, they were going to demand to be taught the hand signals too. They felt useless.

            Harry was confused that no one was pulling out wands but he only felt caution and a sense of calm through the bond and Harry knew that Draco would never be vulnerable if there wasn’t a reason. So if Draco wasn’t going to use his wand then neither would Harry.

            “Who are you two, really?” Finneus asked the two strangers. He didn’t believe for one moment that they were really lawyers. There was something else going on here and he was going to get to the bottom of it. When no one answered him, he grew frustrated. Finneus was tired of playing this out, he swished his wand and frowned when nothing happened. He opened his mouth to say something but a sharp pain in the back of his head tumbled him forward. He tripped over his chair and his face smashed against the edge of the table. The last thing he heard before a blissful nothing took over was a surprised, ‘Did you have to go all muggle on him?’

            Pansy was still holding onto the clipboard that she used to smash the back of Finley’s head with. She was panting hard from the exertion. Pansy turned to Draco who had been the one to speak and glared defiantly at him.

            “Well excuse me for getting him out of the way! I would think that you would thank me!” She said a little hysterically. She had no idea what was going on but her emotions were running high and it would be nice if Draco could appreciate her level head.

            George gently took the clipboard out of her hands and pulled her into a hug. Pansy buried her face into his chest and clung to him tightly. George glared lightly at Draco for upsetting his girlfriend.

            Draco sighed and held his hands up in the air. “Alright I am sorry. I am just a little frazzled here. I didn’t mean to take it out on you.”

            Pansy sniffled before looking to her best friend. “I forgive you.” Her tone of voice suggested that she was being incredibly gracious by doing so. Draco had to quash the urge to roll his eyes at her. God, forbid he make it worse. Blaise had no issues about upsetting Pansy and he openly rolled his eyes.

            “Can someone explain what the hell just happened?” Fred demanded.

            “Yeah and what were the hand signals about?” George piped up.

            “What hand signals?” Harry asked curiously.

            “Why did I knock out one of our employees?” Pansy asked as she stared down at Finley who was knocked out with a bleeding forehead.

            “Who was that guy?” Draco demanded to know.

            Blaise was looking at everyone with a frown. Too many questions at one time. Everyone looked back and forth at each other before they all started laughing. No one had any idea which question to ask first.

            “You know what I love the most about our friendship?” George asked wiping his eyes.

            “How well we all know each other?” Pansy supplied, stepping away from the hug to take a closer look at Finley.

            Fred shook his head. “No. The fact that we can all laugh like we didn’t just assault someone in the shop, while that same someone is bleeding on the floor.”

            Blaise and Pansy snorted before looking up at Harry and Draco to start explaining.

            “Hey don’t look at me.” Draco told them. “This is all on Harry to explain.”

            Blaise frowned looking between the two of them. “But you were the one who started the hand signals.” He pointed out.

            “What hand signals?” Harry asked again, slightly frustrated. He was getting really curious. He couldn’t remember anyone performing any hand signals.

            “Draco gave me the hand signals that meant that someone needed to be taken care of and for Pansy and I to take positions on either side of him. Since there was only Finley in the room, I knew that it meant him. He also told me to mind the magic. Which meant that I had to do it all quietly and efficiently. So I used spells to make it so that no one could apparate in or out of the room. I put some shield charms in place around the room and put in charms to ward off simple hexes as well as a magic dampener so that he wouldn’t be able to perform any magic.” Blaise explained.

            Harry lifted his brows and looked at Draco rather impressed. He had no idea that Draco had been able to convey all of that without even making a single noise. That was some impressive team work. “That’s why no one took out their wands!” Harry exclaimed.

            Pansy nodded. “Yes. Then Blaise’s hand signals told me to get into position behind Finley and to keep watch on the door.”

            Fred and George let out surprised breaths of air. They had no idea that any of that had gone on while they were in the room. They had seen the hand signals but they didn’t think that it was anything as intricate as that. They were mildly impressed with their silent communication skills.

            “Wow.” Harry said with a low whistle. He turned to pout at Draco. “How come you never taught me any of the hand signals.”

            Draco laughed lightly and kissed the side of Harry’s head. “Because I haven’t used any of those since we were children. Besides, I have shown you different hand signals.” He pointed out.

            “Like what?” Blaise asked curiously. He smirked when Harry’s face went red. Pansy leered openly. “Why Draco who knew you were so kinky. I want to know what kind of hand signs you two use in bed.”

            George coughed pointedly. He had no interest whatsoever in the things they do behind closed doors. “I am more interested in _why_ we just hurt one of our employees. There has to be a good reason or we could _so_ be sued.”

            Everyone turned to stare at Harry who began fidgeting. He looked at Finneus with narrowed eyes. “That is not Finley.” Fred and George frowned. No, they were pretty sure that was Finley. They had seen him enough for the past two years to know who he was.

            Harry could see the confusion on their faces and rushed to explain. “Well it is Finley. But that is also Finneus Flamel.”

            There was a deafening silence while everyone tried processing the new information.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. What did you guys think of today's chapter? I was feeling better today so I am pretty glad that the chapter is posted on time. 
> 
> I loved the idea of the hand signals. I think it is rather cute. And the mini back story was adorable, if I do say so myself. My inspiration on that was kind of like 'Cops and Robbers' Only there was Grindewald and Dumbledore. I thought it was rather funny that children would play something like that. Considering who their families were it was no wonder that no one wanted to be Dumbledore. Haha. 
> 
> Now for the tiny tid bit about deafness not being an issue in the wizarding world. I was not implying that being deaf is something bad or that needs to be cured. This was just something to explain why there is no deaf people in the wizarding world. No offense was intended. 
> 
> I am a terrible actor so it is a good thing I was not in their shoes. I would have ruined the whole plan. What did you think of Draco's plan? I thought it was fascinating. It shows how well he knows his friends. 
> 
> Now I know some of you might be a little confused as to why Finneus wouldn't be able to recognize the darkness inside of Harry as the same darkness in the stone. But keep in mind that Harry touched the stone. Finneus only ever drinks from the Elixir with gloves. The Flamels may be off their rockers but they know better than to touch dark artifacts without gloves. So that is why it is familiar to him but also different. He wouldn't know the darkness like Harry does. 
> 
> Also, I know it might not make sense that Finneus thought the darkness in Harry could only fill several dark wizards while the lightness could fill hundreds. I know what you are thinking. How could something like the darkness that came from something so dark as the Sorcerer's Stone, that took the lives of three hundred people not be dark enough to fill more than several wizards? There is a reason for that. Butttt I won't be mentioning that till later on. 
> 
> Anyone surprised that they all just started talking over the knocked out Finneus with zero fucks given? Haha 
> 
> So let me know any thoughts that you might have on this chapter. I would love to hear from you all. :)
> 
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	64. Black Room

            Harry could see the confusion on their faces and rushed to explain. “Well it is Finley. But that is also Finneus Flamel.”

            There was a deafening silence while everyone tried processing the new information.

            ***CRACK*** The silence in the room was broken by the nearest table being split in half. Everyone looked wide eyed at Harry expecting it to have been caused by him but it was Draco who was panting heavily.

            “You mean to tell me that that low life is one of the people who killed you?” Draco whispered harshly as he took a step towards Finneus’s still form. He wasn’t even sure of what he would do once he got to the man, he was just so angry that he wanted to do _something_.

            Harry pulled him back and wrapped his arms around Draco’s waist. “Shh calm down love. Yes, that is him and no, you can’t harm him.”

            Draco made a noise of disbelief. “Are you kidding me? He killed Ethan. _My_ sweet innocent Ethan.” Draco’s voice cracked.

           “No. I won’t just allow him to get away with it.” He growled. Draco couldn’t believe what he was hearing. This piece of shite was one of the reasons that the love his life had been taken from him. This dirt on the bottom of his shoe was responsible for the grief and heartache that he felt every single day that he waited for Ethan to come home and he never did. The endless pacing, the endless tears, the endless agonizing torture of a life without Ethan. His entire existence had been crushed and it was all the Flamels' fault. They finally had one of them in their grasps and Harry was saying that he couldn’t harm him?! 

            Harry’s heart warmed up just as much as it broke as he heard the pain in his soulmate’s voice but he held on tightly to Draco. “I am not saying you can’t harm him ever, I am saying that you can’t harm him right now. We need answers love. He might be able to give them to us.” Harry reasoned.

            Draco growled. Harry was making a lot of sense but he didn’t want to be reasoned with. He wanted to be angry and he wanted to take that anger out on Finneus. The warring emotions were almost too much for him.

            “Did you lower the dampening charm?” Pansy whispered to Blaise while the two love birds began to work out their issues.

            Blaise shook his head wide eyed. “No. It is still up. I don’t know how Draco managed to perform any magic.”

            “Could it just be accidental magic?” Fred whispered. Blaise shook his head again. “No. I made sure to cover that too.” He answered in confusion. It really shouldn’t have been possible. He was worried that the charm had failed but he remembered the Finl-Finneus, that would take some getting used to, had not been able to perform any magic.  

            Blaise tilted his head toward Pansy and gestured with his fingers that he wanted her to try performing something. He would have done it himself but since he cast the charm he had set in a loophole making it so that he would be the only one able to cast from inside the room. The charm could be taken down from the outside but not the inside.

            Pansy tried a number of spells, all ranging from mild to hard and not a single one would go through. She tried taking down the charm but had to admit that Blaise had done a great job with his spell work. She shook her head letting him know that she failed.

            George shared a frown with his twin and they both tried a handful of spells as well. They sighed in frustration when nothing happened. Fred looked to his boyfriend. "Why do you suppose he was able to perform magic?”

            Blaise shrugged. “Beats me. If it had been Harry, I probably would have written it off as another unexplained thing that he can do. But this was Draco, so I have no idea.” He furrowed his brows as he tried coming up with reasons that Draco had been able to circumvent his charm. It was almost a personal insult that his best friend had found a way around his charm but no one else could.

            Once Draco was calm enough, he began to see the validity to Harry’s statement. He slumped forward and was glad that Harry had his arms around him our he would have fallen to the ground. Harry could feel the tension leave Draco’s form and he kissed the back of his neck.

            “He will pay for it all, just be patient.” Harry whispered. Draco straightened up and kissed the side of Harry’s head. “Yes, he will.” Draco replied dangerously.

            Harry probably should have been concerned at how murderous Draco was feeling but he decided to be flattered instead. Merlin, they both had issues.

            Draco could feel the warring emotions in Harry and he smiled softly before cupping Harry’s face in his palms. “No one hurts you and gets away with it.” He promised darkly. Harry closed his eyes and nuzzled into the warmth of Draco’s hands.

            A low groan filled the room. Harry and Draco whipped around ready for a fight but stopped when Pansy shrieked and aimed a kick right at Finneus’s head. Everyone shared a startled look before turning their attention to Pansy.

            “I panicked, okay?” Pansy said breathing hard while her hands rested on her cheeks. “I was worried he was going to get up.” It had been a gut instinct, his groan had scared her.

            Draco snickered lightly. He tried hiding it but he could feel Harry’s amusement and it amplified his own. Harry was fairing a little better. He covered his mouth with his hand and his body began shaking in silent laughter.

            “You don’t think I kicked him too hard, do you?” Pansy worried as she gingerly stepped forward to take a look at him. It would do them no good if he died of a brain injury before they could even get any answers out of him.

            That proved too much for them because soon Harry and Draco were clutching each other and laughing too hard. Pansy huffed and put her hands on her hips, glaring at the two laughing at her. “What pray tell is so funny?” She demanded.

            Draco thought her anger just made the whole thing better. He tried twice to say something but chuckles came out instead. “D-Don’t scare her Harry or she might kick you in the head.” Harry clutched his stomach and laughed.

            Pansy narrowed her eyes. “You know, I might just kick you both out of spite now.” The twins and Blaise snorted. Pansy sighed and threw her hands up in the air. “Not you guys too!”

            Once Harry and Draco were able to control themselves they stepped up to Finneus. It was surprising that despite the seriousness of the situation, they were all still able to laugh. It probably looked as if they weren’t being responsible but it was a healthier atmosphere than if they had all been panicking over what to do.

            “Let’s tie him up and stun him.” Draco suggested. It was a good thing that Pansy had acted quickly or he might have gained enough consciousness to fight back.

            Harry waved his hand and ropes sprang forward and wrapped around Finneus’s body tightly. He narrowed his eyes and shot a stunner at him wandless as well. Once that was taken care of he turned to Draco and nodded his head. He looked to the quartet to suggest that they should all probably go to the Manor but he noticed that they were all staring at him with wide eyes.

            “I give up!” Blaise yelled in frustration.

            Harry shot Draco a confused look but Draco just shrugged. He had no idea what was going on either.

            “I’m sorry.” Harry said gently. “Did you want to be the one to tie him up?” He didn’t think it was that big of a deal but he supposed he could have asked if anyone else wanted to do the honors.

            Despite his frustration, Blaise couldn’t help but smile. “No, Harry. That isn’t what I meant. There is a magic dampening spell around this room but yet you and Draco have now both been able to perform magic.”

            Harry furrowed his brows in confusion. “Maybe you didn’t do the spell right.” Draco suggest dryly. Harry shoved Draco lightly in a warning to play nice.

            Blaise narrowed his eyes. “Pansy isn’t the only one who knows how to kick.” Everyone snorted while Draco pouted. 

            “Alright, alright.” Draco said raising his hands in the air. “I don’t know why we were able to but does it really matter?” Sure, it was odd but in long scheme of things this was just a tiny blip on the radar. They had a man tied up on the floor, surely that takes precedence.

            “I suppose not.” Blaise conceded rather put out. He knew that it really didn’t matter but it was an odd puzzle that he wanted to solve.

            “Good. Let’s get take him to the Manor.” Draco suggested. “Father will know what to do with him.” To anyone else it might have sounded like Draco wanted advice from Lucius but Harry detected the sadistic glint to Draco’s voice. He wasn’t wanting help at all, he was wanting his father to handle Finneus. Harry shook his head but didn’t say anything. Sometimes it was better to just let Draco have what he wanted.

            “Wait.” George and Fred said at the same time. “We have to let Verity know that she will be in charge for the rest of the day. Pansy and Blaise winced. “She isn’t going to like that.” Pansy warned. They had hired some new employees and this would be the first time that Verity would have to handle them directly.

            George sighed heavily. “I know but they are still in training so it shouldn’t be too much work for her to handle. They are going over all of the products anyways. It’s not like she has to keep a close watch on them.”

            “Romilda is out there too so that should help if it gets busy.” Fred reminded her.

            “You _hired_ her?” Harry demanded incredulously. He thought that she had just been shopping. He shuddered just thinking about her.

            Blaise furrowed his brows. “What’s wrong with Romilda? She’s been here about a month and she is a quick learner.” The other three nodded in agreement. Draco was just confused at who the girl was. He might have seen her once or twice during school but other than that she really didn’t stick out that much in his mind.

            “She tried to feed me a love potion in my sixth year!” Harry shuddered again. Draco narrowed his eyes. “She did _what_?” His voice had a dangerous edge to it that made the quartet want to take a step back.

            “Yeah but I didn’t end up eating them. She had put them inside chocolate. Ron actually ate them.” Harry explained not really paying attention to the anger that Draco was feeling.

            Draco couldn’t help it. He snorted. It had pissed him off to think that someone would have done that to _his_ Harry. He ignored the fact that they weren’t even together then, that was besides the point. But to think that Weasel had eaten them not knowing that it had a love potion inside was hilarious. Served the prat right.

            Harry looked to the quartet who had not said anything yet and frowned. “That is not someone you would want working for you.”

            All four of them raised their brows in disbelief. “Actually, she is.” Fred said smirking at the shocked looks on Harry and Draco’s faces.

            “She managed to sneak in a love potion through the extra security _and_ the chocolate passed through Filch’s nose. That is brilliant and sneaky. Exactly someone that we would want to hire.” George declared with a grin.

            Harry crossed his arms across his chest and pouted. Draco almost cooed at how cute Harry was when he did that but he decided this was not the right time. “You don’t even care that if she had succeeded that it would have completely taken away my free will and she would have enslaved me into a loveless relationship for who knows how long?”

            “No.” The quartet said at the same time with their mouths twitching.

            “Some friends you are.” Harry and Draco said at the same time. Harry ignored the laughter coming from the quartet. He turned to Draco and ran his nose along Draco’s jaw. “Well at least I have you on my side.” Harry told him lovingly.

            Draco reached up a hand to hold Harry’s head in place. “Always, my love.”

            “Can we get out of here already? Standing next to him is creeping me out.” Pansy whined. Draco rolled his eyes but quickly grabbed hold of Harry’s hand and touched Finneus’s shoulder before apparating them directly into the Manors foyer.  

            “Fucking warn me next time!” Harry growled in frustration, he felt like a broken record. Draco was always doing that to him.

            Draco grinned unrepentantly. “I would apologize but we both know that I will do it again.”

            “Was that supposed to make me feel better?” Harry asked doubtfully.

            “Actually yes, it was.” Harry scoffed in disbelief. Sometimes he really wondered why he loved Draco so much.

            Draco ignored Harry’s put out expression and called for the house elf. “Izzy.” When she arrived, Draco told her to tell his father that he was needed for a 2319.

            Harry scrunched up his face. “What is a twenty-three nineteen?”

            “A prisoner.” Lucius answered from the top of the stairs as he and Narcissa descended downwards. He was quite curious as to who they would have brought home for a prisoner. The last thing he could remember was that they had said that they were off to Gringotts. He prayed that they didn’t bring home a goblin prisoner. He didn’t fancy having to deal with the goblin leaders.

            "Why do you have a code for a prisoner?" Harry mumbled to Draco. His lover arched an incredulous brow. "Angel, we have a code for everything. If he had been dead then it would have been a 640. If he had been missing limbs it would have been a 710. If it had been an accident then it would have been a 1020." Harry wasn't sure what to think about this. Purebloods were so weird. He was worried at how old Draco was when he had learned what to say if he ever brought home a dead body. That isn't something that you should teach a child.

            There was a whoosh of the fireplace sounded nearby and then suddenly the foyer was flooded with the quartet who came bursting from floo room.

            “Pricks.” Pansy angrily declared. “You could have apparated us too.”

            Harry arched a brow. “Why? You all know how.” He was actually confused why they flooed over instead of just apparating.

            Blaise sighed heavily. “Harry, we are not magically gifted like the two of you and can somehow get passed the anti-apparation wards around the Manor.”

            Draco gaped for a moment. He had just assumed that his father keyed him into the wards coding. He never stopped to think that he was somehow breaking the wards to allow entry.

            Lucius looked around at Harry and Draco with interest. “That is the second time you have done that.” He wasn’t upset. The wards were still in place but for some reason, Harry and Draco were able to get passed them. It was intriguing. He was glad that Severus was in the think room because he was pretty sure that his friend would have already started theorizing and coming up with experiments to test their abilities.

            Harry furrowed his brows. He clearly couldn’t remember when they had done that before. They usually flooed over. Lucius picked up on his confusion and explained that the first time had been when their souls combined for the first time.

            Narcissa was staring intently at the body on the floor, ignoring the conversation around her. She could care less that her sons had managed to get around the wards. It actually made her feel safer knowing that if they ever needed to apparate in case of an emergency that they wouldn’t have a problem. When Izzy had said that it was a 2319, Narcissa was a little worried. Draco had never brought home a prisoner before. It wasn’t his thing. She was quite grateful for that.

            The longer Narcissa stared at the body the more she was sure she had seen him before. There was a lot of blood on his face and it looked like they had taken turns to hit him like a muggle. That was intriguing. Why didn’t they just use spells? There was something about him that even in his stunned state, she could sense darkness. That in of itself was surprising. Most people who are stunned radiate no magical signature unless they have a lot of power within them. But who would they have come across with this much dark power and have taken them prisoner?

            It was like a candle was lit, suddenly it all made sense. She gasped loudly and covered her mouth with both hands. Lucius turned to his wife to see what was wrong but she was staring down at the prisoner that his sons had brought in. It was the first time he looked at the body and he was pleased that it was not a goblin. It only took a couple seconds before he narrowed his eyes in recognition. There was no way that he could forget the face of his sister’s murderer.

            Lucius walked forward but was instantly held back by his wife. If it had been anyone else, he would have snarled at them. “We have to get answers out of him.” Narcissa explained gently. She knew that the youngest Flamel was not going to make it out a live but they needed to question him first. Lucius closed his eyes briefly, damn. His wife was right. He just wanted to tear the man limb from limb. And how positively muggle was that? He shuddered just thinking about it.

            “Alright.” Lucius conceded. “Narcissa will you run to the think room and get Severus and Remus?” He asked. His wife quickly walked out of the room. Lucius levitated the man and walked forward towards a direction that Harry had never been in.

            Harry thought they would go to the dungeon but it appeared that was not the case. “Where are we going?” Harry whispered to Draco.

            “The black room.” Harry could feel a small sense of trepidation at the mention of the black room but he could also feel a lot of satisfaction and he wasn’t sure which one was worse.

            They all stopped walking when Lucius stopped in front of what looked like a portion of a blank wall. Harry was confused when Lucius slashed his wand against his palm and made a cut. He was eerily reminded of Dumbledore cutting his hand to get into the cave. As soon as Lucius’s palm made contact with the wall, a door immediately sprang forward.

            Just looking at the door alone gave Harry the creeps. It was a solid black with intricate runes melded into the door. At first glance it looked like a wooden door that was stained to achieve the color but the more Harry looked at it the more he realized that it wasn’t made out wood at all. What exactly it was, he wasn’t sure. The darkness coming from the door worried him. What on earth was this room? Why did they have a dungeon _and_ this creepy room?    

            Harry extended his hand as if to touch the door but two strong hands smacked his hand away. “Ow.” Harry pouted looking up at Lucius and Draco with a grumpy expression. Did they have to hit him? The worry in their eyes made his anger vanish.

            “Don’t touch the door Harry.” Draco urged him. He should have warned Harry long before they even got to the door. He knew how curious his lover was. So it should have occurred to him that Harry would want to touch it.

            “If anyone but the Lord Malfoy were to touch the door they would be instantly swallowed into the room which will activate an endless loop of _Fiendfyre_.”

            “Holy fuck.” Harry and the twins said at the same time. Pansy and Blaise whistled. They didn’t know about this room but it wasn’t that surprising. Even their own families had secrets that weren’t discussed to others. It came as no surprise that the Malfoys would have this kind of protection.

            Harry was seriously questioning his life choices at the moment. He couldn’t fathom what on earth was so important that it needed that type of spell to keep people out.

            Narcissa came down the hall but without the last two people of their group. Lucius frowned when he didn’t see Severus or Remus behind her.

            “They weren’t there.” She explained. “But I sent Izzy to go find them.” She made her way through everyone until she was standing by Lucius. It was a tight fit with all eight of them inside the hallway.

            They only had to wait a couple moments before there was a *Pop* letting them all know that the house elf returned and another *Pop* signifying her departure. Harry wanted to know why they were waiting in the hallway and not inside the room but he didn’t want to speak up. The creepy door was enough of an excuse for now.

            “Ow! That was my foot.” Pansy complained.

            “Oomph sorry.” Remus apologized.

            “Hey! Watch it!” George yelled.

            “Your hair is in my face.” Blaise mumbled.

            “If this blasted elf hadn’t apparated us between everyone then none of this would have happened.” Severus snapped.

            “I think my rib is broken.” George complained.

            “Sorry!” Remus apologized again.

            “Whatever Weasley twin you happen to be, you better get your hand off of my arse before I use it as potion ingredients.” Came the dangerous voice of Severus.

            “Oh god!!” Fred cried in horror, quickly snatching his hand away.

            Harry, Draco and Lucius all snorted in mirth. They had been lucky enough to avoid the catastrophe that was going on behind them.

            “What in Salazar’s name are we doing inside of a narrow hallway?” Severus demanded to know. If he got felt up one more time he was burning the whole Manor or at the very least the Weasley family would be sans another son.

            Lucius quickly pushed open the door and ushered everyone inside. He rolled his eyes when a lot pushing and shoving ensued. Could they at least pretend to be dignified?

            “You shoved against my already bruised rib!” George whined after he pushed Blaise into the room.

            “Well if you hadn’t knocked me into the wall then I would have left you alone.” Blaise reasoned.

            “Sorry, that was my fault, I accidently hit George.” Fred apologized.

            “Yeah after pulling on my hair!” Pansy winced as she threaded her fingers through her hair.

            “I am afraid that was my fault, I got knocked into Fred.” Remus explained.

            “If you all had acted your age then none of that would have happened.” Lucius remarked dryly. He smirked when he was on the receiving end of five glares.

            Harry looked around the room and wrinkled his nose. He understood why Draco had called it the black room. Every single thing in this room was a dark shade of black. From the walls to the tile on the floor. Even the chains on the wall were black. He had a distinct feeling that this was a torture chamber. He grew very uneasy about being in here. He noticed that on the far back wall there was a small book shelf, which was no surprise, black. But the books on it were even done in black pages. Harry didn’t like this room. He didn’t like it at all.

            Severus froze when he realized what room they were in. He had only been in this room once, when they had to hide a muggle baby that had been taken hostage by the other deatheaters when they were in their early twenties. Luckily the baby’s disappearance had been blamed on a lower deatheater in the ranks. He knew what kind of horrors could be performed here and he had no desire to ever set foot in here again.

            Lucius could see the wariness on his friend’s face and he understood his trepidation. He wouldn’t have come in here willingly either but this was the best room to house a prisoner. They had a dungeon but if they needed to house someone overnight then this was the room to go to. Besides, the dungeon was just for show anyways. The Ministry could easily discover the dungeon on a raid, what Slytherin worth their weight has a dungeon that is easily discovered? He never told the Dark Lord about this room on purpose. He didn’t even want to imagine what the Dark Lord would have done to the prisoners if he had had the space for it.

            The lighting was horrid as Draco looked around the room and noticed something on Severus's body. He could barely make out red marks on his godfather’s neck. “Did you get injured in the apparation?”

            Severus shook off his unease at being in the room to give his attention to Draco. “Pardon?” He inquired with a flick of his brow. “I received no physical injuries but I fear that I will be mentally scarred from being fondled by Fred.”

            Fred moaned pitifully while everyone else started snickering. “It was an accident!”

            Draco took a step towards his godfather to show him that he was injured when he realized that they were hickeys. “Oh my.” He squeaked and hastily took a step back. Everyone looked at him curiously.

            Harry looked from Severus’s stoic expression to the faint blush on Remus’s expression and it all made sense. That was why they weren’t able to be found. “No way.” He declared with a grin.

            Remus blushed when everyone looked between him and Severus with surprised but pleased grins. This was not exactly how he wanted to tell everyone that they were together.

            “Finally!” The quartet said at the same time. They began giving each other high fives.

            Narcissa clapped her hands in excitement. Now everyone was partnered off and she wouldn’t have to worry about anyone until Teddy was old enough.

            “Yes, yes. We are together.” Severus drawled. “I just want to know which one of you idiots thought that Operation: Get Severus a Man was really necessary.” There was a dangerous tint to his voice that made everyone stand up straighter.

            Harry groaned internally. He knew it was a bad idea to start that but did anyone ever want to listen to him? No.

            Pansy winced and hid behind Fred, George and Blaise. She was out of his line of fire, she breathed a sigh of relief.

            The three in front of Pansy immediately stepped to the other side of the room and pointed at her. “She named it!”

            Severus smirked ferally at Pansy. Now he knew who to target first. Pansy gasped in outrage. Some friends they were! Even her boyfriend sold her out.

            Remus put his hand on Severus’s arm. “You can plot your revenge later.” He reasoned. “What are doing in here?” He asked curiously. Remus wanted to move this all along. The place was giving him the creeps and he had better things to do than be here in a disturbing room. Like Severus.

            Lucius waved his wand and the body that no one had been paying attention to floated to the walls and into the chains immediately.

            Remus almost sputtered, what on earth were they doing with an unconscious body? But he caught sight of the face and his eyes narrowed and a loud growl reverberated around the room.

            Severus looked at Remus curiously. What was with him? Remus made to take a step forward but Severus held him back. He wasn’t sure why he was doing that but he couldn’t allow Remus’s anger to get the best of him. Remus could have thrown off Severus’s hold. It was close enough to the full moon that his strength was way stronger than Severus but he didn’t want to. Doing so could hurt him and Severus was his now. No harm was to come to him. But his instincts to enact revenge on one of the people who had harmed his cub was strong. Very strong. This person was responsible for the death of Ethan and even though he hadn’t been alive during that time, Remus still considered that as Harry. They were both his cubs and any threat to his pack must be eliminated.

            “They have brought us Finneus Flamel.” Lucius said quietly. He understood what Remus was going through because he also considered Harry family but it was more than just what happened to Harry. It was also what happened to his baby sister too.

            Severus snapped his eyes up to squint at the man held in chains. He kicked himself when he didn’t realize it sooner. But to be fair, he only saw him in the one memory. A memory that was 700 years old.

            “What do we do now?” Harry wondered out loud.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay my lovelies, what did you think of this chapter?
> 
> I am interested to know of what you guys think regarding the fact that Harry and Draco seem to be performing magic that goes against spells and wards in place. 
> 
> Do you agree with Harry on the Romilda issue? I am indifferent. I think it shows that the girl is seriously disturbed but I also appreciate her cunning. 
> 
> Anyone catch the 2319 reference? I needed a code and my mind instantly thought of Monsters Inc. :)
> 
> I rather enjoyed this chapter. It set up a lot for tomorrow's chapter. The humor mixed in with the seriousness to it was something I enjoyed writing. 
> 
> Not much has really been mentioned about the Black Room but I would still like to know your thoughts. 
> 
> I thought it was funny that Narcissa was thinking about partnering Teddy off when he got older. He is just a baby. Haha. 
> 
> Okay let me know what your thoughts were. :)
> 
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	65. Emotional Torture

          

            “What do we do now?” Harry wondered out loud.

           “We make him talk.” Severus and Lucius said at the same time. The two of them shared a long look. They knew exactly what to do and how to handle a prisoner. They were deatheaters for a reason. It wasn’t like they had tea parties or played dress up with The Dark Lord. Prisoner 101 was one of the first things that they were taught. They could torture someone in their sleep. Neither one of them was sure if that was a good thing or not.

            Severus could still remember the first time that he had been told that he would be evaluated on how well he could make a prisoner talk. He had been partnered with Lucius and he could tell that his friend didn’t want to do it either but that was the life choices that they had made. Backing out would have been just as much of a death sentence as mouthing off to The Dark Lord.

            The prisoner had been a teenage boy of a prominent advocate on the light side. The son of a Ministry worker. The boy’s pleading still haunted Severus to this day. If he had been a lesser man he would have broken down during the whole process, as it was he barely made it home before the tears had come tumbling down. The boy didn’t know anything. That had been the point that The Dark Lord wanted to make. He wanted them to be numb from hurting people who either deserved it _or_ people who were completely innocent. To The Dark Lord, anyone who he said was an enemy, ended up being an enemy. If he wanted someone’s wife or brother or best friend to killed, then they did it.

            The actual ‘interrogation’ had been pointless. It had taken two well-meaning questions for the both of them to realize that the kid had no idea what his mother’s political beliefs were or what she even did for the light side. There was one cardinal rule one it came to the ‘interrogations’, whether the prisoner talked or not, they were to be killed. The revulsion and horror that Severus could see in his friend’s eyes were the same feelings that he himself felt. Severus knew that Lucius would crack if he was the one who had to kill the boy. Lucius had just had Draco and he knew that his friend wouldn’t be able to actually do most of what was required of them. If Lucius cracked, then his friend would be killed. Severus would not allow Draco to grow up without a father. So Severus pushed aside every single ounce of horror and trepidation that he could and did what had to be done. For months Severus was sure that his hands were stained red with the child’s blood. It didn’t matter how many times he cleaned himself. It didn’t matter how many times he bathed. The red was visible to him. No one else could see it, but to Severus it was there. He wasn’t just a murderer, he was a child murderer who couldn’t even have made the child’s murder be merciful or painless. The boy had died a slow and agonizing death. That was the day that Severus knew he would spend an eternity in hell. That was the day that he knew he was damned and deserved every crappy thing that life could throw at him. That was the day that Severus began his trip down the road to self-hatred.

            If the act itself hadn’t been bad enough, the torture had promoted him up in the ranks. At the time, he had been in one of the lower circles but The Dark Lord had been proud of his work. That alone made him sick to his stomach. The worst part of it all was that if he had to do it again, he would. Lucius was his only and his best friend. There was no way that he would lose him over something that Severus could do. There was no way that he could make a father kill a child. Even if he had refused there would have been other deatheaters to take his place. Nothing would have saved that child. Nothing. As strange as it was, that act had brought him and Lucius closer. Lucius never thanked him because that would be acknowledging that he couldn’t have done it and a Malfoy never admits defeat but Severus could see the gratitude and shame in those grey eyes and it was enough for him.

            The Dark Lord hadn’t been pleased with the little that Lucius had performed so he had not been promoted along with Severus. But Lucius was assigned directly under his command and Severus was grateful for that. No one else would have looked out for his friend otherwise. It was only a little while anyways until his friend’s political status rose him up the ranks. Which meant that Lucius could delegate the tasks that he didn’t want to do. Severus had sighed in relief during the promotion. He knew that he wouldn’t have to worry about his friend much after that.

            Torture never got easier. Part of him had hoped that it would over time. Every prisoner became a numb notch on his blackened soul. Another reason why he would never be worthy of anything but his pitiful existence. Even all the good that he has done will never be able to wipe away the things that he was made to do as a deatheater. Even though he didn’t want to be there he still did the things anyways. It matters none what he really believed. Severus was damned to hell and that was something that he had long ago accepted. Torturing people was the one thing that always made his stomach lurch as a deatheater. He would rather just straight up kill someone. Or even go on raids and destroy houses. Anything but torturing the life out of someone. It was too personal and too involved. With torture, one sees every single fleeting emotion before the inevitable death. Their emotions linger in the air and in his mind for months afterwards. Severus wished that he could be like other deatheaters who had no qualms about what they were doing but at the same time, his unease and guilt were signs of humanity. However small that humanity may be, he clung to it with all that he had.

            Severus had sworn to himself that he would never torture another human being again but yet here was being faced with having to make Finneus talk. If ever there was someone who deserved it, it would be the Flamels but Severus was wrestling with the guilt of having to do this. He was wrestling with the guilt of losing even more of his withering humanity. He knew that they needed to get information out of the man but his gut was already clenching at the thought of what it would take to get those answers. Severus knew that Finneus was near 700 years old but he _looked_ like a teenager. He looked to be the same age as Harry and Draco. It was reminding him horribly of the first prisoner he had to torture. It was reminding him of the innocent teenage boy who knew nothing. He wasn’t sure if he could do this. He wasn’t sure he could look himself in the mirror if he crossed this path. A path that he never wanted to walk down again.

            Lucius had no problem separating Finneus from all of the people over the years that he had been forced to torture. Thanks to Severus it wasn’t that many. Lucius knew that he was coward for allowing Severus to be the one to have to live with the tortures. He knew that Severus was a far better man than he was. Lucius knew that he had a lot to thank his friend for. He would have been long dead if it hadn’t been for Severus. It was ironic considering that he was older than Severus. He was supposed to be the one looking out for him but it didn’t work out like that. Severus had always looked out for him until he had enough political standing to look out for himself.

           Severus was his only friend. Sure, he had plenty of acquaintances but where were they when Lucius had been faced with killing a child who reminded him of his infant son? Severus had seen through his mask and knew that he never would have been able to kill that teenager. Lucius had known from the moment he got the dark mark that he had made a terrible mistake and that he was coward for not backing out but when he was faced with torturing that child he knew that he was not only a coward but also a monster. A horrible monster that would forever burn in perish. The guilt over allowing Severus to be the one to shoulder the horrible burden of torturing the child has never left him. He will always regret his lack of action. Severus didn’t deserve to live with everything that he has had to endure. Severus at least should’ve only had to shoulder half of the guilt instead of the full bill. That is always something that Lucius hates himself for. In hindsight, he is a pretty crappy friend compared to Severus.

            Lucius took one look at Severus’s stock-still frame and knew that Severus couldn’t do it. He knew just as Severus had once known all those years ago about himself. Perhaps this was just one torture too many, perhaps this would be the last straw if Severus was to do this. Lucius knew that this would not make up for even a fraction of what his friend had done for him but he would be the strong one this time. He would be the one to take the guilt of the torture this time. If there even was guilt. He was not in the mindset of this being a hardship. Getting information out of Finneus would be a pleasure. That should probably worry him but it didn’t. Lucius had always been petty and easy to enact revenge. It is a price of being a Malfoy. No one messes with a Malfoy and gets away with it. That is why even _several_ generations later the Malfoy family was still harboring the feud with the Weasleys.

            Was this revenge? Was getting Finneus to talk revenge for Harry and his baby sister? Lucius wasn’t sure. He knew without a doubt that this was not something that he would feel guilty over. This was not something that he would grow to resent or even lose sleep over. This was something that would be easy. Again, it should worry him but it just doesn’t. This would be something that he would enjoy greatly.

            Everyone looked around the room when no one answered their statement. There seemed to be reflective silence that no one wanted to break. Harry himself really had no idea what their next plan of action would be. He was afraid of how they were going to get Finneus to talk. That sounded a lot like torture to him. He wasn’t sure what he felt about this. He knew that they needed answers but was torture the way to do that? Is this one of those ‘the ends justify the means’ type of situations. That sounded a lot like something that Dumbledore would have said. Harry didn’t like the sound of that. Was getting answers out of him worth what it would take?

            Draco wasn’t torn at all like he knew that Harry was. After living with the torture that was constantly in his house during Voldemort’s stay, he knew that he could stomach whatever his father and Uncle Sev did to the man. He was honestly looking forward to it. He couldn’t wait to see the man get his just desserts. Draco should probably be concerned about the level of blood thirstiness that he was feeling but he just couldn’t be bothered to care. Every time he looked at Finneus he saw his precious Ethan’s dead body being found without eyes. He saw the heartache and tears when he looked at the man. He saw pure evil when he looked at Finneus. Anyone who could take the life of someone as innocent as Ethan, deserved whatever they were going to do to him.

            Remus didn’t like the sound of that. He wasn’t sure he could stomach witnessing anything of the sort. His senses were heightened due to the approaching full moon and he knew that once they started trying to get answers from Finneus that it would grow too much for him. There was a reason he had always been a light wizard, he was not meant to be a third party to torture. Not even to witness it. Remus looked to Severus and noticed that he looked a little pale. Was he having reservations about doing this too? He could tell that something was bothering his partner, a little thrill went through him when he thought about that. So he reached over and threaded their fingers together.

            Severus closed his eyes for a brief moment and thanked everything that he had in him that Remus was his. He knew that he didn’t deserve someone as kind and loyal like Remus. After all of the things that he had done throughout his life, he deserved to spend the rest of his life bitter and lonely. But Severus had always been a tad selfish and there was no way that he was going to give up the only bright spot to enter his life in nearly twenty years. Slytherins hold onto what they want and never let go. Despite his self-loathing, he was going to cling to his new found happiness. Severus squeezed Remus’s hand tightly. 

            Lucius took a step forward and the silence of the room amplified the movement. He watched Severus’s eyes snap open and a sense of wariness fill those onyx eyes. “I’ll do it, my friend. Let me repay what you once did for me.” Lucius’s voice wavered slightly as he tried not to think of the child that he couldn’t kill. “Let me be the one to shoulder this responsibility. You looked after me for so long when I couldn’t stomach the tortures. Let me be the one to do this, so that you don’t have to.”

            Severus didn’t think about his movements or stop to give them an actual thought. He dropped Remus's hand and rushed forward into Lucius’s arms. Lucius gave a surprised noise in the back of his throat but quickly embraced his friend. Severus wasn’t sure what he had done in his life to have earned someone like Lucius as his friend but he thanked any possible higher power out there. “Thank you.” He whispered quietly.

            Lucius made a noise of pain at the gratitude. “Please don’t thank me. Nothing that I can ever do will be enough to thank you for taking all of those tortures so that I didn’t have to. I wish that I had been a better man like you. Don’t hate yourself for the things that you have done. If you want to hate someone then hate me. I should have been there with you shouldering the guilt.” Lucius whispered just as quietly. He didn’t want anyone to hear their conversation. In the back of his mind he registered the fact that they could have just used a silencing charm but he couldn’t really think through his emotions.

            Severus lifted his head but stayed in the embrace. “I could never hate you. Lucius, you have been my only friend since I was an awkward 18 year old who made the mistake of joining a mad man. You have no idea what your friendship has meant to me. I would take every single one of those tortures and do them again if I had to. I knew how much you saw Draco in the prisoners. I knew that you couldn’t do it. I knew that I could. No father should be put in a position like that. I did what I thought was best at the time.” Severus assured him in quiet murmurs.

            Lucius sighed. “I don’t deserve your loyalty. But I will not argue your statements or I fear we shall be here all day if we do. Go on and take Remus and the quartet out of here. They will not wish to see this.” This last bit was said loud enough for everyone else to hear as they stepped back and parted from the embrace.

            Draco was surprised to see his father and godfather hug like that. Neither men were known for their emotions. He knew that he was missing the bigger picture regarding whatever happened between the two of them but he knew that it was a private matter that was none of his business.

            Remus had caught every single word that the two friends had whispered to each other and his heart ached for the both of them. He knew some of what being a deatheater entailed but he hadn’t really given it a whole lot of consideration. Just the title itself was enough. But to think about torturing children was unthinkable. He didn’t feel revulsion for the two of them but more the acts themselves. He hated Voldemort with every fiber of his being. How could the man have thought that torture is acceptable? Remus figured that if Voldemort had a conscious he wouldn’t have been a Dark Lord to being with though. The pain in Severus’s voice tore at his heartstrings. He couldn’t imagine what it would have been like to be stuck in a position that you couldn’t back out of and being forced to do the awful things that Voldemort would have required of them. But to then take on extra responsibility to save Lucius? Remus fell even farther in love with Severus just now. He knew that Severus came with a lot of baggage. To be fair he had his own baggage but Remus knew that loving Severus would be hard. He knew that they had a lot of things to work past. He would eventually show Severus all of the things that he loved about the man. One day he hoped that Severus would grow to at least like himself a little bit. This was a challenge that Remus couldn’t wait to begin.

            Lucius turned to the quartet with a determined expression. He braced himself for the argument that he figured was about to happen. “I suggest the four of you wait this out with Remus and Severus in the think room. You will not want to witness this.” He warned them.

            The quartet quickly formed a group huddle and pressed their foreheads together as they began whispering amongst each other.

            Lucius looked around bemusedly and noticed the small smiles that everyone else was giving the quartet. Those four really were meant for each other. No one else would have the patience or the skill to handle them.

            “What do you guys think?” George began in an authoritative voice.

            Fred and Blaise scoffed. “Who made you the leader of our square?” Fred demanded.

            George puffed out his chest the best he could in their bent over positions. “I am the good looking twin and we-” He pointed between himself and Pansy. “Are the better looking couple so it only stands to reason that I would be the leader and she would be my number one.” Pansy grinned widely in agreement.

            “Have you been sniffing doxy eggs again? You are hallucinating if you think that you are our leader.” Fred argued back.

            Blaise raised his brows. “You sniffed doxy eggs? That is so dangerous.”

            George winced. “It was one time. I was curious about what it would do.” Blaise shook his head. Of course George would do something like that. Thank Merlin his boyfriend wasn’t quite as adventurous as George.

            “What was it like?” Pansy asked curiously. Blaise groaned internally. Honestly, the two of them were perfect for one another. He had no doubt that Pansy would be enabling George’s bad behaviors.

            George tilted his head to the side. “It was interesting. I would never do it again but I think that everyone should do it once. I was hallucinating for _hours_. I thought Fred was a muggle alien the entire time. Spent the whole time hiding under my bed with a fork as my weapon.” Fred grinned at the memory. _Best._ Day. Ever.

            Blaise and Pansy busted out laughing. They could picture it perfectly, they wished that they had been there to witness it.

            “What could you possibly be discussing that is humorous at a time like this?” Lucius drawled dryly.

            The four of them shared a look. Fred and George were locked in a battle of wills trying to see who would get to be the spokesperson. Blaise picked up on this and quickly stepped on George’s foot and shot out a hand to muffle his cry of pain. This gave Fred the time to lift his head up and address Lucius.

            “You have our apologies, the creepy atmosphere to this room has boggled our senses. We need just another moment.” Fred said with false sincerity before lowering his head back down.

            Lucius rolled his eyes and looked to everyone else. Harry and Draco were looking at the huddled group with interest. He looked to his wife and noticed that she wasn’t paying them any mind. She was staring at Finneus with a troubled expression on her face. He knew that she was probably torn about what she wanted to do. He would never tell her that she needed to leave the room. That would be a decision that she would have to come to on her own. He looked to Severus and Remus and wasn’t surprised to see his friend had a bored expression on his face. Remus though looked to be struggling with laughter. He narrowed his eyes as he looked back to the quartet. Lucius didn’t need to be a genius to know that they probably weren’t even discussing what they were supposed to be. Sometimes he wondered why he even bothered inviting them over.

            “You are so paying for that.” George warned Blaise darkly, who just smirked in response. Fred grabbed hold of his boyfriend’s hand and held it tightly in gratitude.

            “So what are we doing? Do we want to witness the blood and gore or would we rather hear about it after the fact, while we safely sit in the think room with bowls of ice cream as we drown our worries in sugary goodness?” Fred asked seriously.

            George had opened his mouth to argue that he was the leader not his brother but he closed it when he considered the question.

            “Well damn. When you put it like that it is a no brainer.” Pansy said. George and Blaise nodded at the same time.

            “Blood and gore.”

            “Sugary goodness.”

            Blaise turned to George with a horrified expression on his face. George mirrored the same expression. “You would rather watch blood and gore than to eat ice cream?” Blaise’s tone of his voice suggested that George was losing it.

            George looked at the three of them and then sighed heavily. “Oh alright. We can eat ice cream.” The way he said it let the rest of them know that he was considering this a huge favor to them. Fred and Blaise rolled their eyes in disbelief.

            Pansy reached over and pat her boyfriend’s hand. “It’s alright. How about you and I find another way to witness blood and gore later?” She offered. George seemed pleased by this and declared that it would be a date.

            Blaise and Fred shared bewildered looks. “I am so glad that we are normal.” Blaise told his boyfriend. Well as normal as one can be when dating a Weasley twin. Pansy and George looked offended by this but before they could say something, Fred lifted his head.

            “We will decline your gracious offer to stay. We will retire to the think room.” Lucius rolled his eyes and muttered that it had been about time that they decided. He walked over to the door and held it open for them. It wasn't until after they were already gone that he realized he had never even invited them to stay.

            After the quartet left, Remus grabbed hold of Severus’s hand and guided him to the door. “Come on love, I suddenly have a craving for ice cream.” Remus told him. Severus was bewildered at where the change of subject came from but followed him anyways. Ice cream didn’t sound like a bad idea.

            Harry smiled softly as he watched the two of them leave. He was thrilled that they were finally together. The two of them deserved to be happy. His heart was filled with joy. Draco kissed the top of Harry’s head and smiled at the emotions that his lover was feeling.

            Lucius turned to Harry and Draco and raised a brow. He didn’t need to ask them what they were going to do. It was obvious what his expression was indicating.

            Harry turned to Draco biting his lip. “What do you think?” He whispered to Draco. He really didn’t want to witness any torturing but he knew that he wanted to hear firsthand the things that Finneus would say. He wanted Finneus to see him and he wanted it to be without his glamour. He wanted Finneus to make the connections. The man wouldn’t be making it out of this room alive so there really wasn’t any harm in allowing the man to see him. Whether he found out that Harry was Ethan or not it would be interesting to see what the man would say.

            Draco could feel the indecision from Harry so he wrapped his arms around Harry’s waist. “I think that we need to be here for it. This won’t be pretty but I know that this is something I have to do so that I can get closure after losing Ethan.”

            Harry reached up and placed his palm against Draco’s cheek. He understood completely and he knew that he would not allow Draco to go through this alone. He would be there to give his fiancé the support that was needed. Harry looked up at Lucius and nodded. “We will stay.”

            Lucius wanted to ask them if they were sure or if they had thought this over but he could see the determination in both of their eyes and he knew that asking would do no good. He nodded grimly and turned to his wife, who still hadn’t taken her eyes off of the man.

            “My dear?” Lucius questioned as he touched her elbow delicately. Narcissa sighed and looked to her husband. She knew that he was worried about her but she couldn’t really explain her fascination with looking at the prisoner. It was like the longer she stared the more she hoped to understand what could possibly drive the man to do the things that he had done. As much as she attempted to think like the man she knew that she would not be able to stomach the things that would be required to make the man talk. Someone who had lived as long as he had would know how to keep quiet. As much as she loathed to admit it, her husband _had_ made a good deatheater. He would get the answers out of the man.

            She shook her head. “I think that ice cream is sounding pretty appealing.” Lucius wasn’t sure where all this ice cream talk came from but if it got his wife out of the room than that was okay with him. He knew that it would give her nightmares for months to come if she was to witness this. He kissed her cheek and told her to watch the quartet, he didn’t trust them unsupervised. It got the desired effect and soon the room was filled with her light laughter as she walked out the door. He hadn’t even been kidding.     

            Once Lucius had successfully closed the door he turned around and walked over to Finneus. He kept the ropes on the man even though it was pointless considering he was chained to the wall. Extra security never hurt anything. He released the man from the stunner and waited patiently for him to join the living.

            When the man didn’t start to stir, he looked over to his sons and arched a brow.

            “Pansy kicked him in the head pretty hard.” Draco explained a little sheepishly.

            “Oh for heaven’s sakes.” Lucius grumbled before setting out to heal the damage that Pansy had caused.

            It only took a couple moments before there was low moans of pain. “Athena.” Finneus grumbled with his eyes still closed.

            The watchers all shared confused looks as they questioned just who in the world was Athena.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know you were probably all expecting me to just dive right into it but when it comes to the fact that they are going to have their work cut out for them in getting Finneus to talk, not to mention that torturing someone, even if they figuratively deserve it, is not something for the faint of heart. Like Severus thought, it is incredibly personal. It isn't just a killing spell to the chest. Torturing someone would have a lot of mental anguish behind it, well if you have any morals it would. Even though they were deatheaters who had done this before, I wanted to go into what it would be like for them and what kind of memories it would drag up. Because I don't think it would have been realistic to skim over the finer details. I think that Severus and Lucius have a lot of issues that will probably never be resolved from being a deatheater and I wanted to go into a little detail with them. Hopefully you still enjoyed getting to see more into their characters. 
> 
> With the quartet, I just adore them. I love that they have the perfect balance within each other. And I love that I can count on them to be the comedic relief of any scene. 
> 
> Remus is nosy but he can't really help it can he? I mean he can't just turn off his heightened senses but I think it is funny that everyone seems to forget that he can hear them. 
> 
> I know this chapter wasn't really focused on Harry or Draco but I adored the little bonding moment between Severus and Lucius. They may not be typical best friends but I would love to have someone look after me like Severus has done for Lucius. 
> 
> Now you guys have a name to put to the violet eyes. :)
> 
> Let me know what you thought of this chapter. Hopefully you liked the in depth that I did with the side characters for this chapter. 
> 
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	66. Athena

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end of this chapter has some darkness to it. You are warned. :)

_Finneus waited until he knew his parents would be out ‘researching’ before sneaking out. They did that a lot lately. His mum said that they would soon change everything with the stone. They hadn’t fully explained to him what this stone would do but he knew that it must be good if it made his mother’s eyes light up. When she was happy she rarely touched him. Only when she was angry at him would she raise a fist. He knew that if he just tried harder to be a better son that it wouldn’t happen. If he stopped being the disappointment that he knew he was. She was always telling him that he was good for nothing and magic should have made him a squib. His father wasn’t around a whole lot because he was busy with Alchemy. He wasn’t really sure what that was but he knew it had to be special. When his father was around he would always protect him from his mum… mostly. She wasn’t always bad. He was sure that there had to be good in her too. He just hadn’t seen it yet. Finneus heard the boy down the street say that all mothers were angels but Bartholomew must have never met his mother because surely the only angel she could be, would be the devils. Do devils have angels?_

_He really did care for his parents… most of the time. Sometimes when his mum would get caught up talking about the stone she would even play with his hair or make him dinner. Those were the times that he thought that this is what love must be like. But on her bad days she would have him make the dinner and have him wait in the corner on the floor for hours until his father came home. She would always lie and say that he had been spending the day outside having fun and just being a kid. He would want to speak up and tell his father but the look in his mother’s eyes always stopped him._

_His father wasn’t all good either. There were times that he would lose his temper and take it out on Finneus too but it was usually words and not with his hands, unlike his mother. He was only five but he really hoped that he would grow up quicker so that he could run away and never come back._

_Sometimes the other children in the neighborhood would all talk about what they wanted to be when they grew up. The usual answers were an alchemist or to work for the government. Sometimes just to be rich. But when it came down to his turn, he told them he just wanted to be free. That is what he wanted to be when he grew up… free. Free to do whatever he wanted. Free to be whoever he wanted. Free to make his own choices. Free of his parents. Free of everything. He just wanted to be free. Of course the children all laughed at him and that was just another thing that ‘Freaky Finneus’ did that made all the children dislike him._

_On the rare occasions that his mother did let him outside to play, he always had a hard time getting anyone to play with him. They said that he was too odd or too weird. But he didn’t mean to be. He just wanted someone to talk to. He wanted someone to like him. Someone that he could go to when his mother hurt him. Someone to tell him that everything was going to be alright. He just wanted one person, that was all. Just one. He would never ask for anything else as long as he lived if he could just have one friend. That wasn’t too much to ask for, was it?_

_He eventually got his wish. There were new neighbors to the village but everyone avoided them. People would whisper about their youngest child, a little girl by the name of Athena. Athena was a squib. Even the children would make fun of her when she would come out to play but she seemed used to it. She didn’t even cry. Finneus admired her strength. He wished the teasing from the other kids never got to him. He wanted her to teach him how to be brave like that. He wanted to learn how to not let other people’s opinions matter so much. Because if he could stop caring what the other children thought of him than maybe he could stop caring what his mother thought of him too. Finneus had tried for weeks to pluck up the courage to talk to Athena but he always backed out at the last minute. He watched her from behind trees or bushes so that she wouldn’t see him._

_Then one day she took the matter into her own hands. ‘You are staring at me.’ The tone of her voice wasn’t angry only curious, so Finneus crawled out of the bush and smiled shyly at her. ‘I want to be your friend.’ She had turned to him to gauge his seriousness and that was when Finneus swore that his heart stopped beating. The thing about looking at people through bushes is that the vision is kind of distorted. He hadn’t really gotten a proper look at her until now. Athena had the prettiest eyes that he had ever seen in his life. They were a bright violet. He had never seen such eyes before. They were beautiful. He loved them instantly._

_That simple statement was all it took for them to become inseparable. He tried to hide the beatings from her but Athena always seemed to know. She once told him that it was the way his eyes dimmed on days that his mum would hurt him. He wasn’t sure he believed that because he tried **very** hard to keep it from her. She would tell him that it was wrong and that he should speak up but Finneus knew that would do no good. His mother was very good at pretending. She had his father convinced so there is no way that anyone would believe him. Besides, it wasn’t so bad. He could handle the things that his mother could do to him. _

_Athena would talk about her own family problems and his heart would break for her. Her family didn’t like her either but at least they didn’t beat her. She had contracted a muggle disease and that was why her eyes were purple. Being a squib was bad enough but when people looked at her they instantly knew that she was tainted by muggles. They did talk down to her but Athena said that she could handle that. Words can be easily ignored. Finneus wasn’t so sure about that, to him it was the opposite. He would rather be hit than to have mean things said to him. He didn’t like words. Words can scar more so than any wound. She had two older brothers and they tried to look out for her when their parents were around to take the attention off of her. Her family didn’t talk to her much unless it was to insult her for being a black stain on the family._

_Athena had a secret though. Finneus had snuck up behind her to try and scare her one day and he saw her give life to a dying flower. The flower bloomed right up and out came a gorgeous violet rose that matched the color of her eyes. He asked her how she did that if she was a squib and she told him, ‘Just because I may not have a lot of magic does not mean that I don’t have any.’ He wondered if that meant that she wasn’t a squib after all. Perhaps just someone who didn’t have a high magical reserve. He asked her why she didn’t show her family that she did have magic but she explained that nothing was going to change their minds about her. She said to hope for the impossible was silly when she could dream of the possible. Athena was always saying wise things like that. She ended up giving him the flower and told him to keep it safe. Finneus had hid the flower underneath his bed and to his surprise it never died. Some spells and charms will fade after time but not Athena’s flower._

_The years had gone by and soon he was turning eight. His parents were a little restless because whatever stone they were working on wasn’t moving as fast as they had hoped. His mother’s beatings were almost every day. She was taking her frustration out on him and no amount of pleading would get her to stop. It was getting so bad that he stopped trying to hide it from Athena. Every time he was able to see her she always grew angry at the marks on his skin. She told him that they couldn’t do that to a child and get away with it. Finneus told her that he was okay but she told him that there would come a time when he wouldn't be okay. He didn’t know what to say to that so he kept silent._

_On his birthday, Athena asked him what he wanted as a gift and the only thing that he could think of to say was, ‘You’. He worried what she would say but she just smiled brightly and told him that he already had her and that he should pick something else. That was his favorite day by far. Finneus knew her like the freckle on the back of his hand. He loved her. He loved her strong spirit and the way that the sun would make her blonde hair shine in the light. He loved the way her eyes would crinkle whenever she caught sight of him. He loved that she was always brining the plants back to life with a single touch or sometimes a soft whisper. He loved everything about Athena and he knew that he wanted to be with her for the rest of his life. He had worried what that meant for a long time, was he no longer thinking of her in a friendly way? He had seen the other children in the village all talk about girls that they liked or sometimes boys but he had never stopped to consider love. He knew that he loved Athena as a friend but he knew that it was probably more than that now._

_Finneus wasn’t sure how to tell Athena what he was feeling but she once again took matters into her own hands. He had been holding some of her newly created plants one day and she calmly told him that she was going to marry him one day. He had forgotten the roses that he was holding and squeezed them too tightly causing the thorns to prick him. He ignored his bleeding palms to stare at her in wonder. Finneus wasn’t sure how you were so supposed to reply to something like that. So he ended up just saying, ‘Okay.’ Their friendship hadn’t changed much except there were more fond looks shared between them and a gift of knowing that at least one thing in their future would be bright._

_Athena was his whole world. He had never had a friend before so he couldn’t really compare it to anything but he was positive that she was the best friend that a person could have. Finneus was very careful about how he was seen with Athena. He knew that his mother would not approve of her being a squib. He had managed to keep it all hidden for three years. He had been her best friend for three whole years before it all came crashing down upon him._

_His grandfather was coming for a visit and his mother wanted him to leave the house. That was perfectly okay with him. His grandfather was **very** creepy. He scared him more than his mother did. Which was saying something. His grandfather always carried around a thick black tome with him wherever he went. If they were in public, he would put it inside his robes but in private it never left his hands. He asked his grandfather one time what the book was for and his grandfather said, ‘I bring back the dead.’ Finneus had laughed thinking it was a joke but the look in his eyes made him realize that he was being serious. That was the last time he willingly spoke to his grandfather. He overheard his parents talking one day about needing help from his grandfather for the stone. They said that they needed his expertise on the chanting to finish off some ritual. He was curious but knew better than to ask. _

_The day of his grandfather’s visit he made sure to leave before he was due to arrive. He really didn’t like the man. His mother told him that he would have to be back to have lunch with them but then he was free to go back outside afterwards. He had spent the morning going through the forest with Athena finding new plants that she could bring back to life. He told her about his grandfather and she grew very worried. She told him not to go back but he told her that he couldn’t disobey his family. They had gotten into an argument about it. It was their first ever fight. Athena had been determined to not let him go._

_“Please Finn. Please don’t go. Something is going to happen I just know it.” Athena begged him through tears._

_Finneus’s heart clenched at the sight of her crying. He had never made her cry before but he knew that it couldn’t be helped. He had to go back home. She should know by now what kind of mother his mum was. It would not end well for him if he purposefully disobeyed her._

_“I have to go.” He had argued for the tenth time._

_“No. You don’t. Run away with me. We can both leave and never come back.” She suggested._

_Finneus had paused, that really did appeal to him. He would love nothing more than to leave his family and be with her but now was not the time. “We are only eight. What can we do by ourselves?” He could tell by the slumping of her shoulders that she knew he was right. The victory of the win was hollow by the reoccurrence of her tears._

_“I will be here when you get back.” She told him before turning around and dismissing him. He went home with a heavy heart and a sense of unease._

_Finneus had barely made into the house before he was slammed against the wall, his head smacking against the stone rubble._

_“Where were you?” His mother snarled into his face, her spit spraying against his cheeks._

_“I was outside playing.” He told her hoping that would be good enough. She always questioned his whereabouts but it was never this violent._

_She smacked him hard against his cheek causing his head to slam once again into the wall. He blinked rapidly trying to clear the dizziness that was flooding his brain._

_“Don’t you lie to me Finneus!” She screamed right into his ear. “Papa saw you with the squib. I told you that you weren’t to play with her, didn’t I?”_

_Finneus knew that lying would get him a harsh punishment but admitting that he had disobeyed her would be just as harsh. He wasn’t sure which one he should choose. His mother gripped his hair and pulled tightly causing him to cry out in pain. “You answer me when I am speaking to you!” Finneus wished his father was here so that it would only be yelling instead of the physical pain._

_“I’m sorry!” He whispered. Raising his voice would only make things worse. His apology was just as good as an admission. His mother threw him down on the ground roughly before aiming a kick right into his ribs. He knew that she had broken one of them by the sheer pain that the kick had brought. He closed his eyes and wished that he had listened to Athena. He wasn’t sure what was going to happen to him but he knew that this beating was not going to be like the others._

_“I gave you a simple order, how hard was it to follow?” She screamed at him as she kicked him over and over. The pain was so intense that he couldn’t even muster up the urge to yell any longer. He just stayed quiet and only let out pained whimpers from time to time. It could have been minutes or hours that he laid there just taking the attack, he couldn’t tell. Finneus had been so caught up in trying to focus on anything but the screaming of his injuries that he didn’t register that his mother had stopped._

_“You will learn obedience.” She declared before snatching the book out of his grandfather’s hands and started flipping through it. He wasn’t sure what was going on but he knew that it wouldn’t end well for him. That was the book his grandfather said could bring back the dead. He listened intently as his mother flipped from page to page. Finneus heard his grandfather tell his mother that she wouldn’t be able to perform any of the actual rituals because she didn’t have the gift. He wasn’t sure what that gift was but he was grateful that she wouldn’t be able to do it._

_“I don’t need the rituals. There are simple spells in here that I can do as long as I use the language of the dead. I don’t actually have to know the craft.” Finneus had frowned trying to understand what that meant._

_It hadn’t taken much longer before his mother looked down at him and smirked. He knew that smile. That was the smile she used when she was about to punish him. He swallowed heavily before resigning himself to his fate. She began chanting in a language that he had never heard before. It was a language that he didn’t like. It was creepy and it sent chills down his spine. This must be the language of the dead. He wondered if that meant dead people could speak. He was confused but he would have to find that out later._

_Finneus wondered how long the chanting was going to last. He felt like he had been down here for hours. He probably had been. The chanting began to grow hypnotic. He had tried blocking it out earlier but now the words were drawing him in. He wished that he could understand what the words meant. He wished that he could speak the language of the dead too. His mind began to fog over as his eyes became glossy. What was he doing? What was he **supposed** to be doing? He had been thinking about Athena and how he had wanted to go find her and tell her he was sorry for leaving but now that didn’t seem like a good plan. He wasn’t supposed to see her anymore. Seeing her was wrong. He was supposed to listen to his mother like good boys do. He was supposed to stay away from Athena. His mind whirled with all the things that good boys are supposed to do. He spent so long thinking of all the things that he wasn’t allowed to do anymore that he missed that the chanting had stopped. _

_Once he had gotten control of his emotions he realized that he was sitting up. He couldn’t remember ever doing that. His body ached less and that meant that his mother had healed most of his injuries. That was odd. She had never done that before. A rough hand grabbed his chin and forced him to look up._

_“You will go find that girl and tell her that you will **never** see her again. You can tell her that if she wasn’t an abomination that this wouldn’t be happening. You can tell her that a Flamel would never sully its good name by being seen with a squib.” His mother demanded before dragging him off the ground harshly by his hair. _

_Finneus could feel his eyes begin to water. He couldn’t do that to her. He couldn’t tell Athena all of that, there was no way that he would be able to do that. There was no way that he could crush her like that. But the more he tried to tell his mother that he wouldn’t do that, the more his mind whispered that good boys listen to their parents. He wanted to be a good boy. He nodded his head to his mother and made his way outside. His mind was still trying to throw off the urge to listen. It was very hard. He noticed that it was dark out. That meant that he really had been on the ground for hours._

_He made his way over to their secret spot and saw Athena had a candle lit on the ground so that she could see where she was putting her flowers. She had a jar filled with a special liquid that she said would preserve the flowers so that they would last an eternity without any magic. He had his doubts about that but he never did voice them. Athena had looked up when his feet stepped on a stick breaking it in two._

_Her smile fell as soon as she caught sight of the blood on his clothes and the expression on his face. Before she could tell him anything he repeated his mother’s words back to her. He watched her flinch violently and he couldn’t hold back his tears._

_“You don’t mean that.” She whispered as her eyes filled with tears. The statement wasn’t a question. She was telling him that he really didn’t mean it. The part of him that his mother had messed with grew angry at the implications but the part of him that struggled to keep her, blossomed hope._

_Perhaps she could see the internal struggle that was happening in his eyes. Or maybe it was just another thing that she just knew about. “What did they do to you?” She whispered taking a step forward._

_Before Finneus was even aware of what he was doing he angrily shoved her away. “I said I don’t want to be your friend!” He yelled at her._

_Athena picked herself up off the ground and narrowed her eyes at him. “You are lying! I can see it in your face. Fight if Finn. You are allowed to be friends with whoever you want.”_

_Finneus’s mind screamed at him that he could only do what his mother wished of him. Good boys follow orders and don’t think for themselves. He shook his head rapidly. Whether at his own mind or Athena’s words, he wasn’t sure. “I have to go.” Finneus whispered before turning back around._

_He felt arms wrap around him. “Please don’t do this. Don’t leave me Finneus. You are my best friend. I love you.” She had never said that to him before. He could feel the tears streaming down his face but no matter what he did he couldn’t stop the lies from spilling forward._

_“I could never love someone like you.” He whispered. He felt her hands drop from his waist and he was positive that his heart had just shattered into a million pieces._

_“Tell me that without crying. If you hate me as much as you are trying to make me believe than why are you sad? Fight this Finn. Come back to me.”_

_Finneus wanted nothing more than to turn around and stay. He wanted to be with her for the rest of his life. He wanted to play with her and have massive gardens filled with all the flowers that she could possibly grow. He wanted to run away and grow up together. He wanted to marry her when he got older. He wanted to have children with her and grow old like the couple next door. He wanted a life with Athena more than anything in the world. But… his mother’s words were still ringing in his ears. He knew that he couldn’t break this right now. Maybe one day in the future he would be able to overcome whatever it was that she did but it wouldn’t be right now. He just hoped that Athena would still be there for him when that happened._

_“Finneus.” The pleading tone rubbed the part of him that his mother messed with wrong. He turned around so rapidly that it surprised her. He shoved her as far away from him as he possibly could. She flew backwards and her head made a sickening crack against the side of a tree. His hands flew to his mouth to cover up the gasp of horror that he was feeling._

_When her head had made contact with the tree there was a particularly jagged knot on the bark that stood out. The knot stabbed into the back of neck and he watched with a gut clenching fear as blood started pouring out of her wound. He ignored every part of him that told him to rush home. He ignored the screaming of the voices telling him that he was disobeying his mother. He ignored it all as ran forward and gently laid her on the ground._

_“Athena are you okay?” His voice was so hysterical that it was almost a shout. She opened her mouth to say something but only blood started spurting out of her mouth. His vision went cloudy with the force of his tears._

_“Athena!” He sobbed. Nothing. No words. Just the gasping and gurgling as more blood spilled from the wound and her mouth. He watched as the light started to fade from her beautiful violet eyes._

_“No! Please don’t go please. I am so sorry. Please. I-I’ll run away with you. I will follow you anywhere you want to go.” He promised her. Finneus gently picked up the top portion of her body and began to rock her from side to side with him._

_“Athena I love you too. Please don’t leave me before I get a chance to tell you it back. Please. You are the best thing that I have. Athena!” His voice cracked when still there was no words from her. He pulled back slightly and saw that her eyes were completely gone to him. There was no spark of life. No spark of anything. She was dead. And he was the reason why. He killed the only person to ever matter to him. He was a murderer._

_“Who am I going to play with now? Who am I going to pick flowers with? Who am I going to dream of the future with? You are my best friend. We were supposed to get married one day. We were supposed to grow old together. We were supposed to run away and live happily ever after. We were supposed to just **be** together. I can’t live without you Athena. I have nothing here for me. I can’t do this. I need you. Please don’t leave me. I am sorry, so sorry. I-I’ll do anything that you want. I-I’ll find all the dead flowers in the forest and I won’t even complain. I’ll hold all your roses even if they prick me. I-I’ll give you all my desserts for the rest of my life. I-I’ll share all my toys with you. Just don’t leave me. Please. I don’t know what else to offer you. Just come back to me. Please. Please Athena!” He lowered his head and howled through the pain. This couldn’t be happening. This couldn’t be real. It had to just be a horrible nightmare. It just had to be. _

_“She is dead.” A deep gravelly voice sounded behind him. Finneus snapped his head up and glared at the satisfaction on his grandfather’s face._

_“Can you bring her back?” He begged. “You said that you can bring back the dead.”_

_A mad cackle surrounded the trees and Finneus grew worried about what that could mean. He normally wouldn’t have ever suggested something like that but he couldn’t just leave her. He couldn’t._

_“Oh I can bring her back.” His grandfather promised darkly. Finneus bit his lip in indecision but nodded his approval anyways. His grandfather ushered him to the side and watched wide eyed as his grandfather conjured candles to float around Athena. A dagger was next summoned and Finneus cried out when the dagger was plunged into Athena’s chest. His grandfather shoved both of his hands into her chest and pulled out her organs._

_The smell of the body and the blood was getting to him. Finneus couldn’t help but throw up. What was going on? This was not what he thought was going to happen. He thought his grandfather was going to bring her back, not mutilate her body. He watched his grandfather paint blood onto every surface of her body, including her blonde hair. He whimpered as his beautiful best friend was quickly turned into something that she wasn’t._

_His grandfather started drawing runes into the ground surrounding her body. Finneus was too little to know what they meant. He had been taught some basic ones but these seemed to be advanced. When his grandfather started chanting in the same language that his mother had used, he closed his eyes tightly. He didn’t like the sound of the chanting, it made him uneasy. Something bad was going to happen._

_Not long after the chanting had started did a loud shriek pierce the air. The shriek was so loud that Finneus wondered if he would be able to hear anything ever again. The piercing wail of the sound was so unhuman that he just had to open his eyes and see what could possibly be making such a noise._

_He gasped in horror when he realized that it was coming from Athena. The red of her blood was slowly seeping into her skin except it was changing her skin color. She was becoming a ghastly shade of green before the skin started to sink in and her bones became visible. She had a skeletal appearance that seemed other worldly. Her once beautiful shoulder length blonde hair turned as dark as the midnight hour and lengthened to her feet._

_Suddenly the shriek made sense. Banshee. He turned her into a banshee. He covered his face with his hands and sobbed his heart out. This wasn’t what he wanted. Banshees were rare creatures and now he knew why. They had to be created. Banshees are attracted to death and go from town to town wailing and keening to warn off the townspeople that someone will die. They are considered a bad omen because death follows wherever the banshee goes. Even though banshees don’t actually kill people they survive off of the death that happens. They eat the heart of the victim so that they can see the next death that will happen. A banshee only has temporary eyes since their original eyes burn out of the sockets to make room for the extra senses that are required to sense death._

_Finneus’s gut clenched in disgust at that thought that Athena’s eyes would just burn up. They were too beautiful not to be remembered. To beautiful not be seen. He couldn’t allow her eyes to just go to waste._

_The chanting stopped and Finneus looked over to see Athena sitting up and staring off into space. His grandfather cleaned himself off and turned to grin smugly at him. “There I did as you asked.”_

_Finneus stood up angrily. “I asked you to bring her back! I didn’t ask for you to turn her into a monster!” The smack to his face startled him. He hadn’t been prepared for that._

_“You are the most ungrateful ingrate that I have ever had the misfortune to meet. All you said was to bring her back. You didn’t say in what state she had to be in. I think this is an improvement. At least she isn’t a squib anymore.” He spat out angrily before storming away, leaving Finneus in the middle of the forest with a newly formed banshee._

_Finneus sighed before turning to look at Athena. He whimpered when he realized that she was staring at him. There was nothing human left in her. She was staring at him trying to determine if he would die. He knew that he barely had any time left before she would run off in the search of the nearest person that would have the misfortune of dying next. He knew that her eyes would go soon and he couldn’t bear the thought of her eyes just incinerating._

_He looked at the dagger that his grandfather had left behind and the jar that Athena had said would preserve a flower for eternity. He knew what he had to do. Finneus stepped forward and was glad that Athena stayed where she was. Banshees were skittish creatures that didn’t like human contact. He figured that meant that she was still transitioning from the change and therefore not aware of what was going on. His vision became blurry with tears, he wasn’t sure if he could do this. Could he really take her eyes? That seemed so wrong. But he couldn’t let the only thing that he could have of her get away from him._

_Finneus clenched his eyes tightly before steeling his resolve and getting down to work. It wasn’t as bad as he had thought it would be. At one point, Athena had let out another wail and he feared that he was hurting her but he knew that the wail was of approaching death. He bit his lip and worked faster. No sooner than when he deposited her eyes in the jar did she get up and immediately run out of the forest wailing her warning to all who could hear._

_Finneus hid the jar inside his robes and made his way home. He tried to keep his emotions firmly in check but he could feel a lone tear falling down his cheek. He quickly wiped it away before he entered his house. Luck was on his side when he realized that his mother must have gone somewhere because he was alone. He rushed to his bedroom and hid the jar underneath his bed. He was doing okay mentally until he caught sight of the wilted violet flower. It would seem that the flower died right along with Athena._

_He clutched the dead flower to his chest and grieved for his only friend. He mourned all the things that they could’ve had together. He mourned the life that he should’ve had with her. He mourned Athena until the sun came up. He mourned her privately every day and he knew that he always would. Sometimes he can still hear the shrill of a banshee wail in the distance and he likes to imagine that Athena is still out there and that the loud keening is her way of telling him that she loves him._

Finneus's head was killing him. He felt like he had been through the ringer. He tried to remember what had happened but the last thing his mind was thinking about was, "Athena". He hadn't realized that he moaned that out loud. Finneus pushed past the pain of his head and things started to come back to him. He was at the shop when someone came in. He can remember the power and the two strange gentlemen. Something must have happened to him because he couldn't remember what had happened after he stood up. The pain in his head was evidence enough that his bosses had done something to him.

           Finneus opened his eyes and once his vision came into focus did he notice that his body was restrained. He blinked a couple times and realized that he was being watched. He looked up and froze when he saw a familiar pair of eyes. The thing with eyes is that he never forgets a pair of interesting ones. Especially a pair of eyes that had been denied from him. Finneus stared into the only pair of eyes that he ever regretted not getting.

           "Lucius Malfoy." Finneus croaked.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay the sad chapter is now over. 
> 
> What did you guys think? This is not a happy chapter at all but it shows why he is the way he is. There is a lot that still might not make a whole lot of sense but ask any questions that you like. 
> 
> Athena was not a squib per say. Her magic was just different. Kind of how Luna is just different. No Athena was not Luna in a past life. And no Athena was not his soulmate. But Athena was definitely someone that he could have loved for as long as they had together. Also there is something called Alexandria's Genesis. It is said that it is a mutation that can cause Violet eyes. A lot of people say it is a myth and don't believe in it. The myth goes back a long ways and I suppose it is up to your own belief whether you believe in it or not. For the sake of my story, Athena did have this. 
> 
> With the spell that his mother performed, it was not necromancy. But she did use the language of the dead. It would be like if Harry were to say a spell in parseltongue. It would amplify the spell. Which is what happened. She wanted him to be easily acceptable to her will and the language of the dead made the spell stronger. As you saw after he harmed Athena, he was able to throw off the spell too late. Also even though he never got to tell her that he loved her, Athena already knew. (Sniffle)
> 
> His grandfather was a Necromancer. Not one of the crappy ones that Voldemort had. He was a full on Necromancer. Which is why Perenelle knows the language of the dead. She is not a necromancer as you heard her father say. She just knows the language that they use. She doesn't have the gift that a necromancer requires. 
> 
> Based off of the little that Finneus thought about his father, you might be left with a positive view on him. No. Don't. Nicolas Flamel is just as evil as his wife, he just shows it in different ways. Just because he doesn't hit his child does not make him father of the year. 
> 
> After he lost Athena he lost the will to fight. He stopped dreaming of a future outside of his family because he didn't think that he deserved one. It was his own punishment for the death of Athena. He blames himself and he has carried that around with him for his entire existence. The reason he takes the eyes of his victims is just like Luna said, he is looking for forgiveness in the eyes but they aren't the ones that can forgive him. 
> 
> As much as this chapter may make you feel for Finneus and wish that his life had been different, keep in mind that he is a dark person. His life may have started out bad due to his environment but his life is his own choosing. Look back on the chapter titled 'Enlightenment' In that chapter he says himself that he had to take credit for his own choices. Yes he had an awful life but it was his own choices that led him to the bad decisions that he has made. So feel sorry for him but don't forget the things that he has done. This probably won't be mentioned in the actual story but he has taken over 100,000 eyes over the years. About three murders a week. Keep that in mind. 
> 
> Also no, they didn't share the Elixir with Perenelle's father. He never knew exactly what they were doing, he just helped her when it came to the chanting. 
> 
> Athena is dead. The banshee is not alive nor dead. It is something that he created with his necromancy that required a dead body. There was nothing left of Athena inside the banshee. Banshees were another thing that is mentioned in the books (in passing) So there was jack shit to go on. So I looked to actual myth and my own mind to come up with this version of a banshee. 
> 
> I tried thinking of all the questions that you might have but if I missed something let me know. 
> 
> In the chapter where Luna's eyes were taken, Finneus had said that he had a distinct memory when it came to eyes. So it is not a surprise that he remembers Lucius's eyes from when he saw him as a child. I won't be explaining what he meant by them being denied till tomorrow. 
> 
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	67. Sentient Darkness

           Lucius’s eyes widened that the man would recognize him after so many years. That had not been something he had planned on. He had assumed that he would’ve had to remind Finneus who he was. Lucius wasn’t sure if he liked this or not.

            Harry and Draco shared a shocked look. Interesting. They wondered why Finneus would’ve remembered Lucius. They had only met the one time, right? And Lucius had been a child at the time, what was it about him that would make Finneus remember? Harry was a little annoyed that Finneus hadn’t taken his eyes off of Lucius, the man wasn’t even aware that there were other people in the room.

            “Finneus Flamel.” Lucius countered. He took great pride in the way Finneus’s eyes widened. Good. Whatever the man had hoped to gain by his announcement was thwarted. Power games was not something that Lucius had the patience to mess with. Finneus would know soon enough that he was at their mercy and that he was _not_ getting out of this alive.

            To say that Finneus was surprised would be an understatement. He had been hoping to throw Lucius off by knowing his name. He figured that he could make Lucius wonder who he was. He had doubted that the man would remember him, Lucius had only been a child when he went the Manor. Had he made that much of an impression? Abraxas was supposed to have taken care of Lucius’s memory.

            “How is it that you know who I am?” Finneus wondered. Even if he had remembered him from the Manor there was no way that Lucius would know that he was a Flamel. Abraxas hadn’t even known that. So who was Lucius talking to that would have known who he was? He had an uneasy feeling growing inside of him. Had his parents done something? He could honestly see his mother give his information out.

            “Because _I_ know who you are.” Harry said gaining Finneus’s attention. He narrowed his eyes when the man looked to him. Those creepy brown eyes were what nightmares were made of. He was not looking forward to this conversation. Part of him wished that he hadn’t even come across Finneus but he knew that this was an important step in trying to find out how to deal with the darkness.

            Finneus licked his lips as he stared at the entire reason he was in this mess. The man with the power. He was so close to the power that he could almost taste it. The smell of the power permeated the entire room and it was enough to get his blood pumping. He was annoyed that he hadn’t realized this as soon as he woke up but to be fair, it wasn’t every day that you see a pair of eyes that you recognize, ones that got away from him.

            “How is that you know who I am when no one else does?” Finneus demanded. Power and knowledge? That just didn’t sound fair. Finneus hadn’t told a soul in his entire existence who he really was. He knew the dangers of admitting that, he knew that people would be curious and that could lead to something worse. Silence was the key to living such a long life. When no one knows who you are then they won’t bother you. There is no way that some stranger he never even met before today, knew who he was.

            Harry raised his hand and their glamour charms fell off. Draco grabbed hold of Harry’s hand to keep himself grounded. He felt exposed. He knew that Finneus would have no idea who he was but he still felt like he was on display. Draco felt better when Harry squeezed his hand in reply to the emotions he knew were being broadcasted.

            Finneus made a surprised noise in the back of his throat as he blinked rapidly. His mind was whirling in a thousand different directions. This man before him was a ghost of his past. A ghost that shouldn’t be alive. There was no way that Ethan survived. They checked his dead body. He took his bloody eyes for crying out loud. This… was impossible. He forced himself to calm down and to think rationally. Ethan had died, no doubt about that. So then this must be a descendant. He was having a hard time buying that as well because of the eyes. They were the _exact_ shade of eyes Ethan had. When it comes to descendants, eyes may look the same but they aren’t. There are shades and hues that can be minutely different. Eyes were his specialty and he could spot a million different ways to tell apart familial eyes.

            “You recognize me, do you?” Harry taunted taking a step forward. He wanted to see the emotions on the man’s face. He wanted to see it when it all clicked into place.

            “You should be dead.” Draco growled at the statement and had to be held back by his father. Finneus glanced at Draco quickly but immediately looked back to Harry, which did not sit well with Draco. He didn’t like the look in Finneus’s eyes. He didn’t like it one bit. There was a possessive glint to the man’s eyes that raised his shackles. Harry was not some power that the man could have. Harry was _not_ Finneus’s. Harry was _his_. His soulmate. His lover. His best friend. His fiancé.

            “Yes, you and your parents killed me. That is true.” Harry assured him. He was taking pleasure in only giving him half statements. It was reminding him of the way that Draco had handled the goblins. He was making Finneus ask questions. He was enforcing that he was in charge and not the other way around.

            Finneus growled internally and had to force his expression of one of neutrality. He could tell by the amusement on the man’s face that it didn’t quite work. This was beginning to test his patience. Something he already had little of.

            “Then how is it that you stand here before me?” Finneus asked through gritted teeth. He tried thinking of ways that this could be. Was it somehow necromancy? That could be possible but there hadn’t been a true necromancer who could perform something like that in centuries. So that didn’t quite fit. But what else could explain how a man who died nearly 700 years ago was standing in front of him, alive and healthy.

            Harry smirked unkindly at him. “Ever heard of reincarnation? I am sure you have. You have lived a long life, I doubt ignorance is something that is in your vocabulary.”

            Finneus ignored the insult and stared at the man in consideration. Reincarnation was not a foreign concept to him. It was something that he had wondered for a long time if it really did indeed exist. He had hoped that it existed and that he would come across Athena again but that was just a fleeting whimsical notion. Reincarnation was one of life’s mysteries. It was something that there was no actual evidence of. There were arguments on both sides of the topic that get debated thoroughly. His mother said reincarnation was something that lonely people made up when they couldn’t find someone to be with. Perhaps that was why he liked to believe in it.

            “So this is some form of revenge for what happened to you?” Finneus snarled out angrily. This was not who he thought would have such power but overall it didn’t really surprise him. Ethan had a lot of power back then too. It was so sweet and enthralling even then. But this time… it was different. It was more powerful. Bigger. Not to mention there was a darkness inside of him that had not been there when he was Ethan. He was quite curious as to what had caused such darkness inside someone so dominantly light. It was intriguing but highly frustrating at the same time.

            Harry shrugged. “Not for me. But perhaps for them.” He tilted his head to the two Malfoy men glaring daggers at Finneus. Harry honestly wasn’t interested in revenge. He didn’t care that they had killed him. He was more concerned with the present situation that was at hand.

            Finneus cocked his head to the side as he stared at Lucius and the man who was obviously his son. They were nearly identical in many ways. From their skin complexion to their hair and even their eye color. But the more he stared between the two of them he could notice that Lucius’s eyes had darker shades of grey around the iris. While his son had light hues throughout and even white near the pupil.

            “Your father I can understand but you?” Finneus asked Draco. “What did I ever do to you?” He was honestly perplexed on why the boy could hate him so much as to want to enact revenge. It couldn’t be because of the baby he killed.

            Draco clenched his fists tightly and stepped up to Finneus right beside Harry. “You took Ethan away from me. You had no right to just discard him like he meant nothing.” The anger in his voice was clearly heard.

            “ _Oh._ ” The surprise in Finneus’s tone irked Draco to no end. “Then you must be Noah reincarnated.” Finneus smirked at the surprise in those lovely grey eyes. He was itching to have those beauties in his collection. He still had the unnamed Malfoy eyes but he wanted more. He wanted to have a complete set. He would have been satisfied with just Lucius’s eyes but now he wanted the both of their eyes to make a Malfoy trio.  

            “You know.” Finneus began conversationally. “He cried out your name right before he died. Touching really. Never begged for his life. Never pleaded to live. He only thought of you. Revolting, isn’t it?”

            Draco didn’t even stop to consider his actions. He reared his fist back and punched him square in the jaw. There was a bang as Finneus’s head smacked into the wall from the force of his punch.

            Finneus didn’t even make a cry of noise. His mother could hit harder than that. This was nothing but an annoying itch to real pain. He wasn’t sure how he was going to make it out alive but he was determined to see this through. This was the only bit of excitement that he has had in a long time.

            Harry pulled Draco away slightly and held onto his hand in warning. Draco nodded briefly. He wouldn’t actually say his agreement out loud because he knew that he would probably punch the little shite again. It irritated him that his anger made him resort to muggle tendencies.

            “Touchy subject.” Finneus spat out a mouthful of blood. “So then you _are_ going to kill me for taking away your precious Ethan?”

            Draco didn’t even hesitate. “Yes.” Harry bit his lip a little worried about that. He didn't want a death linked to his lover. He knew that Finneus isn’t innocent but it is still a murder. Would this tarnish Draco’s soul? He doesn’t want Draco to have to deal with the fall out of murder.

            “I don’t think you have what it takes to kill me.” Finneus argued ignoring the narrowing of everyone’s eyes. “Death is permanent and personal. Even a simple killing curse is personal. To have the drive to take one’s life means something. Good people don’t murder other people. I don’t think you have what it takes to kill me.”

            Draco stepped forward. “What makes you think that I am a good person?” he whispered in his ear before punching him in the gut. “You have no idea the things that I have witnessed.”

            Finneus scoffed. “Oh please. I have been alive for nearly 700 years boy. Can _you_ even begin to imagine the things I have seen let alone done? I myself have done things that would make your stomach clench and your toes curl. Nothing about you is threatening at all.” He assured him, loving the way the blonde’s eyes narrowed in anger.

            “You stay under the radar. There hasn’t been a whisper or a word of you in generations. You may have done terrible things in your life but I have to wonder if you ever branched out at all. I have no doubt that you still murder people. You had a sick fascination with eyes that I doubt ever left you. It wouldn’t surprise me if you are just some twisted serial killer. But there are other dangers out there in the world that I think you don’t even know about. I think that you like to seclude yourself away. I think that you are dangerous but only marginally.” Lucius spoke up interrupting anything that Draco might have said.

            Finneus growled at the insult of being considered only marginally dangerous. Just who did Lucius think he was? He is a Flamel for crying out loud. Danger is a prerequisite to even join the family.

            “Tell me Flamel. Ever heard of Voldemort?” Harry and Draco gaped openly at the fact that Lucius _actually_ said his name. Draco had to pause and replay the words back in his mind to see if his father actually just said what he thought he did.

            If there was one thing that Lucius was good at, it was faking. Never, ever had he called The Dark Lord by his given name. Doing so while the man was alive was a one-way ticket to hours of the pleasure that the cruciatus curse could provide. Not to mention every single time someone said The Dark Lord’s name in physical contact to a deatheater, it would cause a sharp pain to stab into the Dark Mark. That was another reason to hate the courage that the light side loved to taunt by saying The Dark Lord’s name. It was easy for them. They didn’t have physical repercussions on their body. Lucius was almost afraid that his mark would twinge or that he was about to be subjected the cruciatus curse for just saying the name. He knew that he would never be able to openly continue using the name but he needed to for this discussion. It would show a sense of weakness to Flamel if he couldn’t bring himself to say the name.

            Finneus tilted his head back in consideration. “I hear he is dead.” He replied bluntly. To be honest, Voldemort had always disgusted him. Someone who obviously had power and skill was wasting it. The man had wasted his power on trying to change the world. Who cares about the rest of the world? There was so much that Voldemort could have done if he only thought of himself. Political beliefs were pointless and had no bearing on what really matters. Not to mention the man had such temper tantrums. He wasn’t discrete with his magic and when things didn’t go his way he became sullen like a sniveling child. He had preached about wanting to make wizards great again but openly used magic on muggles. Allowed the dementors to freely run wild, not that anyone could control them anyways. It was almost like the idiot _wanted_ muggles to know of their existence. Voldemort had been utterly useless in all things that mattered. Having power isn’t enough unless you have the knowledge to use such power. Killing anyone who opposes you will not win you the popular vote. Eventually you will run out of people to kill.

            He hadn’t cared how the silly war was to go. Whether Voldemort won or not, it had no bearing on what he did but he was glad that the world was free of him. It had made finding victims more difficult when everyone was always looking over their shoulders, afraid of what could be out there. Now that the war was over, everyone went right back on living like they had once done before the war started. Finneus had a lot be thankful to Harry Potter for. It sure made being a serial killer easier.

            Lucius ignored the statement and rolled up his sleeve showing Finneus his Dark Mark. It had faded quite a lot but it was still recognizable.

            Finneus’s gut filled with unease. He had known that the Malfoy family was a firm believer of Voldemort and had known that he was a deatheater but the implications of being held prisoner of a deatheater hadn’t really clicked until now. The things that Voldemort taught his deatheaters wasn’t something that was kept a secret. It was just another thing that made him dislike Voldemort. He himself was incredibly twisted but Voldemort trained his deatheaters to do things that he himself would never do.

            “You are going to torture me in a show of revenge?” Asked Finneus again, wanting to be sure. He was mostly calm. He could handle torture. Pain was a longtime friend of his. Something he learned to deal with as a child. This would be unbearable but he has dealt with far worse.

            “That is entirely up to you.” Lucius told him, rolling his sleeve back down. “We want answers from you. If you give us the answers that we seek then your death will be painless. Torture doesn’t even have to be on the table if you cooperate with us.”

            Draco almost protested. He didn’t like this at all. He wanted Finneus’s death to be painful no matter if he gave them the answers they needed or not.

            Finneus furrowed his brows slightly. “What could you possibly want from me?” Things were starting to make more sense. He had wondered why they would just take him. If it was revenge wouldn’t they have come after him long before now? They wanted something from him. Well that put him in a position of power.

            “You can start off by giving us the whereabouts of your parents.” Lucius told him firmly.  

            Finneus arched a brow. “Why would I do that?” It wasn’t out of some misguided notion of protecting them. He was just honestly curious as to why they wanted to know where his parents were. Was it just more revenge or was there a purpose somewhere that he was missing?     

            Lucius stepped forward and quickly bent back the man’s pointer finger till the crack of the bone breaking echoed off the walls. Finneus sucked in a sharp breath and let out a surprised noise. They meant business. They really wanted to know where his parents were. He was a tad insulted. Had they only taken him as an end to find his parents?

            “Maybe he can help us and we won’t even have to go find them.” Harry suggested hopefully. He really didn’t want to have to find Nicolas or Perenelle. If Finneus knew the answers to getting rid of the darkness, then that would be enough for him.

            Lucius shot Harry a disbelieving look but turned to Finneus anyways. “How would you go about destroying the Sorcerer’s Stone?”

            Finneus laughed out loud. “You don’t.” What a silly question. He thought for sure that Lucius would’ve had some smarts to him.  

            Lucius snapped another finger, this time his thumb.

            “Fucker. I didn’t mean you as in _you_. I meant in general. The stone can’t be destroyed.” Finneus grumbled angrily.

            Harry and Draco shared uneasy feelings through the bond. There had to be a way to destroy the stone. If they knew the way to destroy the stone, then the same method might be able to destroy the darkness.

            “Even if we countered the runes and chanted in the language of the dead?” Harry wondered out loud.

            Finneus looked at him curiously. “Do you actually know the language of the dead?” The silence his question brought was answer enough. “I thought so. Even if you were to know the language, I do not believe that you could be able to destroy a true stone.”

            Draco narrowed his eyes. “How do we know that you are telling the truth?”

            Finneus glared at the implication. “You don’t.”

            Lucius snapped his middle finger causing Finneus to glare at him. “You didn’t even ask me anything before breaking it.”

            “My mistake.” Lucius replied in mock sincerity before breaking his ring finger. Finneus closed his eyes and blocked out the pain of his left hand.

            “Why do you even want to destroy the stone? What does it matter if we live forever?” He opened his eyes when an uneasy silence broke out. He realized that they were trying not to tell him something. Well that just wouldn’t do.

            “I can’t answer your questions without knowing the full gravity of the situation.” Finneus pointed out.

            Lucius didn’t like his tone of voice so he snapped the last finger on the man’s left hand. Finneus gasped slightly in pain and leveled the strongest glare that he could at the man. When Lucius smirked he knew that he was just being messed with.

            Harry bit his lip and looked at Draco in indecision. These questions were getting them nowhere. They needed to tell him otherwise it would be like playing twenty questions. He could feel the same unease coming from Draco and it helped him some. When his lover nodded once he knew that it was a decision to go forward.

            “I touched the stone.” Finneus snapped his attention away from the rude blonde and gazed wide eyed at the powerful man in front of him.

            “Say that again.” Finneus demanded weakly.

            “I touched the stone without any protection.” Harry expanded looking at him directly in the eye.

            Finneus let out a surprised puff of air. “You are serious?” He let out a moan of pain when Lucius snapped the thumb on his right hand. “Fuck. It was just a question!”

            Harry tried not to be amused by Lucius’s antics but he was failing miserably.

            “Wait. That doesn’t make sense.” Finneus said more to himself than anyone else. His parents kept the stone in a safe place that was guarded at all times. There was no way that this man had touched the stone. Besides, if he had then that would indicate that he knew where his parents were.

            “Are you calling him a liar?” Lucius asked before breaking his pointer finger.

            “Ow. You just wait till I get out of here.” Finneus warned Lucius darkly. Lucius smirked ferally. “What makes you think you are walking out of here alive?” He emphasized his point by breaking his middle finger.

            “Because you need answers from me.” He retorted with a smug grin.

            Lucius snapped his ring finger. “Not enough to let you go.” He promised with satisfaction.

            Finneus grew worried at that statement. If that was true, then they really were going to kill him. Not that he was opposed to death. If he was going to die after all of this time it might as well be dramatic. And torture sure was one for the drama books.

            “When would you have touched the stone?” Finneus ignored the threat from Lucius and paid attention to the other man.

            Harry narrowed his eyes at the acceptance of death that Finneus seemed to hold in his eyes. “My first year at Hogwarts.”

            Finneus furrowed his brows. He thought back to what his mother had once told him and his eyes widened and looked at the man in front of him with a new light. He leaned his head forward as much as he could and stared at the man’s forehead. The lighting of the room was dreadful but he could just make out a thin jagged line behind his hair.

            “Well well. This is an honor. Harry Potter as I live and breathe.” Finneus thought the dramatics to his voice was a nice touch, or it would have been if Lucius hadn’t broken his pinky finger. The last couple words had been filled with pain. He was just glad that he was now out of fingers for the man to break.

            Harry Potter. That was a surprising turn of events. It did however explain the light inside of him. Of course the champion of the light would be so _good_. He recoiled internally at the sheer lightness that Potter held within him. Potter and Voldemort were alike in so many ways that it was despicable. Potter wasted his potential just as Voldemort had. Someone with so much power was raised just to get rid of a Dark Lord. How useless. If Potter had thought of himself instead of the rest of the world, he could have accomplished so much in his life. But considering that Ethan had also wasted his potential made the revelation not much of a surprise.

            Finneus tilted his head as he narrowed his eyes at Potter. He was vaguely aware that Lucius was using a spell on him. He blocked that out so that he could concentrate on the power of Potter. He pushed past the power and the light to focus on the darkness. His nostrils flared and his eyes widened in realization. How could he have not noticed the resemblance earlier? Potter wasn’t kidding. This was definitely from the stone. But something was off about it. It wasn’t like the stone that he was used to. Something was wrong.

            “Mmm.” Finneus hummed in realization. Brilliant. His mother was utterly brilliant. And that just killed him to think about. The pain of a finger breaking startled him.

            “What?” Finneus breathed in bewilderment. He looked over and noticed that his fingers had been healed… horribly. It was the worst heal job that he had ever seen in his life.

            “I set your fingers to heal crookedly. I will continue to break your fingers and heal them incorrectly each time.” Finneus growled low in his throat. Even if he somehow made it out of this alive, Lucius’s actions would cause irreversible damage to his fingers. He would never be able to hold a dagger straight again.

            “Care to explain your findings?” The question was rhetorical, that much Finneus knew. He ignored Lucius and turned back to Potter.

            “As you know, there were three failure stones before we had perfected the final stone. When Dumbledore got wind of Voldemort wanting the stone, my mother sent him one of the failures. Dumbledore didn’t know much about Alchemy to tell the difference. What you touched, stupidly, I might add.” He was cut off by his pointer finger breaking.

            “Ow. Okay, I get it. When you touched the false stone you gained the darkness inside of you from that. It is intriguing that your body has been able to hold all of it inside of you. Especially with the sheer amount of light you possess. They are warring enemies by nature but yet you seem to be fine.” Finneus stopped talking to stare at him. This was a puzzle that he didn’t mind trying to solve. This was a better puzzle than the crazy Luna girl and her imaginary creatures.

            He squinted trying to figure it out. “It is almost as if you have something grounding you. Something grounding your darkness, holding it in place and keeping it from taking you over.”

            Finneus rolled his eyes when the three of them exchanged looks. Yeah, like that was subtle. But it did let him know that he was on the right path. He frowned when he tried thinking of what could possibly have grounded so much darkness. He didn’t know of anything that could do that. He turned his attention to the Malfoy heir just to try and clear his thoughts and narrowed his eyes at the power inside of him. Well, this was surprising. He could feel a lot of darkness surrounding the boy’s magical core but that wasn’t surprising considering that he was a Malfoy. But there was something else inside of him. Something light in nature. Normally that wouldn’t be something he would’ve even batted an eye at but this wasn’t light in a way that Potter was. This was pure light energy. Pure white magic. He hadn’t ever felt pure light magic like this in anyone else but his parents. But that was because-

            “No way.” Finneus breathed out in awe. Soulmates. He could feel the pure light of a soulmate bond. A strong one too. Their connection was incredibly powerful. No wonder the darkness inside of Potter hadn’t taken him over. This was astounding at how powerful their bond was. His parents held the bond as well but theirs wasn’t like this. Theirs wasn’t as strong nor as bright. A soulmate bond by nature is light. But dark wizards can find their soulmate too. Finneus had a theory that the longer his parents cheated death that the more the bond was put under strain. Soulmates, by legend are supposed to be able to find each other time and time again. But to never die goes against the bonds original purpose. There was no evidence to support this but there was a reason that as each generation goes by, his parents' bond dims. It used to be bright when he was a child. The magic from it was brighter than anything he had ever felt but as the years went by, it dimmed to just a flickering candle instead of the supernova of a star that it once was.

            “Ow you wanker!” Finneus ground out tearing his eyes away from the boy and glaring at Lucius. There went his middle finger.

            “Would you care to share with the rest of the class?” The condescending tone grated on Finneus’s nerves.

            Finneus breathed through his nose a couple times calming himself. “I answered my own question. They are soulmates. That is what has grounded him.” He raised an eyebrow when they all stared at him in surprise. He scoffed incredibly insulted. Did they think he wouldn’t have figured it out? Sure, it had taken him longer than he would care to admit, to figure out but he did in the end.

            “How did you know that?” Harry asked him through narrowed eyes. He didn’t like that Finneus seemed to have picked up on it so quickly. Was there something that he was able to do that the rest of them couldn’t? Or had they accidentally given it way somehow?

            Finneus wrinkled his nose at him. “Did you forget that my parents are also soulmates? I am sensitive to magic. I sensed the soulmate bond from blondie.” Talking about soulmates didn’t bother him. He knew that his soulmate was long dead over the years. He hadn’t ever met them and he never even wanted to. No one would ever have been able to hold his attention since Athena. A pang of sorrow filled his gut at the thought of her before he angrily pushed that away.

            Harry felt silly for not thinking about Finneus’s parents. It made sense that he would be able to recognize the signs.

            Draco furrowed his brows in confusion. “Why me and not Harry?”  

            “Because Potter has a lot going on inside of him. While you on the other hand have nothing going on, so therefore it was easy to spot.” Draco narrowed his eyes at the insult. It was obvious that the man thought he wasn’t as competent in the magical department as Harry but he wasn’t going to let Finneus’s opinion get to him.    

            Another snap of his fingers breaking made Finneus regret his words. Keeping a lid on his mouth wasn’t something that he was used to.

            “You want to know how to get rid of the darkness inside of you.” Finneus now fully understood why he had been taken. They were hoping that he could shed some light on the situation at hand.

            “I don’t see the problem. It is just darkness. It isn’t like it is harming anything.” When no one responded to his statement, Finneus hummed in thought. “Or has it?” He asked curiously. This was turning out to be far more interesting than he thought it would be.

            Harry sighed heavily before giving in. They had already revealed this much to him, might as well say it all.

            “The darkness attacked the soulmate bond.” Finneus raised his eyebrows in disbelief.

            “Are you trying to tell me that the darkness is sentient?” The awe to his tone had Harry blinking rapidly as his heart sank. He had a feeling that Finneus had absolutely no idea how to help him. He nodded his head once.

            Finneus’s mind was going off in a million different directions. The darkness was sentient enough to know that the soulmate bond was keeping it in check. That thought alone was almost mind blowing. That made no sense. Normal darkness shouldn’t do that. He knew that the stone wasn’t normal but still. This wasn’t making sense. He knew that he was missing something but he couldn’t quite figure out what it was that he was missing. To think that the darkness then attacked the soulmate bond. That was making his mind go blank with zero solutions.

            “This must be what a wrackspurt feels like.” Finneus mused out loud. His brain had definitely gone fuzzy trying to understand the implications of the darkness inside of Potter.

            “What did you just say?” Harry asked dangerously, taking a step toward Finneus. Draco and Lucius shared a confused look. Neither of them could figure out what could be bothering Harry about what he had said.

            Finneus looked up at him curiously. Did Potter know what a wrackspurt was? Did that mean they were real?!

            “Where did you hear of a wrackspurt?” The controlled anger was actually making Finneus a little nervous. He didn’t understand what the big deal was.

            “My last victim talked about it. That and a bunch of other imaginary creatures. The girl was raving mad.” Finneus said half smiling at the odd girl and her weird ways of saying things.

            Harry’s heart stopped beating for a moment. Did he just say his last victim? Had he killed Luna? Harry’s eyes flashed black and the green was completely gone.

            “What did you do to Luna?” Finneus shivered at the pure darkness seeping out of Potter. This was not Potter any longer. This… was the sentient darkness…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay guys, another end to another chapter. 
> 
> I know that there wasn't really anything torture in this chapter. There will be more stuff involved in the next chapter but it all depends on the willingness of Finneus. He will be harmed and he will get what is coming to him but the more he talks, the less physical pain they are going to inflict on him. So I am sorry to all my blood thirsty readers who were hoping that this chapter would be filled with a lot of sickening torture. Perhaps a little later. 
> 
> I think my favorite person of the chapter goes to Lucius. I just kept cracking up at each finger he broke. Love him. 
> 
> If you are wondering why Finneus thinks of Lucius by his first name but thinks of Harry by Potter. There is a good reason for that. Remember he has wanted Lucius's eyes since the moment they met. He considers Lucius one of his conquests that got away. To him there is a level of intimacy that there isn't with Harry just yet. 
> 
> If you are wondering why Finneus didn't recognize Harry as Harry Potter, that would be because he knows of Harry but not exactly what he looks like. He is sort of a recluse. He hears things but he isn't in on the intimate knowledge of what is always going on. So he knows of Harry Potter but that is about it. 
> 
> Now for the bit about the dark mark. I thought back to all the times in the books when Severus would get upset at the sound of Voldemort's name. In some ways it struck me as odd. So I decided to make a reason for that. Anytime someone said Voldemort's name while the man was alive, in speaking distance of a deatheater, that same deatheater would experience mild pain from the mark. Voldemort disliked anyone calling him by his name and therefore made his followers suffer his wrath. I thought it was interesting. 
> 
> So, who else can't wait to see what angry Harry is going to do to Finneus? No one messes with his friends and gets away with it. 
> 
> Let me know what you all thought of this chapter. 
> 
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	68. To Be Taken Over

           Draco immediately pulled up every bit of occlumency that he could muster and shut out the bond the best that he could. There would be no relying on the bond or the darkness might turn around and attack him again. It nearly killed him to block out the bond. It felt like he was losing a piece of himself. In a way that was true. The bond was a piece of Harry that was always inside of him and now he felt so empty and alone without it. He was missing the bond already and it filled with a sense of being incomplete.

            He was a little concerned at how quickly the darkness took his lover over. At the burrow, he had felt an odd sensation through the bond and then Harry was taken over. Not to mention there had been a buildup of anger back then. Draco hadn’t even felt a buildup this time, it was as if a switch had been turned on and then suddenly the darkness had taken over.

            Lucius looked to his son in horror. This was not something that they had thought could happen. If he had known that Harry was having trouble with the darkness he never would’ve had them in here. He was blaming himself for not considering that this could happen. He had no idea how they were going to be able to get Harry back from the darkness. He was out of his element when it came to something like this. He just hoped that Draco had a plan because his son was the one that brought Harry back last time.

            “What did you do to Luna?” The darkened voice of Harry asked again. Finneus shook slightly as he felt the darkness inside of Potter expand. The amount that he thought had been inside of Potter had just doubled. The sheer depth of the darkness was staggering. When it had been the original amount he had wondered how Potter could manage it but now… now it was even more than he ever would’ve believed. He was at a loss to even explain how the darkness doubled. Finneus can sense all kinds of magic and he should’ve been able to detect the full strength of the darkness, so this was actually worrying him. Either it was a failure on his part to have overlooked the amount that had been there… or the darkness was growing.

            “She’s alive.” Finneus gasped out. The room felt barren of air. His head began to swim from the lack of oxygen. The more he tried to breathe in the more he felt deprived. Something was going on and he had no idea what it was. He clutched at this throat trying to force it to take in the air that he knew was in the room. Was this a mental issue? Was there really air but his mind was telling him there wasn’t? Or was this Potter messing with him? Finneus looked up at Potter and his heart sank when he saw the feral smirk. Potter was fucking with him.

            Finneus breathed a sigh of relief when he was suddenly able to breathe. He gasped in air greedily like it was the last time he was ever going to breathe again. For all he knew, it really was. He barely had any time to enjoy his newly functioning lungs when Potter shot out a hand and gripped his throat tightly. Well there went his air supply again. Finneus knew that his eyes were bugged out and that his face was probably red from the lack of oxygen but that was out of his hands. What a terrible way to die.

            “Is she unharmed?” Finneus winced at the question. There was no way to lie around that inquiry. Well, there was but it would probably end bad for him if he was to lie and then be found out. He glared the best that he could with someone’s hand on his throat because if Potter wanted an answer then he was going to have to remove his hand so that he could talk.

            Potter didn’t remove his hand but he did lighten up on his hold, which allowed Finneus to take giant gasps of air. His chest was hurting from the force of trying to gain air back into his lungs. Finneus’s brain was going fuzzy from the constant restriction of oxygen and then the sudden release of pleasure to be able to breathe again. This was already frying his nerves. He couldn’t handle much more of this or he knew that he would pass out.

            “She is at St. Mungos. I took her eyes but I left her alive.” Finneus barely had time to suck in another breath before his throat was constricted again. If things were different, he would be thoroughly annoyed at being played with like this but he couldn’t afford to think like that right now. His mind flashed back to what Luna had said. She told him that his life would end from friends of hers. Well, it would appear that Potter was a friend of hers. That would explain the anger that he has over whether she was harmed or not. If he had known what would’ve happened if he took Luna, he probably would have just left her in Diagon Alley and found a different victim.

            Draco was watching Harry choke the life out of Finneus with worry. It wasn’t over the man’s life. He could care less if Finneus died. But he was worried about what this would mean for Harry. He knew that this was something that would tear at Harry. His lover was a gentle soul who didn’t like harming people. Even if they deserved it. If Harry was to kill Finneus during a lapse of control, he feared that would be the catalyst that would cause his beautiful Harry to be lost to him to the darkness for good.

            “Harry?” Draco called, ignoring the panicked look his father was sending him. His father didn’t understand fully what was going on but Draco was working on a gut instinct. He knew that Harry needed to know that he wasn’t alone. That he was still here for him.

            Finneus watched fascinated as there was a flash of green when the Malfoy heir called his name. Was that because of their bond or was it something else entirely? The hold on his throat loosened and he was able to breathe in. He didn’t dare make a sound. As soon as the green vanished and was replaced by the black he began to panic. He would’ve sighed if it wasn’t for the tightening of his throat again.

            “What gave you the right to take her eyes?” There was a sudden gust of air that tore everything around the room into disarray. The shelf was picked up and thrown against the opposite wall. The books that were once sitting inside were tossed out and discarded harshly on the ground. The extra shackles that could house other prisoners were ripped out of the walls and torn to shreds by some unseen force. The walls themselves began to crack in spots, as if there was a weighted pressure upon them.

            Lucius had to hold onto Draco to keep him upright. As it was, they almost went flying backwards. He prayed to whatever higher power might be out there that they would manage to make it out of this unharmed. He was concerned for Harry. He hoped that they could get him to gain control of the darkness again. He feared what would happen to Draco if Harry was lost to them.

            “She let me!” Finneus managed to squeak out. He wasn’t sure if that had been the wise thing to say or not but he had to say something. He could’ve apologized but he knew that he didn’t mean it and he highly doubted he could’ve been sincere anyways. Apologizing probably would have gotten him killed faster.

            The grip loosened and Finneus managed to sigh in relief this time. He didn’t wait for any words from Potter before he started talking. “She said that she was meant to find me and that I was meant to take her eyes. I have never left a victim alive until her. She was the one who told me that I wasn’t going to kill her. She also said that she forgave me for taking her eyes and that friends of hers would be the one to kill me.” He rushed out, glad that he had been able to talk without Potter choking him again. 

            Draco had always known that Luna Lovegood was the looniest person that he had ever met in his entire life. Well his entire three lives to be honest. But to forgive a mad man for mutilating her body and taking her eyes? That had to top anything he had ever heard before. It didn’t even occur to him that Finneus might be lying. The nonsense that he said was just something that Lovegood might have said herself. It was just up the girl’s alley.

            During the war when Lovegood was held prisoner in his house, he had been the one who was in charge of feeding the prisoners. He could’ve raised a stink and made the house elves do it but he knew that his parents didn’t want the house elves near the prisoners in case they tried something. The actual reason he didn’t complain was that it was human contact. Actual non deatheater human contact. So three times a day he would walk down to the dungeons and he would feed the prisoners. Olivander was always sleeping or passed out. He never could tell. The old man had a hard time in the dungeon. There were always new prisoners but Lovegood and Olivander never left, they were the only long term prisoners that they had.

            Every time he pushed in their food he made sure to sneak in extra food to them by shrinking the portion to look like a normal one. He wasn’t sure that they knew he was doing that for them but sometimes Luna would thank him and it made him wonder if she knew more than she let on. There were days where she would talk to him and other times where no words were spoken between them. Draco never apologized for her being there, it wasn’t his fault and apologizing would be meaningless.  

            On the days that she did speak, she would talk about all the odd creatures that he knew only she could see. She would talk about her friends and how Harry was the very first friend she ever had. She would talk about how Harry always stood up for her when people made fun her. She knew that people just didn’t understand her. Draco had already known he had an unhealthy obsession with Harry but to hear Harry through Lovegood’s point of view just made him fall harder into the whirlwind that Harry was. At the time, he never did understand why she had bothered to talk about someone that was supposed to be his enemy but it wasn’t until after he had bonded completely with Harry that something she said to him made sense. ‘ _Apologies are hard but if you apologize when you think you can’t, you gain something that you have had twice before but need a third time._ ’

            Draco wondered just what it was that Lovegood could do. He knew that she saw things in different ways then everyone else. He used to think that she was just crazy and had been on the receiving end of too many confundus charms but it wasn’t until she was in his dungeon that he realized she was a special person. He wouldn’t say that they became friends per se but he did have a fondness for her that he never told anyone about.

            There was a loud bang as the walls began to shake. Draco worried that the entire room was about to go and he waved his hand to enact a shield around them if that was to happen. He didn’t bother putting the room back to order just in case Harry’s magic destroyed it all again.

            Finneus was thankful that Potter’s hand slipped from around his throat. Did that mean that he was gaining control over the darkness? Did that mean that he was okay for the moment?

            No. Finneus caught the flash of danger in those black eyes and he had no time to prepare before his head was thrown back against the wall. He blinked rapidly trying to clear the black spots from his vision. He was positive that he had a concussion. He was about to say something but was cut off by a searing pain in his gut. He wasn’t sure what it was but he knew that Potter was the cause of the pain. The pain felt like thousands of razorblades were attacking his stomach. The pain radiated past his gut and started going through his veins. Along with the cutting agony also came a burning sensation that was hotter than anything he had ever felt in his entire life. He felt as if his insides were on fire. His whole body was a flame and there was nothing that he could do about it.

            Harry’s conscious thought was locked away in what felt like an island in the middle of a sea with no way off the shore. Harry could see and hear what was going on around him but he had no way of stopping himself. The more he struggled and tried to gain control of himself the more the sea rose up on the shore pushing him farther and farther onto the figurative shore of his cage. He knew that he shouldn’t be harming Finneus. Not because the man’s life needed to be saved… no because they needed answers from him. A dead man can’t talk. They needed him alive but he could feel the darkness surrounding him. The island was safe from the darkness but he could see the sharks circling the island. The sharks were to symbolize the darkness that was just waiting for him to make a wrong move. He had no idea how he was going to break free and get out. Nothing seemed to be working. He thought of Draco and how much he loved him but that didn’t do much. The first time he thought of Draco a mental boat appeared and he knew that that was the only way that he would be able to break free of the control that the darkness had on him but the boat vanished before he could even touch it and the darkness came back full force.

            Even though he was aware of what was going on, he still felt as if he was drowning in all of the sensations. He could feel his body moving but it wasn’t him doing the things that were happening around him. He could feel his magic going out of control but it wasn’t him who was summoning it. He could feel the tender skin of Finneus’s throat beneath his skin but he wasn’t the one controlling his limbs. He could feel the chaotic energy surrounding him but it wasn’t he who was the one responsible. Harry felt as if his mind was spinning out of control and he wasn’t sure what he could do to stop it. He had no idea how he was going to stop the darkness this time. He could hear the darkness taunting him from the shoreline of his mental awareness. It was telling him to give up. It was telling him that he didn’t need to fight any longer. That he had been fighting his whole life and to just give over the reins and he would be happy.

            The darkness was right. He had been fighting for as long as he could remember and giving in sounded like it could be so easy. He could give in and not have to worry about a single thing that was happening around him. He could give in and not have to worry about the next problem that life would throw at him because let’s face it, when hasn’t there been a problem in his life? What can go wrong will go wrong. That was the motto of his life. Harry was so sick and tired of fighting. So sick of there always being something that he had to fix. Something that he had to do. When was it his turn to have a happy life? When was it his turn to have a normal life? Why did his life have to be filled with such misery? He was honestly sick of it all. He just wanted it to end.

            Draco’s body froze when he felt the darkness permeating the room. It was _so_ evil. It was so powerful and it was getting stronger by the minute. He knew that something was wrong. Something was happening to Harry and it scared him. He hoped and prayed that Harry was still okay and not willing to allow the darkness to succeed. Draco gasped when he tore his eyes away from Harry to see that Finneus had blood pouring down from every imaginable hole that he could see. There was blood dripping down his nostrils, blood coming out of his mouth and flowing down his chin. There was blood oozing out of his ears and he could just make out blood creeping out of his eyes in a way that resembled tears.

            Finneus knew that the end for him was fast approaching. He could feel his mind slipping away and he couldn’t make his mouth form any words. The tangy taste of blood was flooding his senses. He couldn’t hear or see anything and he knew that his sense of smell was going to soon fail him too. They say that your life flashes before your eyes when you are about to die. Sometimes you regret the actions that your life has brought you and sometimes you are just resigned to your fate. Despite the horrid things that he has done in his life, he couldn’t bring himself to regret any of it. The _only_ thing that he wished he could change about his life was the way things went down with Athena. He made peace with everything else but that.  

            Lucius hadn’t been frozen in terror many times throughout his life. He could count the number of times on one hand. But seeing the blood coming out of Finneus was one of those moments. He could care less what happened to the man but he cared about Harry. If Harry could so easily lose himself into the darkness and harm Finneus he knew that the darkness would take over even further and it could potentially harm them as well. The only thing that his mind could even come up with that might possibly help them would be Draco. His son was the only thing that worked last time and he knew that they had a bond that was unlike anything that he had ever seen before. That was the only hope that they had of brining Harry back.

            “You have to try and get him back.” Lucius told Draco as he turned to look at his son.

            Draco’s eyes welled up with tears as he tried to think of a way to bring his soulmate back to him. “I don’t know how.” Draco whispered. Lucius took one look at his son and pulled him into a hug. Draco sobbed and clutched the front of his father’s robes.

            “I believe in you Draco.” Draco closed his eyes as the words that he had always wanted to hear from his father washed over him. “But more importantly, Harry believes in you.” Draco whimpered slightly before pulling away and wiping his eyes. He knew that he was not behaving in a dignified manner but he couldn’t help it.

            Lucius reached forward and gently wiped his son’s eyes. “Sometimes being dignified is overrated.” He whispered to his son. Draco wondered if he had spoken out loud or if his father just knew what he was thinking. He gave his father a shaky smile that looked more like a grimace before steeling his nerves and turning to Harry.

            “Harry!” Draco yelled loudly. Finneus could feel the vibrations of something and he wondered if that was the wall moving or if someone was talking. They would have to be yelling pretty loud for him to feel it. He would have told them to quit if he could talk. There was a sudden bright light as his vision began to come back to him. He blinked away what he hoped was tears, despite his worry that it was blood, and looked around. He could see Potter frozen as if he was afraid but what that could be, Finneus had no idea. He saw the blonde boy standing near Potter but not touching. He had to give the boy props, he himself would have been in the furthest corner away from Potter if things had been reversed.

            Harry could hear Draco say his name and he held onto it as hard as he could. The urge to give in and let the darkness take over was slowly going away. What had once seemed like a good idea, now seemed silly. Why would he give up just because life was hard? Why would he give up when he had a million other reasons to keep on going? Sure, his life hadn’t been the best but he had a soulmate who loved him dearly and a family who cared for him. Even though his life had been difficult, he would always have the love and support of everyone around him. The darkness’s taunts seemed pointless now. He didn’t need to give up. Giving up now would mean giving up everyone who was important to him. He couldn’t do that. He just couldn’t. His mental awareness was coming back full force. It was like that boat in the ocean was coming back. It was strong and solid and Harry knew that he could touch it this time.

            “Harry I know that you can hear me. I know that you are still in there. I love you so much. More than you can ever know.” Draco promised him.

            Finneus was again fascinated by the way that Potter’s eyes kept changing from the black of the darkness to the green of his normal eyes. This was important. His mind wasn’t working properly so he couldn’t think this revelation through very well but he knew that this meant something. There was a reason that Potter was only responding to his soulmate but he couldn’t put his finger on it. The pain throughout his whole body was too much to really concentrate on anything else.

            Draco let out a surprised noise when Harry spun around, the smile that he had begun to from vanished when he took in the anger on Harry’s face. There was green in his eyes but it wasn’t his lover that was looking at him.

            “This bond makes me sick.” The darkness to Harry’s voice made Draco’s spine go rigid. He wasn’t sure what he thought of the darkness speaking to him. This was a whole different aspect to being sentient. The darkness was _aware_ of a lot more than they gave it credit for.

            Draco gasped when Harry’s hand shot out and took hold of his throat. He quickly held up a hand to his father to tell him not to interfere. He knew that his father was probably panicking but he didn’t want anything to make the situation worse. “I could kill you.” The darkness taunted.

            Lucius was sure that his heart had just stopped beating all together as he watched the darkness take hold of his son's throat. He had no problem separating Harry from the darkness. They were two separate things. He wanted to run over there and get his son away but he knew that would probably cause more harm than good.

            “You are the only reason he hasn’t given up. You are the only thing that keeps him going. How pathetic.” Draco closed his eyes as tears formed in them. He wasn’t crying for his own life. He was crying for what he knew was probably going on in Harry’s mind.

            The solid mental boat that Harry’s mental awareness was on began to flicker and he panicked. He could see the sharks that represented the darkness circling the boat as if they were zeroed in on his location. He stopped concentrating on them and cried out in horror at the fact that he was harming Draco. No. He tried struggling harder to get the darkness to stop but it wasn’t working. He knew that it wasn’t him that was doing this but he couldn’t stop the guilt that was beginning to from. If he couldn’t find a way out of this mess than he would be the one to have to live with the guilt of killing his entire world. He cried out in pure agony as he felt the hand on Draco’s throat tighten.

            Draco could see a brief flicker in those endless black eyes and in that flicker he saw agony. He knew that Harry was still in there. He knew that Harry was aware of what was going on but couldn’t stop it. Draco felt the tears roll down his face. “It’s alright Harry. It’s not your fault. I forgive you.”

            Harry felt the boat disappear along with the water and the island. Everything that his mind had come up with to keep him locked in the prison of his own mental barrier vanished. He was surrounded by the essence of Draco. He could feel his soulmate’s words as if they were emotions. His heart was breaking in a million pieces at Draco’s forgiveness. He couldn’t understand how someone so incredibly loving could even exist. He focused on the pure white energy of Draco and let his mind bathe in it. He let Draco’s very being cleanse away everything. He let his own love for Draco push away anything that didn’t belong. Harry felt the darkness struggling against his will. He could almost hear the anger in its movements as the darkness was forced back away, once again locked up so that it could do no harm.  

            Draco could feel a pulling sensation coming out of his body. He felt like Harry was borrowing something from him but he couldn’t figure out what that was. The bond was still shut down so he wasn’t sure how Harry was taking anything from him. He knew that it was Harry and not the darkness that was taking from him because of the gentle way that it was leaving him. He stared into Harry’s eyes and his tears kept flowing but for a different reason now. He could see the darkness leaving. He could see his Harry coming back. It wasn’t until the hand around his throat completely relaxed that he knew that Harry was once again back in control.

            Harry blinked rapidly as his mind processed everything that had happened in over drive. His eyes widened in horror at the vision of his hand choking Draco. He dropped his hand and immediately flung himself at his fiancé.

            Draco had not been prepared for the sudden action and they ended up tumbling on the floor. Draco pulled Harry to him and wrapped his arms around him and opened up the bond. He sighed in relief at the feeling of being complete once again.

            “Oh Draco!” Harry sobbed into his chest. “I am so sorry!” Harry couldn’t feel any anger or bitterness from the bond and that just made things worse. He wanted Draco to be angry at him. He wanted Draco to be upset that he almost just killed him. Harry didn’t know what he would have done if he had killed him. Just the thought alone sent such agony through his heart.

            Draco was glad that they were on the floor or the sheer guilt and self-hatred from the bond would have sent him tumbling backwards. He tightened his hold on Harry and pressed a shaky kiss to the top of his head. “Harry listen to me.” Draco urged as he lifted Harry’s head with a finger.

            Harry wanted to hide his head away, he didn’t deserve to look at Draco after what he almost did. But Draco’s determination made up his mind.

            The terror that Draco could feel and see in those beautiful green eyes pulled at his heart. “Don’t blame yourself angel. I know that you didn’t do any of that on purpose. The darkness took you over and you can’t blame yourself for the actions of the darkness.”

            Harry shook his head as tears started falling. “I almost killed you.” His voice cracked in pain. “Again.” He added bitterly. “I am a monster Draco. I will just keep hurting you if you stay with me.”

            Draco’s heart started to beat faster as he grew afraid. “Are you leaving me?” He knew that Harry had made a magical promise that prevented such an action from happening but he still couldn’t help the fear of losing Harry from taking over his emotions.

            “No. I would never leave you Draco but you need to leave me. I am not good for you.” Harry cried through blurry eyes. He loved Draco more than anything in the entire world but he couldn’t be the one to harm him. Hurting Draco would hurt him in ways that he didn’t want to admit or even think about.

            Harry could feel anger from the bond and it confused him. He looked at Draco and his eyes widened at the narrowed eyes and clenched jaw.

            “Harry James Potter do not even think that you can tell me what to do. I am not going anywhere. I love you, you daft idiot. I will always love you. No matter what happens. I would be the shittiest soulmate in existence if I was to leave you when things get tough. We will make it through this together. Now cease your guilt and your self-hatred. This was not your fault. This was an unfortunate side effect of the darkness. We can blame the darkness and the stupid stone but we are not going to blame you.” Draco told him firmly.

            Harry bit his lip as he stared into Draco’s eyes. He could feel that Draco really didn’t blame him and that made him feel a lot better but it also made him feel like he was taking the easy way out. Blaming the darkness was easy. Shouldn’t he be held to some higher standard? Shouldn’t he be to blame for not being strong enough to hold the darkness at bay?

            “I would never lie to you Harry. I do not blame you for this. Try and let this go my love.” Draco begged. He knew Harry very well, he knew that it would take some time for him to be able to stop blaming himself. When Harry nodded once he squeezed him tightly to his chest. This was enough for now.

            Lucius sighed in relief as he made his way over to Finneus. The man didn’t even seem to notice that he was nearby. Finneus was watching Harry and Draco with an odd look on his face. He himself wasn’t sure what to make of what just happened. He did however agree with his son. Harry was not at fault here. This was something that could only be blamed on the stone.

            “He gets an apology? You barely even choked him!” Finneus scoffed bitterly. The snapping of another finger breaking echoed around the room.

            “Oops.” Lucius said with a smirk as Finneus finally registered that he was standing there.   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this chapter is now complete. 
> 
> So you may have noticed that in there was essentially two versions of the darkness. In the beginning of the chapter there it was like the darkness was feeding off of his anger. The darkness itself didn't care about Luna but it used Harry's anger about his friend to escape. Then it gained strength by Harry giving in and that is when it was able to talk to Draco. 
> 
> The little tid bit about Draco talking to Luna while she was in the dungeon made some sense to me. I could just see him being told to bring them food and Luna just start randomly talking about the nargles in the room or whatever else she comes up with. 
> 
> A lot of people might sat that technically Ginny was Luna's first friend but I think that was more of an acquaintance type of thing.
> 
> I really hope that the visual of the island in Harry's mental awareness was making sense. When trying to find a way to explain what it would have been like for him, this is what my imagination came up with and I hope that it wasn't confusing. 
> 
> I have to admit that I was breaking a little on the inside at Draco saying that he would forgive Harry if he killed him. That was a bit much for me. 
> 
> Since it wasn't emotions that Harry was pulling from Draco, what do you think it was?
> 
> Okay guys, I would love to hear any thoughts that you might have on this chapter. 
> 
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	69. Broken Bones

             Everyone was seated in the think room enjoying bowls of ice cream. Fred was looking at his brother’s bowl in disgust. Who mixes strawberry, chocolate and vanilla all in one bowl? Monsters, that’s who.

            “Quit glaring at my bowl Freddie or I will make you eat it.” George warned not even bothering to take his eyes away from his delicious treat. His brother just had no taste when it came to real flavor.

            Fred made a disgusted noise. “Not on your life.” He promised. George looked up at winked at his brother. “At least my ice cream is adventurous. I would die of boredom just from eating yours.” He pointed out with a wicked smirk.

            Fred frowned at his twin. “What is wrong with chocolate? I prefer the classics.” George shook his head in disappointment. “Sometimes I can’t believe we are twins.” Fred opened his mouth to retort but was cut off.

            “Just shut up and eat your ice cream.” Severus demanded. Salazar, they were driving him nuts and he didn’t even have Lucius here to agree with him.

            Fred and George shared an affronted look before glaring at him. They noticed that he was eating plain vanilla. At least they could both agree that their choices were better than that!

            Remus watched them with amusement. He leaned over and lifted his spoon so that Severus could try his ice cream. He caught the wariness and huffed out in humor. Here was a man who could lie to Voldemort’s face with no fear but offer him ginger spice ice cream and he looked like he was going to bolt. Remus locked eyes with Severus and slowly licked a portion of the ice cream off his spoon. He smirked internally as Severus’s eyes tracked the movement. “You try.” Remus breathed out.

            Severus was positive that Remus was trying to kill him. He was never one to back down, so he leaned forward and wrapped his tongue around the spoon before slowly pulling it into his mouth. He heard Remus’s breath hitch and he knew he succeeded in turning the table on him. “Delicious.” Severs whispered staring at Remus. He wasn’t sure if he meant the ice cream or the man in front of him. The statement was true either way.

            “I think I am going to be sick.” Fred moaned shoving his bowl away.

            George wrinkled his nose in horror. “Oh gross. That was awful.” He looked at the remainder of his dessert sadly before pushing it to the side as well.

            “Don’t do that again.” Pansy and Blaise said at the same time. Blaise had already finished his ice cream but now his stomach was churning slightly. Pansy was grossed out but nothing was going to stop her from finishing off the last of her dessert.

            Remus and Severus looked up in confusion and they both arched brows when the teens were looking at them in disgust. Severus looked to Narcissa but she was smiling rather amused so there was no help there.

            “Don’t do what?” Asked Remus. Fred waved a hand between the two of them. “That. The sexual horror we just witnessed.” The other three nodded in agreement.

            Severus snorted. “How is that any different from the constant public displays of affection that we are forced to endure from Harry and Draco?” He drawled dryly. Honestly, what they had just done was mild in comparison.

            “That’s different.” George argued.

            Pansy nodded her head. “Yeah, what they do is usually hot.” Fred was in full agreement on that one.

            “That is debatable.” George and Blaise mumbled.

            “Are you implying that we aren’t hot?” Remus asked.

            “Yes.” All four of them said at the same time.

            Severus scoffed. “I don’t know whether to be amused or offended.” Narcissa laughed lightly. “I think amused is where I would put it.” She told him.

            “We don’t mean to offend.” Pansy began.

            “It’s just that you guys are old.” George said not really understanding how to be gentle.

            Narcissa who was older than Remus and Severus glared at the quartet. Remus and Severus exchanged a look before folding their arms across their chest.

            Fred kicked his brother underneath the table but accidentally got Pansy instead. “Ow!” She growled glaring at Fred. George was confused but glared at his brother too. If Pansy was glaring than that meant his brother had done something. Fred mumbled out an apology and turned to Remus and Severus.

            “What my brother was trying to say is that you guys are parents. Except for you Severus but you are old enough to be one. It’s like watching your parents have sex.”

            “I didn’t need that mental picture.” Pansy complained while Blaise nodded vigorously. 

            “You watch your parents have sex?” Remus purposefully asked just to see them react.

            “Oh god no!” The twins said at the same time. Pansy shuddered while Blaise looked like he was going to be sick.

            “I think-” Severus was cut off by a distant shaking. He looked around the room and noticed that somethings in the room had been jostled slightly, like the room had moved some.

            “What was that?” Narcissa asked biting on her lip in worry. There should’ve been enchantments protecting the house from the weather and natural disasters. No earthquake should affect them.

            Everyone stood up suddenly when all the candles in the room went out and the room began to get unnaturally cold. They were about to leave the room but Fred and George stopped suddenly attracting everyone else’s attention.

            Fred could feel it. It felt just like the night at the burrow. But it was different now. It felt stronger. He shared a frightened look with George.

            “Harry.” George breathed out before looking at everyone else.

            “What about Harry?” Remus demanded instantly. He felt a hand on his shoulder and relaxed knowing that it was Severus.

            “This feels like the same thing that happened the night of the dinner at the burrow. When Harry was taken over.” Fred explained.

            Everyone was silent for a moment as they all took this in. Pansy used her wand to light up the room and then cast heating charms all around. “Let’s go wait by the door for them.” She suggested.

            Once everyone was by the door, the quartet sat on the ground ignoring the horrified expression on Narcissa and Severus’s face. Narcissa couldn't understand why proper purebloods would willingly sit on the ground. Severus could just imagine all the nasty things that were on the floor.

            “Do you think everything is alright?” Pansy whispered. No one knew what to say. They didn't like to give out false reassurances, so the hallway remained quiet.

            “I wish that we could open the door and investigate.” Fred finally said when the silence was too much for him.

            “I agree. What if something happened to them and Finneus broke free?” George added looking up at Narcissa.

            Narcissa smiled softly at their worry. “Even if he escaped his shackles, which I highly doubt he would be able to. There is no way for him to leave the room. He can’t apparate out of there and he can’t touch the door. Only the Lord Malfoy can.”

            “I thought that was just the outside of the door.” Blaise said in surprise. Narcissa shook her head. “No. It goes both ways.” 

            Remus thought that purebloods were weird. Who needed that much protection for a single room? He didn’t voice his opinion though, considering that he was outnumbered in the pureblood to half-blood ratio.

            “If something went wrong, how would we get them out of there?” Blaise asked. Narcissa sighed heavily and looked to the ground. “We can’t. If something went wrong, they would have to find a way to open the door themselves or they would be stuck in there.”

            “That is the stupidest thing I have heard in a long time.” Fred said. Which was saying something considering the sheer amount of stupid things that comes out of his brother’s mouth on a daily basis.

            Narcissa looked offended so he rushed to explain. “I just have a hard time with the fact that there is no back up plan if things were to go wrong in the room. I mean what if he did escape and then knocked them all out or killed them. Would Lucius’s hand still work on opening the door if he was unconscious?”

            Narcissa tilted her head to the side as she considered the question. It was a good point. She wasn’t sure if that would work or not. The enchantments have never been tested like that before. She knew that if he were to die then it wouldn’t work because the door would recognize the next Lord Malfoy. Which would be her son but if he too was killed then it would go to Harry. It was probably unwise to have all three of them alone in there. If all three of them were to die, then she would be the head of the house.

            “I do not know.” She conceded quietly. He was right though. There should be a backup plan. It never crossed their ancestor’s minds to have a backup plan. No prisoner would ever have been able to escape and they would have been conceited enough to think that it never could happen either. That would be something that she would have to discuss with her husband for the future.

            “What do you think happened that got Harry so angry?” Blaise wondered out loud. It was something that had been bothering him for a bit. The last time it happened was because Mrs. Weasley had insulted Draco. Harry didn’t seem too upset about seeing the person who killed him so he was pretty sure that wouldn’t have been enough to allow the darkness to take over. If anything, he figured that Draco would be the one to lose his temper over seeing Finneus.

            “The man probably insulted Draco.” Pansy said with a small smile. She thought it was utterly cute how much Harry cared for Draco. Her smile faded when she realized that the darkness taking him over though wouldn’t be a cute thing at all.    

            “You want to take bets?” George piped up before holding his hands in surrender when everyone turned to glare at him.

            “Really? You want to take bets at a time like this? Harry’s life is in danger right now. Not to mention Draco’s and Lucius’s as well.” Remus said angrily.

            “Hey, it was just a suggestion. It isn’t like we can do anything to help them, so worrying will get us nowhere.” George reasoned.

            Severus pulled Remus into a hug to try and get him to calm down. He knew how important Harry was to him and he was just as worried about the three of them as well. Remus closed his eyes and allowed the warm embrace of Severus to soothe his frazzled nerves. He knew that George was only trying to keep everyone from worrying but he couldn’t help but be scared. They had no idea what was going on in there and his mind was imagining the worst. He could just picture Finneus standing over Harry and doing all kinds of horrid rituals.

             -----------------------

            “Ow!” Finneus swore under his breath as he glared at Lucius. That was just uncalled for. No questions. No discussion. Just more of his fingers breaking. He really hated that damned smirk. If he ever got out of this he was going to make Lucius Malfoy rue the day that he ever messed with him.

            Lucius could see the hatred in those brown eyes and he reveled in it. This was honestly the highlight of his week. He had known that the monotonous chore of figuring out a way to get rid of the darkness was getting to him. The constant books and research were so incredibly boring that he feared he was losing brain cells. But this… this was just what he needed. Who knew that torture could feel so right?

            “You know, I mourned the loss of you.” Finneus piped up.

            Harry looked up from his position on top of Draco to frown at Finneus. He thought that Finneus would be looking at him but the man in question was staring at Lucius. Draco frowned as well. What was the psycho talking about now?

            Such a simple statement but yet it was by far one of the creepiest things that Lucius has heard in a long time. “Pardon?”

            Finneus smirked widely. “Your father owed me a boon. Did you know that?” He didn’t bother waiting to find out if he did. “I thought long and hard about what I wanted. Your father was so desperate that he didn’t even really consider what it was that he was doing. I could’ve asked for his life, his house, his Gringotts vault. I could’ve asked him to do anything that I wanted. It was so stupid of him to make. But the desperate are easy targets.”

            Lucius was torn. He absolutely hated his father but he also didn’t like Finneus talking about him either.

            “I didn’t want your house, too big and slightly atrocious. I didn’t want your family fortune. I have my own. There wasn’t much that I really did want. That is the downfall of living as long as I have. Material things just aren’t important. Did you know that even as a child you had lovely eyes?…” He trailed off suggestively. 

            It took all the will power that he possessed to not take a step back. Lucius knew that Finneus was messing with him and he didn’t appreciate it. Draco was horrified. Was the man suggesting that his grandfather made a deal that would allow his father’s eyes to be taken?

            “Time flies by quickly when you live forever. I almost forgot about the boon. I know, silly of me. When I did remember, your father was old and a cranky man. I told him that I wanted your eyes as repayment. You can still be Lord Malfoy with no eyes. That is exactly what I told him.” Lucius was growing uneasy at the conversation. He remembered the deal that was made. He remembered seeing that his father didn’t want to make the deal but did it anyways.

            “Your father told me no.” Lucius’s brows rose in surprise. His father had never done a damn thing for him in his entire life. Why would he have protected him?

            “Can you believe that? He was the one who _needed_ me all those years ago. He was the one who made the deal and he had the nerve to turn down the one thing that I asked for.” Finneus shook his head in disgust. He was still upset about the whole thing.

            “Do you know what happens when you go against a verbal contract?” The question was rhetorical. Finneus knew that they all understood what he was saying.

            “Your life becomes forfeit.” Draco whispered with wide eyes. He wasn’t sure what to think about this. There hadn’t been much about his grandfather that had ever been said before. His father never liked talking about him and after finding out what happened to his aunt, he wasn’t surprised. He wasn’t sure if he should be glad or not that his grandfather died. He was glad that his father still had his eyes though.

            Lucius was stunned. It didn’t surprise him that Finneus had asked for his eyes. After the creepy way he talked to him as a child, that should have been his first guess. But what did surprise him was the fact that his father turned him down knowing that he was going to die if he did so. Lucius wasn’t misguided enough to believe that his father had done so on his behalf. Abraxas Malfoy had _never_ done a single positive thing for him without it somehow benefiting his father. He just knew that there had to have been a reason his father said no but he doubted that he would ever discover what that was.

            “Exactly.” Finneus said with a pleased smirk. “He denied me what I wanted so I denied him life. I still don’t think it is a fair trade off. You are the only pair of eyes that I have ever been denied.” There was a hunger to his voice that made Harry shiver rather uncomfortably. What planet did this guy come from? There was no way that he was human. Even though he knew that he was, he just couldn’t figure out where the hell his parents went wrong with him.

            “That must be awful for you.” Lucius drawled sarcastically. Finneus leaned his head forward the best that he could. “You have no idea. There is a lot that I could have done with you.” Lucius was positive that the silky caress in the man’s voice just made him throw up a little in his mouth. That was the most unpleasant thing that has happened to him in a while.

            “Did he just-” Draco couldn’t even finish the sentence. He looked over to Harry and snorted at the plain disgust that was evident on his face. Harry thanked everything that he had that it had been Lucius that had been hit on and not him. This conversation just took a wrong turn straight into disturbing.

            Lucius didn’t even go for a finger this time. He just picked up Finneus's hand and snapped it till he knew the wrist was broken. The slight scream that Finneus released was music to his ears.

            “Where were we?” Lucius asked the room. Harry made an outraged noise. “We were talking about Luna. I can’t believe you took her eyes.”

            Finneus leveled a ‘get real’ look at him. Harry scrunched up his nose. Okay, that might have been an understatement. He _could_ see him take her eyes. But he didn’t like it. No one messed with his friends. Luna was a sweet and gentle soul, someone who had never uttered a single negative thing about anyone in her life. She was a loyal friend who didn't deserve something like this. His gut clenched just thinking about what she could be going through.

            “Where did you put her eyes?” Harry demanded. He knew that he would probably come across as more threatening if he was standing up instead of in the arms of his fiancé. But he was still feeling emotionally drained and he needed the support of Draco right now. As if reading his mind, Draco tightened his hold on Harry and nuzzled the top of his head.

            “Wouldn’t you like to know.” Another snap of his finger and Finneus growled low in his throat.

            “I think you better answer him or you will _really_ find out what I will do to you.” Lucius warned him.

            Finneus smirked. “Why Lucius if I knew you were this kinky I might have sought you out sooner.” He winced when another finger was broken.

            Harry turned his head to whisper in Draco’s ear. “It’s like a train wreck that you know is about to happen but you can’t look away.” Draco snorted but had to agree.

            “If I had known how much of a masochist you could be then I might have taken out my sadistic urges much quicker on you.” Lucius retorted as he emphasized this by breaking another finger.

            “You really are kinky.” Finneus breathed through the pain of another finger snapping. He really should learn to keep his mouth shut but he was having fun baiting the man.

            “Gross.” Harry and Draco whispered at the same time. Neither one of them wanted to picture anything that Lucius might do that would be considered kinky. Not if they ever wanted to get another erection again that is.

            “I am beginning to think that you have grown accustomed to fingers breaking. Perhaps I should break other things?” Lucius wondered out loud before smirking cruelly down.

            That was all the warning that Finneus had before Lucius grabbed his arm and pulled in the wrong direction. His shoulder was pulled out of the socket and he felt his humerus bone fracture. He knew that he let out a scream and he cursed inwardly at that but he hadn’t been expecting the break. He could feel tears stinging the corners of his eyes and he had to bite on his tongue to keep from throwing up.

            “What happened to the days when people used spells to torture people?” Finneus asked. He hadn’t thought that a deatheater would resort to hands on torturing. He screamed when Lucius prodded his shoulder.

            “You would be accustomed to spells. I knew that I would have to get creative with you.” Lucius told him. “Now, let’s see if the pain has loosened your tongue any. Answer Harry’s question.”

            Finneus thought about saying something smart but the pain of his arm was getting to him. “My house. Her eyes are in my house along with my collection.” He mumbled out the directions to his house but purposefully left out anything that they would have to do to get past his wards.

            “Now that wasn’t so hard, was it?” Lucius taunted.

            “Fuck you.” Finneus rasped out. He regretted his words instantly when his already broken arm was harshly gripped. The pain making him see stars.

            “How can we go about getting rid of the darkness?” Lucius asked, bringing the conversation back to the main reason they were there in the first place.

            “I don’t know. The false stone was destroyed.” Finneus told him panting.

            Harry, Draco and Lucius exchanged startled looks. “I thought you said that the stone can’t be destroyed.” Harry said slowly.

            Finneus scoffed. “No. I said that a _true_ stone can’t be destroyed.” A jab to his arm caused him to shut his mouth with a snap.   

            “How was it destroyed?” Harry asked. Finally, they seemed to be on the right track.

            Finneus shook his head. “I have no idea. I wasn’t in the country at the time. Not that my parents would’ve told me. They like to keep things to themselves. You understand how parents are… oh wait, you wouldn’t, would you?” He taunted.

            Finneus let out a scream when he felt Lucius stomp on his right foot. He was positive several toes had just been crushed.

            Harry narrowed his eyes at the cruel words but didn’t let them bother him. He knew that the man was just trying to bait them. It was stupid really, he was just going to end up harming himself. He could feel the anger from Draco and he thought it was sweet. Harry kissed the side of Draco’s head.

            Draco was really sick of Finneus’s mouth. He was tired of hearing the man talk. He was tired of just looking at him. He wanted this to be over now.

            “How do you know it was destroyed if you were out of the country?” Lucius asked with narrowed eyes.

            Finneus huffed. “Dumbledore wanted proof that it was destroyed so my mother showed him the pieces. When I came back she showed me the pieces too and told me all about it. Dumbledore might have been fooled into thinking it was a true stone but that was because he knew very little about Alchemy. I on the other hand know a lot. I could sense the withering magic from it. It was definitely one of the failures.”

            Harry frowned as he took in the words. He wasn’t sure what to think about this. If the stone was destroyed, then how were they going to get the darkness out of him? If Finneus didn’t know how it was destroyed, then how were they going to find out? Their only options seemed to be finding the rest of the Flamel family but Harry _really_ didn’t want to do that.  

            “If it was destroyed then why didn’t the darkness leave Harry?” Draco wondered as he bit his lip.

            Finneus tilted his head to the side. “It could be that it doesn’t want to leave. Being attached to Potter would have given the darkness the life that it needed when we attempted to make it into the stone. The ritual needed the sacrifices to keep it alive. The sacrifice of life. The ritual ended up being a bust and the lives couldn’t contain it. So now, the darkness in Potter is sticking to a life that won’t fade like the others.” It was the only thing that he could think of. With cursed objects, once the artifact is destroyed the curse will fade and any lingering symptoms will fade as well. The stone isn’t a curse but it would be similar in what should’ve happened. When it was destroyed, it should have gone away.

            Harry swallowed thickly. That didn’t sound good. He had already known that the darkness didn’t want to leave. Why would it? It had the chance to take over a body and have full control.

            “You said _one_ of the stones. But what if what your mum destroyed wasn’t the failure that Harry touched?” Draco whispered.

            Finneus raised his brows in surprise. “That is a brilliant question.” Draco wasn’t sure he liked hearing a compliment from the man. “The main question would be, why would she have kept that one instead of destroying it?”

            “Do you think she knew that Harry touched it?” Lucius wondered. Finneus furrowed his brows as he thought back to the conversation that he had with his mother when she was telling him about it.

            “It is possible. Dumbledore had told her that Potter was the reason that Voldemort didn’t succeed in getting the stone. She didn’t mention that he touched it but the probability is high that he said something to her. I don’t know why she would have kept it though. She isn’t one to care what happens to others.” The last bit came out quite bitterly but Finneus was too busy thinking about his mother’s motives to notice their shared glances.

            “We need to know if she really did destroy it or not.” Harry made his choice. “We need to talk to your parents.” Draco and Lucius shared worried looks. Neither one of them liking where this was heading.

            Finneus snorted before letting out full guffaws. “Right. You say that like it is simple.” He shook his head with his mouth twitching.

            “In case your last visit with them wasn’t very informative, let me fill you in. My parents are not friendly people, they will not welcome you into their home. They will not discuss plans to help you over biscuits and tea. They will not give one iota what happens to you. They will be more interested in the darkness inside of you to care about getting rid of it. My mother would probably find a way to harness it right out of you. Do you really want something like the darkness in the hands of my parents? Can you imagine what something like that could do to someone already dark? They wouldn’t bother trying to control it like you. They would _want_ to let it out and see what it can do. They haven’t had fun in centuries and I know them. This would be something that they would take great pleasure in doing.”

            Harry bit his lip and looked down at his lap. He knew that Finneus was right. The Flamels would do something like that. Why would they help him when they would be more interested in the darkness? He wasn’t sure where he was supposed to go from here. How was he supposed to get rid of the darkness if Finneus didn’t know nor could they get help from his parents. They seemed to be at a dead end with no solution in sight.

            “What if we channeled to darkness into something else? Gave it a different life source to attach itself to?” Draco suggested.

            Finneus looked at him unimpressed. “What exactly do you have in mind? Do you plan on sacrificing someone else to save him? Because that is what it would take. It needs life to sustain itself and unless you are going to suggest animals, I don’t see what else you can suggest. Or perhaps you know how to create life?” The question was filled with sarcasm.

            Lucius pressed his foot lightly into Finneus’s crushed toes and smirked when the man sucked in a sharp breath and glared at him.

            Harry shook his head. There was no way that they were going to make someone else live with this. There had to be another way. There had to be something that they could do. “I think the only option we have _is_ your parents.”

            Finneus stopped glaring to look at Potter incredulously. “Did you not hear what I told you?” He couldn’t believe the teen was so reckless.

            Harry sighed. “Of course I did. But that doesn’t change the fact that we haven’t come up with a single other alternative. We need to know if they destroyed it and we aren’t going to know that unless we go right to the source.” He knew that this was a bad idea. He knew that a million different things could go wrong. Possibly his life could forfeit in the process but he knew without a doubt that they needed to see the Flamels.

            “It’s your funeral.” Finneus said with a shrug. If they wanted to die, who was he to stop them?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was not as long as I had wanted it to be but my mind would not focus today. I was feeling a tad burned out and that is why this chapter has come out so late. I usually try and post it before now, so I apologize if you have been waiting for it. 
> 
> I decided to show you some of what the group was doing while the torture trio was inside the black room. I always enjoy the quartet. I think my favorite quote of the chapter is, 'The sexual horror we just witnessed.' 
> 
> Why do you guys think that Abraxas said no? Do you think he finally grew a heart or do you think it was something else?
> 
> Finneus hitting on Lucius was the highlight of my day. I don't blame him though. I sure do like me some Lucius. 
> 
> I rather like Finneus a little feisty. He just couldn't keep his mouth shut, could he?
> 
> Do you think that Finneus is right in saying that his parents would want to take the darkness for themselves? What are your thoughts on Harry saying that he wants to find them? Do you think the stone that was destroyed was the one he touched or a different one?
> 
> Let me know what you all think and sorry again that this chapter is so late. 
> 
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	70. Liquid Death and Bottled Fear

           “I think we need to discuss everything over with everyone else and see where our next move will take us.” Lucius told them. He could understand up to a certain point where Harry was coming from but they should talk it all out before making any life changing choices. Finding the Flamels without an end game was incredibly dangerous. They would need to make sure that this is what they really wanted to do and they would need to implement backup plans in case things went south.

            Harry was slightly annoyed that his choices were being questioned but at the same time he could understand where Lucius was coming from. He doubted that anything that anyone said would change his mind. He knew that they had to find the Flamels. He really couldn’t explain _why_ but he just knew that this is what they needed to do.

            Draco could feel the annoyance from his lover but he really didn’t understand where it was coming from. He thought that talking about it could end up with possibly finding other solutions. Why was Harry against any other solutions? He was growing worried about this.

            Harry entwined their fingers together hoping to make Draco feel better. Draco sighed at the physical contact and wormed his hold on Harry deeper.

            “Alright. We can talk to everyone else but we need the whereabouts of his family too.” Harry conceded.

            The three of them looked to Finneus expectantly who raised his brows. “What makes you think I will tell you where they are?” He was torn on how to go about this. He wasn’t feeling guilty that their actions led to Potter having some unnamed darkness inside of him. Nor was he feeling inclined to help either. It wasn’t his responsibility. He never cared for his parents so giving them up would be pleasurable but at the same time they were _still_ his parents.  

            Lucius scoffed before leaning forward. “I think I can find ways to loosen your tongue.”

            Finneus smirked. “Oh I imagine you are quite gifted at loosening a lot of things.” He waggled his eyebrows suggestively. He ignored the quiet ‘Ew’ that Potter and the younger Malfoy released.

            Lucius rolled his eyes before gripping the man’s hurt shoulder tightly. “Do not make me hurt you further. If you just cooperated this wouldn’t have to end in pain.”

            Finneus tilted his head to the side. “What if I like pain?” He questioned. He winced when Lucius’s fingers pressed into his shoulder firmly.

            “Then continue as you are if you like pain.” Lucius retorted with a shrug. He honestly didn’t care if the man liked the pain or not. That wouldn’t affect him getting tortured at all.

            Finneus considered his options. If he told them where his parents were then that would mean giving up the only leverage that he has. He wouldn’t be useful to them any longer if he gave up what they wanted. It wasn’t that he was afraid of dying. He knew that they were going to kill him, he was actually a little excited at the prospect of finally dying. But he wasn’t quite ready for that to happen, he wanted to see how things were going to play out. He wanted to know what was going to happen with the darkness and to do that then he was going to need to keep his only leverage to himself.

            “I think I will keep that little bit of knowledge to myself.” Finneus finally said. He was prepared for more bones to break. He could handle the pain. He was surprised when Lucius stepped away from him. The smirk on his face promised pain but that wasn’t surprising.

            Lucius took out his wand for the first time since beginning the torture session and Finneus was intrigued. Finneus felt his limbs freeze in place. The only thing that he could move was his head. A modified stupefy? What was the point of that? He was tied up in ropes and shackled to the wall. There was no escaping even if he wanted to. He opened his mouth to speak up but suddenly his eyesight failed him. He couldn’t see anything. The panic of one of his senses failing him was taking over. Finneus forced himself to calm down. He couldn’t touch or taste anything so there went two more senses. He may not be able to see but he could still hear and smell. That was something.

            Harry and Draco quickly covered their noses when an _awful_ smell made it’s way through the room. Harry was positive that a mummified dead body would smell better than whatever it was that Lucius conjured. Draco had to fight the urge to throw up. Merlin, what was that? It was horrid.

            Finneus could hear the lid of a jar being uncorked before his nose was filled with something rank and awful. His stomach lurched violently, he couldn’t cover his mouth or his nose to attempt to get away from the smell. Moving his head did nothing since he couldn’t see where the smell was coming from. He felt something slimy and wet dumped on top of his head and the smell increased. He used every ounce of control that he had to stop from vomiting. He had no idea what Lucius had just put on top of him but he his mind was whirling with trying to figure out what it could be. It smelt like death. Straight up death.

            Harry quickly pulled himself off the ground and reached for Draco and hauled him off the floor. They went to the furthest corner in a vain hope of avoiding the smell. The liquid that Lucius had just poured on Finneus was a dark black sludge. The smell had intensified as soon as it made contact with the man’s skin. Harry had no idea what it was but he wanted to be as far away as possible.

            “Tell me Finneus, do you know what _Mortis Levectum_ is?” Lucius heard a small gasp from him and his son. “I thought you might. Liquid Death. This is a special family recipe. Taken from the stomach of a rotting corpse. Liquid Death is like a good wine. It gets better with age. You really don’t want to know how long this has been stewing. The pungent aroma should let you know that it is at least as old as you. I will admit that my father was the expert when it came to identifying the age of a bottle of Liquid Death. I never quite had the stomach for it, to be as knowledgeable as him but I do have to admit that this is a nice bottle. It would earn quite a pretty galleon on the underground markets.” Lucius took great pleasure in the horrified shudders that he could see.

            “I have spelled the liquid to stay nice and wet just for you. The smell will never fade nor will it dry. You are welcome by the way. This way you get to enjoy such an old and expensive bottle of Liquid Death. My ancestors made this themselves. Why it is practically an heirloom.” The amused tone of his voice made Harry realize that there were definitely many different sides to Lucius than he was aware of. One thing was for sure, there would be _many_ family lessons that would **not** be passed down to their children. Liquid Death was one of them. What was wrong with the Malfoy ancestors?

            “I have restricted three of your senses. I was generous enough to leave you with two. You should be grateful for that. I have smell taken care of and now all that is left to handle is your hearing.” Finneus grew worried about what Lucius was going to do next. He may have underestimated the man. He was actually wishing they had just stayed with breaking bones. That would have been preferable to this.

            “Do you know what _Noctus Meterriti_ is?” Lucius grinned ferally when Finneus began struggling against the bonds restricting him. It didn’t work since his limbs were spelled frozen.

            Finneus shook his head rapidly. This was not okay. He would give _anything_ to go back to the type of torture that they had been doing just a little while ago. He had no idea how twisted Lucius was. If things were different, he actually would be impressed but right now he was cursing the man to the very pits of hell.

            Harry could feel the surprise from the bond and he was definitely curious as to what the second jar was. He probably should have been freaked out by how well Lucius was at torturing someone but he couldn’t bring himself to care. When you accept the ones that you love, you accept all of them. Even the not so pleasant parts.

            “Look at you. Looks like your long life wasn’t for nothing, you have brains on you too.” Lucius taunted. “Bottled Fear. Such a lovely but undervalued product. Hard to find too. Luckily my father knew a man who knew a man. I have been saving this for just the right moment. It must be your lucky day.”

            Harry wasn’t sure what exactly it was. Bottled fear? Was it as explanatory as the name seemed to lead? He watched Lucius spell a bubble charm around the jar. “What’s he doing and what exactly is bottled fear?” Harry whispered to Draco.

            Draco pressed himself further into Harry’s body, needing the comfort of the other boy. “Bottled Fear makes the person live through their fears. It is the essence of a Boggart. Only the concentrated form of a boggart is much more powerful than when it takes on a shape.”            

            Harry wrinkled his forehead in confusion. “I thought that no one knows what a boggart really looks like since it changes the shape for each person who sees it.” He watched Lucius take what looked like a syringe and spell it to fly into the bubble and withdraw shiny silver liquid. The lid of the jar sealed itself and the bubble popped.

            “That is true. No one knows what a boggart looks like but a boggart can only be repelled so many times before it will wither away. Right before a boggart dies a piece of itself is left behind.” He gestured to the jar. “That liquid is a concentrated version of what it was when it was once alive. A single drop of the liquid will make the victim relive _all_ their fears not just the one they are most afraid of. It is a constant loop of fears and nightmares. It will make the person relive a range of things. From just mild fears to outright terror.” Draco explained.

            Harry was horrified that such a thing existed. He had known that you can repel a boggart but he didn’t think that they left behind a piece of themselves when they died. He wondered what made a wizard want to even experiment with boggarts enough to discover the uses of its concentrated form. People were so disturbed sometimes.

            Draco tilted his head as he watched his father place the syringe inside Finneus’s ears and release a lot more than a couple drops. He blinked rapidly at the sheer ruthlessness that his father was using with the liquid. 

            Harry nudged Draco’s shoulder in question. He wanted to understand why Draco was surprised.

            Draco turned to Harry. “It’s just that he restricted Finneus’s senses except for his smell and hearing. Bottled fear usually makes the person hallucinate, they visualize their fears. A lot of deaths have happened as the person will do _anything_ to make the fear go away. But since he spelled Finneus’s vison away, the essence will act differently. Since it won’t have the vision to enter the victims mind, it is going to target his hearing. So Finneus will be able to hear his fears and have no escape. His mind will conjure up images to match what he is hearing but he will have no way to block it out. His other senses are blocked so he is rooted to the spot and will have just sit there as he is mentally and emotionally tormented by the fears. And judging by the amount of liquid that he put in his ears, I would guess that it is at least a 24-hour dose. Drops usually last an hour or two but he put a lot more than the normal dosage.”

            Harry blinked rapidly as he stared at Finneus and Lucius. Lucius was just finishing putting the last of the liquid in Finneus’s other ear. He watched his soon to be father in-law vanish the jars and he had to wonder where the man had conjured them from. He looked around the destroyed room and felt a little embarrassed over the fact that he had been the one to do this much destruction. He knew that it was technically the darkness but it had been his body and his magic that had done it. There was some part of him that had to be held accountable.     

            Lucius put away his wand and sighed heavily. He knew that he should be feeling some remorse for what he was doing but he couldn’t quite muster it up. The man deserved what was being done to him. This type of torture at least wasn’t physical. Didn’t that count for something? He wasn’t concerned over the morality of the situation but he did fear that Harry and Draco might think less of him. He knew that this was a huge reminder that he had done this before. That he had once tortured people and it had been his choice to join The Dark Lord. He feared that his sons would look at him and only see the mark on his arm now that they had actual proof of the type of person he was.

            Lucius had made it halfway across the room before Finneus’s shrieks started echoing off the walls. He winced slightly at hearing the sheer pain in the yells but it was too late for doubts. Nothing can stop bottled fear once it has been received. That was why he had to draw the liquid inside the bubble. If any of it had spilled the whole room could have been jeopardized and they all would have been subjected to the liquid.

            Harry and Draco cringed at the volume of the screams. Finneus hardly made a peep as his bones had been broken and crushed. What could his fears and nightmares entail that would make him scream like that? Harry was starting to feel a little guilty but then he remembered Luna and the fact that she was missing her eyes, and poof, the guilt vanished.

            Draco found a sadistic pleasure in knowing that the man who killed Ethan was experiencing such horrors in his mind that it would cause this kind of reaction. Good. Then maybe he would understand what he had gone through when he had lost Ethan.

            Harry and Draco watched Lucius approach with tension in his shoulders and they both shared confused looks. They hadn’t seen much tension in the man the entire time the torture of Finneus had been going on. What would make Lucius tense now? Harry squinted when he caught a slight wariness and possibly fear in the man’s eyes. What would Lucius be afraid of? It was only them. He watched Lucius pull on his already rolled down sleeve harshly. It finally clicked. That was the arm that had the Dark Mark. He was worried about what they would think. Right before Lucius reached them completely, Harry launched himself at the man and enveloped him in a tight hug.

            Lucius had not been prepared for the sudden armful of Harry. He looked to his son but Draco was watching Harry with a fond smile. Lucius hugged Harry back and looked down at him curiously. “We still love you.” Harry mumbled into his chest. Lucius clenched his eyes tightly before hugging Harry just a little tighter.

            Draco frowned when he barely heard Harry’s words over the screams of Finneus. Why would Harry say that? He looked at his father’s face and saw relief. Had his father thought they would think differently of him? Well that was just silly. Sure, he discovered just how… resourceful his father could be but that didn’t mean he saw him in a negative light. Draco stepped forward and hugged his father too.

            Lucius smiled slightly as he let one of his arms go so that he could hug his son too. He felt as if the blackening that his soul had begun to undergo while being in this room had been washed clean by their acceptance.

            The three-way hug was a little uncomfortable but it was perfect just the way it was. Well if you ignored the screams of mental anguish, that is.

 

   --------------------

           

            “I feel like they have been in there for hours.” George complained from his spot on Pansy’s lap as he was stretched out on the floor. Blaise had his head on Fred’s shoulder and was napping lightly. Luckily for him the only one who had noticed was Fred. The other duo of their square would have surely pranked him if they had been paying attention.

            “That is because they have.” Severus snarked. He never could understand the wavering minds of adolescents. That was why most students were dismal when it came to his class. They didn’t have the patience to brew the wonders of potions.

            Remus smiled from his position in Severus’s arms. They were leaning against the wall and he had his head in the man’s chest. Severus’s scent was so calming and alluring that he couldn’t get enough of it. He smelled like a variety of potion ingredients. It was almost a game, he tried to detect all of the different ingredients but some of them stumped him. There was an underlying musky scent that topped it all off. If he could bottle the way Severus smelled, he would carry it with him everywhere.

            “So I was right then.” George declared with a grin. Severus sighed heavily but felt it was better for his sanity if he remained silent. Who said he couldn’t be nice? That was the nicest thing he could have done for the Weasley twin.

            Narcissa rolled her eyes as she looked around the hallway. It would have been more comfortable for everyone if they had remained in the think room or even sat down somewhere but no one wanted to leave the hall. She had suggested chairs but the ones on the floor said they were fine the way they were. She had flinched at that but chose to let them do whatever they wanted. If a lack of decorum was how this generation liked to do things, then who was she to argue? She herself didn’t feel like sitting down. She was too wired for that.

            “What are you all doing?” They all jumped in surprise when Lucius’s voice rang out. Well everyone but Blaise. When Fred had jostled him, he grumbled angrily and tried burrowing into Fred’s chest. “Not now Fred. Fuck me later.”

            Silence rung out at that statement except for an embarrassed, ‘oh my god’ from Fred. Soon everyone was laughing and the hallway echoed the laughter on a feedback loop.

            Blaise woke up as the noise of the laughter increased. He sat up and wiped the sleep from his eyes. “What’s going on? What’s so funny?” He asked. He frowned when their laughter seemed to get louder. He looked around and noticed that Harry, Draco and Lucius were now in the hallway with them and the door to the black room had once again vanished into the wall.

            Fred shook his head. “I’ll tell you later.” He promised but he kissed the side of Blaise’s head. Blaise arched a brow but didn’t argue the issue. He stood up and cracked his neck.

            They all seemed to get the idea of moving to a more comfortable space. Once everyone was in the think room and in chairs, well mostly. Harry was sitting on Draco’s lap but that was a normal occurrence. Everyone looked at the three of them expectantly.

            The three who had been in the room all shared a look. Lucius cleared his throat and began telling them all what had happened. He may have left out a bone breaking or two but that was alright. He had to hold up hands halfway through to deter anyone from interrupting him. They needed to hold their questions till the end of the retelling or else it would take hours just to get through it all. Once he was finally done explaining what had happened, he leaned back in his chair and sighed. He expected everyone to start talking over one another immediately and he had been right.

            “What do you mean he doesn’t know how to help?” Pansy demanded angrily. After the trouble that she went through in ensuring that he was taken down, she had hoped that this would be the solution that they needed. She was severely disappointed that this was pretty much a dead end.

            “He took Luna’s eyes??” George asked horrified. He had known that Finneus was a disturbed person from the moment he had entered their shop looking for a job. The man had said that he had too much time on his hands and that laughter was a medicine that made the world go round. Too much time indeed, the fucking weird psycho. He didn’t really know Luna but he did know that she was a good friend of Harry’s. He was glad to hear that she was still alive but he was worried about how she would be holding up now that she didn’t have any eyes.

            “He didn’t give up his parents?” Blaise asked curiously. He wondered if the man had some special connection to his parents. He didn’t think so from the way that Lucius had explained what had happened but why else would Finneus not give them up? Was he concerned for the stone?

            “Are you okay Harry?” Remus asked gently. He was scared to think about the darkness. By the sound of it, the darkness had been more powerful this time around and it had nearly killed Draco. He couldn’t imagine what Harry must be feeling. He could still see how close they were to each other so it was obvious that they weren’t letting the darkness affect their relationship. Which was good.

            “The idea of it being a false stone is rather intriguing.” Severus noted. He actually thought it made a lot of sense. It had answered some of the questions that he had on why the Flamels would have handed over the stone to Dumbledore.

            “Did you get hurt Draco?” Narcissa asked biting her lip in worry. She was concerned for the both of them. The darkness was growing and she didn’t know how she was going to keep her boys safe. The mother in her was crying out at the uselessness of the whole thing. She wanted to shield them from anything that could harm them but she was powerless to be able to do that.

            “Do you really mean to find the Flamels?” Fred wondered. He didn’t like this idea at all. The Flamels were pure evil and he could just imagine what they would do with something like the darkness at their disposal. They had already killed Harry once. Who was to say that they wouldn’t do it again? He was worried for his brother.

            The three of them looked back and forth between everyone trying to figure who to answer first. Draco looked at Pansy. “This isn’t something that he has come across before. So he wasn’t sure what to do about the darkness.” He explained. He couldn’t fault Finneus for that. This was an unusual situation for sure.

            Harry looked to George. “Yes, he took her eyes. But he gave us the address where they are located and said that she was in St. Mungos.” His heart was hurting for what Luna must be going through. Before leaving to go home tonight, he was going to stop at St. Mungos and visit Luna. He was going to assure her that they would get her eyes back to her.

            Lucius spoke up. “No he has yet to tell us the whereabouts of his parents but that is being handled right now.” He didn’t bother going into details on just how he was managing that. It was probably best if they don’t realize just how much the man was being tortured. Besides, outside of the think room it wasn’t very dignified to talk torture methods. Not becoming of a Malfoy to talk about such things in civilized conversations.     

            Harry smiled gently at Remus. “I am alright.” He could feel the disbelieving looks that everyone was sending him and he sighed. “I am as alright as I can be considering the situation.” He amended. He knew that he would be talking to Draco more in depth about the whole thing later on. But this was not something that needed to be discussed with everyone. It was a personal matter that he would prefer it to be handled with his fiancé.

            Draco squeezed Harry tightly to him before nuzzling the top of his head. He knew that Harry was still feeling a lot of conflicting emotions about the darkness taking him over. But that was alright, he would be here for him whenever his lover wanted to talk about it. Draco remembered his mother’s question and he looked up.

            “I am fine.” He promised. “I didn’t get hurt. There is some slight bruising but other than that I didn’t even get a scratch on me.” Draco could feel guilt bubbling up from the bond and he shook his head before leaning down to whisper in Harry’s ear. “Stop that my love. I am okay. No injuries. No broken bones. I told you that even if something awful had happened, I would have forgiven you.”

            Harry closed his eyes before burying his head into Draco’s neck so that no one could see his watery eyes. He could feel that Draco was telling the truth but that just made it worse in some ways. How could someone so forgiving and wonderful even exist?

            Remus blinked rapidly to stop any tears from forming when he heard Draco’s whisper. It was so heartbreaking that they had to go through something like this. He couldn’t imagine what would have happened if Harry had done something bad to Draco. He knew that Harry would have gone off the deep end.

            Lucius spoke up to get the attention off of his two saddened sons. “Harry wants to find the Flamels because he thinks that is the only solution but I am hoping that we will be able to think of something else.” He really didn’t like the sound of Harry’s plan. There were too many unknown elements and gambles were not something that Slytherins did. It was better to go into a situation knowing exactly the outcome or at least have contingency plans.

            Everyone stayed silent as they thought over everything that had been discussed. Many ideas were formed before being discarded. Harry could see the frustration on a lot of their faces and he knew how they were feeling. There wasn’t another way to do this. It would be easier if they just accepted that now.

            “What if we did what Draco suggested and channeled it into something else?” Severus finally broke the silence of the room. A couple people jumped at noise being introduced after such a long silence.

            Harry frowned heavily at him. “That would require putting it into someone else and I don’t like the idea of making someone suffer through this. I won’t sacrifice someone else.” Harry finished glaring at him.

            Severus arched a brow. “Are you finished jumping to conclusions or are you going to let me finish my statement?” He snarked with narrowed eyes. Harry winced slightly before nodding his head.

            “As I was saying.” A glare was sent Harry’s way. “We already plan on killing Finneus. What if we transfer the darkness into him and then we kill him. It would be getting rid of two birds with one stone.” Severus was rather proud of this idea. He was already coming up with many different ways to channel the darkness out of him.

            Harry bit his lip as he thought about this. He didn’t like the idea of putting the darkness in someone else but Finneus wasn’t exactly innocent. They could do this and then kill him. He was a little worried about how easy it was admitting that they were going to kill someone. He was also concerned about the fact that Finneus was _very_ dark. If the darkness of the stone reacted powerfully to the darkness of the man’s core, than they would have to act quickly when it came time to dispose of him.

            “What birds are you talking about?” George asked with a frown marring his features.

            “And why are you using a stone to get rid of them?” Fred wondered as well.

            Harry, Severus and Remus snorted good naturedly. Remus shook his head. “It is a saying. He just meant that we would be getting rid of two problems with one solution.”

            “Oh, why not just say that then?” The twins grumbled. Muggle sayings were so odd.

            Severus ignored them and looked to Harry. “What do you think? It is _far_ safer then searching out the Flamels and it gets rid of Finneus too. I doubt his parents will come looking for him and if they do, it isn’t like they are going to find him.”

            Harry bit his lip as he stared down at the table. He knew that this plan was preferable to looking for Nicolas and Perenelle but something inside him was saying that it wasn’t a good idea. He couldn’t explain why he wanted to find them but he just did. He ignored that part of him and slowly nodded his head. “Alright. Let’s do it.” He conceded.

            Severus looked like he wanted to start right away but Lucius shook his head. “That is going to have to wait until tomorrow night.” Everyone looked at him curiously. Why would he want to hold off on the only obtainable solution that they have had in a long time?

            Lucius shifted in his seat. “He is undergoing something right now that requires 24-hours to finish out of his system.”

            When it looked like Severus was going to say something, Harry raised a hand. “It doesn’t matter what it is. Tomorrow is soon enough.” Lucius shot Harry a grateful look before schooling his features.

            Severus looked back and forth between the two of them with a pinched brow. Something had happened to bond them while they were in there. He was curious about what Finneus was undergoing but he would respect his friends wishes.

            “Well if we have nothing going on till tomorrow then we need to get back to the shop.” Fred declared as he stood up. Blaise grumbled slightly. He didn’t feel like going to work. He wanted to sleep but he stood up anyways. Duty calls.

            The quartet said their goodbyes and they flooed out of the room. Harry looked around the room and smiled at Remus and Severus sharing a whispered conversation. He was so happy for them. “Aren’t they just adorable.” Harry whispered to Draco.

            Draco had been about to respond but Remus spoke up. “Thank you, Harry. I can hear you.” Harry’s face pinked up as Draco chuckled lightly. He was going to have to remember to not whisper things around Remus.

            Harry turned so that he could see Draco’s face. He opened his mouth but Draco placed a finger on his lips. “Let’s go.” Harry melted in a pile of goop as he realized that Draco had known that he wanted to go see Luna. He moved Draco’s finger and kissed his soulmate soundly. “I. Love. You.” He said through kisses. Draco laughed warmly as he returned every enthusiastic kiss.

            When they pulled away and looked at the remaining group they flushed in realization that everyone was staring at them. Harry shook his head. “We are going to go check on Luna.”

            Remus nodded in understanding. “Give her my best wishes.” Severus thought it was a typical Remus response. He hardly even knew the girl but it was something that was nauseatingly sweet that he simply adored about the man.

            Harry assured him that he would do that. They hugged everyone there. Harry ended up giving Lucius two hugs but no one said anything about it. Harry reached up and grabbed the floo powder. “St. Mungo’s visitor section.” A flash of green and they were gone.    

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So toady I was in a far better mood than I was yesterday when it came to writing. I know this is still a tad late but that was so not my fault today. Ever try and accomplish something and everyone and their dog tries to talk to you? There was about three hours of constant interruptions. 
> 
> So, I enjoyed this chapter. I liked the way that Lucius changed up his tactics. I think it was still dark in its own rights but it was still interesting to me. I had a lot of fun with Bottled Fear. Boggarts have always intrigued me. I didn't really change anything about them just added something else to them. I thought of there being a concentrated form to them was fascinating and just plain creepy. I also think that both the Bottled Fear and the Liquid Death would be something that a dark disturbed family like the Malfoys would have. 
> 
> I just adored that they had a little bonding moment while Finneus was just screaming behind them. 
> 
> What are your thoughts on Severus's plan? Why do you think Harry doesn't like it? Or why he is so determined to find the Flamels?
> 
> Let me know what you thought of this chapter. 
> 
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	71. St. Mungo's and Their Awful Staff

            As soon as they landed in the visitor’s section, Draco quickly put on glamour charms. They did not need to attract attention right now. Harry looked around and noticed that they were busy. Great. They waited at the reception desk for a while. The man in front of them was mumbling things like, ‘They are coming to get me.’ And, ‘I know they are out there.’ The man kept looking around the room as if he was looking for all the different ways he could escape. Harry thought the man was acting rather oddly but he figured that a lot of people might be odd since the war.

            “Next!” The Welcome Witch shouted. Harry thought her people skills could use some serious help. If you don’t like your job than at least pretend to do so. Her boredom was clearly visible. It made her job title completely redundant since she was far from welcoming.

            “I know you are working for the government, who keeps a watch on _everything_ that I do.” The man told the Welcome Witch.

            “Right.” She said slowly, eyeing the man with interest. “What seems to be the problem today?”

            The man looked around again and eyed Harry and Draco with suspicion before looking back at the lady behind the desk. “Did you know the radios in all homes are _listening_ to all your conversations and reporting them back to the Ministry?” Draco snorted a tad too loudly and Harry groaned internally when the man turned and glared at them.

            “You think I am kidding, do you? I bet you are one of them!” He yelled loudly, gaining the attention of everyone in the room. “You work for them, don’t you?! A spy in normal attire! Everyone look away before they start cataloguing you! There is no privacy anymore!” Harry was positive he had never met anyone so odd before.

            The guards on duty quickly grabbed hold of the guy, which just made him start screeching about the hospital being in on the whole thing. “I knew you guys joined the Ministry! Is there no safe places anymore??”

            The Welcome Witch narrowed her eyes at the man before smiling slightly. “Fourth Floor- Spell Damage. I do believe he is the victim of a Paranoia jinx.” She paused briefly as he started shouting about being the only one ‘awake’ in a world full of blind sheep “A powerful one.” She added with a nod of her head.

            The guards dragged the man away and hopefully up to the floor where he would be receiving help. The Welcome Witch gave them an actual smile and not her bored indifferent grimace she had been gifting everyone. Apparently, all it takes to cheer her up is drama. What a lovely person.  

            “Welcome to St. Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. How may I be of assistance to you today?” The cheeriness to her tone was actually grating on Harry’s nerves. He was debating on which was worse, her boredom or her happiness.

            “We are here to see a patient. Luna Lovegood.” Draco told her. He thought Harry’s annoyance was funny. His lover wasn’t much of a people person, which was kind of surprising.

            The girl began flipping through a book on the desk. “She has been moved to the Janus Thickey Ward.” There was sympathy in her voice and Harry didn’t like it.

            “But isn’t that the permanent residence for people who won’t get better?” Harry asked as his heart started beating faster. Had Luna been more harmed than just her eyes being taken? Had Finneus lied to them?

            Draco took Harry’s hand and pushed him a wave of calming through the bond. Harry breathed a couple times before instantly relaxing. The Welcome Witch eyed Draco curiously but looked back to Harry.

            “Yes, it is but that ward also houses cases that don’t really fit in with the other floors. And Miss Lovegood would need to stay longer than some patients so that she could learn to live without her missing body parts.” The paper doesn’t give out full details so the witch didn’t know what exactly the patient had lost. That wasn’t her business.  

            Harry nodded jerkily in understanding. “Since you know about the ward then I take it you don’t need directions?” The question had been rhetorical. Harry scrunched his nose up at the obvious dismissal and didn’t bother telling her thanks. He turned around and dragged Draco with him. “Some people shouldn’t work in customer service.” Harry told Draco loud enough that the Welcome Witch could hear him. The indignant gasp that followed them out of the room, pleased Harry to no end.

            Draco was thoroughly amused. “I love you, you know that?” Harry stopped pulling Draco and stared at him with a small smile. “You just like seeing me be mean to people.” Harry countered.

            Draco laughed but didn’t bother denying it. Harry kissed him softly. “I love you too.” Draco felt a pulse through the bond and he sighed dreamily, ignoring the amusement coming from Harry. He knew he was a sap but it was entirely Harry’s fault. He straightened up and pushed open the door that led to the ward that they were looking for.

            There was a giant desk in the shape of a half circle pressed against the wall. The hallway that led to all of the rooms was off to the left. There was no one around except for someone behind the desk, they were looking over parchments and frowning.

            “Excuse me?” Harry voiced softly. The person behind the desk lifted his head and scowled at them. Harry was taken aback. What was with the rudeness to this place? Wasn’t a hospital _supposed_ to be nice?

            “Can I help you?” Draco rolled his eyes at the polite question but the crass tone. Just saying the words isn’t enough to come across as friendly.    

            “We are looking for Luna Lovegood.” Harry forced a polite smile on his face. The man pulled out a giant tome and looked through it.

            “She isn’t here.” The finality to his tone made Harry narrow his eyes. “What do you mean she isn’t here? The lady at the front desk told us that she was.” He spoke through gritted teeth.

            “Well.” The man said slowly as if they were stupid. “She was obviously wrong. Miss Lovegood checked herself out about an hour ago.”

            “Obviously, _someone_ isn’t doing their job properly if she left an hour ago but word hadn’t reached the welcome desk downstairs.” Draco countered, clearly implying that it was this man’s fault.

            The man huffed out before glaring at Draco. “Regardless, she is no longer here. So if you are done wasting my time, I have lives to save.” He puffed out his chest and stalked away not even bothering to look back.

            “Save lives my arse. Harry if I ever need to be taken to a hospital, don’t bother sending me here. I think I would prefer _muggles_.” Harry chuckled at the serious way Draco said muggles, like this was _the_ worst thing he ever could have said.

            “Harry?” A timid voice interrupted whatever it was that Harry was about to say. They both turned around rapidly and raised their brows when they realized that Neville Longbottom was staring at them both with curious expressions.

            “Neville.”

            “Longbottom.”

            Neville raised his brows as he stared at the two people in front of him. It was obvious which one of them was supposed to be Harry. Even if he ignored that Harry had called him by his first name, there was just a friendliness to Harry that no one else seemed to have. He would be able to spot Harry in a crowd of people heavily disguised.

            Harry had never once looked down upon him. Never saw him as a lesser of a wizard because he had trouble with spells. He had known since he was a child that he his family thought he was inadequate. They were constantly trying to scare him into preforming accidental magic. One of his earliest memories as a child was hearing scraping underneath his bed. He had feared that there was a monster under his bed. His great uncle Algie had spelled himself to resemble a werewolf and clawed his way up through his bed. He had been three at the time. He couldn’t sleep more than a few hours a night for a month after that.

            For the longest time he had believed that he wasn’t worth the effort. That was the way his grandmother had made him feel. He knew that she cared for him in her own ways but would it have killed her to show it? He knew that he looked like his father but that wasn’t his fault. She was constantly comparing him to his father and it always made him feel less of himself. ‘When your father was your age, he could perform circles around you.’ ‘Your father would have gotten O’s’ ‘Your father never allowed bullies to get to him.’ ‘Why can’t you be like your father.’ ‘Sometimes I think that we took the wrong baby home from the hospital.’ It is hard to like yourself when you don’t have a good support system at home.

            Neville knew that his problem had been a lack of confidence. He had the skills inside of him the whole time but he just didn’t _believe_ in himself. Harry had been the one to show him that. Harry was the one who took the time to show him the correct ways to perform the spells. During the DA meetings he was always the last one to get a hang of the spells, he was embarrassed but Harry was never bothered by it. Never complaining or making him feel like a failure for not getting it quicker. There was just this sweet kindness to Harry that made Neville grateful that he had the pleasure of knowing him. Harry had given him the tools to be able to find his own confidence. There was a lot that he was thankful for to Harry.

            He looked over at the other person that Harry was with and he furrowed his brows trying to figure out who this was. He would have said Ron or Hermione except they never would have addressed him by his surname. Which ruled out Ginny too. The person obviously knew who he was but not well enough to call him by his first name. He was intrigued.

            Harry was pleasantly surprised to see Neville. He hadn’t seen him since the night of the battle. Neville had always been a sweet person. He felt a little guilty that he had never taken the time to get to know him as well as he would’ve liked. Harry could feel apprehension and guilt from the bond and he knew that Draco was thinking about all the times that he had messed with Neville. He wasn’t going to bother offering him any reassurance through the bond. Draco would have to make amends for this all on his own. He may have forgiven Draco but that didn’t mean that he approved of the way his soulmate had acted in the past.

            Draco bit his lip and looked at the floor. This was going to be an experience. Most likely a bad one. Merlin, he hadn’t expected to come across Longbottom. When he was younger he had bullied the poor guy. Longbottom had been such an easy target. That wasn’t an excuse but the guy just let them. Never fighting back or even saying a word against it. The biggest problem that he had had with Longbottom was that he was a pureblood that had no confidence. Purebloods should hold themselves with proper decorum and Longbottom did not do that. Draco sighed internally. He was listing his father’s teachings even in his mind. Why do purebloods have to have proper decorum at all times? If Longbottom wanted to act like he had, then what business did Draco have to object? As a kid he had been struggling with the morality of following what a proper Malfoy heir was supposed to be. It took him many years to realize that he was jealous of Longbottom. How come he had to behave certain ways but Longbottom didn’t? They were both purebloods. It wasn’t fair. Why did he have to have a father hell bent on destroying the Malfoy name by being a lackey of Voldemorts? Why didn’t Longbottom have to have the pressures of being a pureblood? Why didn’t Longbottom care about being an heir? Why did one pureblood get to have freedom while the other didn’t? It just wasn’t fair. So he had taken out his frustration out on Longbottom. It was a shitty excuse but that was why he had treated him so badly. In hindsight it was pretty shallow of him. Draco was wrestling with his guilt. He didn’t like knowing the things that he has done. It made him feel slightly unworthy of being with someone as wonderful and giving as Harry.

            Harry reached over and grabbed Draco’s hand firmly. He was surprised at the depths of self-loathing and guilt that his soulmate was feeling. He knew that Draco felt bad for all the things he had done to Neville and it warmed him up feeling it. If only other people could feel this then they would understand why he loved Draco so much. 

            Neville raised a brow at the show of affection before looking at Harry. “It’s so good to see you.” He was happy to have a chance to see him. He just wished it had been under better circumstances. “Will I be seeing you in a couple days?”

            Harry furrowed his brows in confusion. What was Neville talking about? “September first is in a couple days, angel.” Draco explained smiling fondly at him. Harry’s eyes widened. Had he really not been aware of the date? He did have to admit that finding ways to end the darkness had taken priority. It was odd thinking about Hogwarts. He used to long for September first to come around and it was odd that he hadn’t even been aware of it.

            Neville frowned at the voice. It was familiar but the kindness to it wasn’t something he was used to hearing. That was what was throwing him off. It was almost like the person wasn’t a nice person.

            Harry looked to Neville. “Sorry, but no. I will be studying for the N.E.W.T.S privately. We have some things that have to be taken care of before we go back. If I do come back it will be after our wedding.” Harry smirked as Neville’s jaw dropped and his eyes went wide.

            “You are getting married?” The surprise to his tone further amused Harry. He was having fun with this. He dropped his hand and pulled Draco into an embrace and wrapped his arms around Draco’s waist. “I sure am.” He kissed the side of Draco’s head, loving the faint blush that crept up on his face.

            Neville blinked at them a couple times as he tried processing this. He couldn’t remember Harry ever showing much enthusiasm when he was dating Ginny. He was pleased to see how happy Harry was.

            “So I take it this isn’t Ginny underneath a disguise?” He meant it as a teasing joke but was amused at the anger on the person’s face.

            Draco gasped slightly in outrage. Oh. No. He. Didn’t. “Weaslette? I have never been more insulted in my life.” He glared at Harry when he could feel his amusement. His glare intensified at the laughter that Harry was poorly covering up.

            Neville looked back and forth between them in interest. He knew he was missing a joke somewhere. He thought back to what the person said and his eyes widened comically.

            “Malfoy?” He choked out in surprise. He didn’t know anyone else who called Ginny that. The voice made sense. He had been right, it wasn’t a nice person.

            Draco turned to Neville in surprise. “Yes, indeed.”

            Neville was pretty sure that he was gaping but he thought that under the circumstances that it was alright. It wasn’t every day that your school bully is engaged to your closest friend. What on earth was Harry doing with Malfoy? Suddenly Luna’s words made sense. ‘Appearances can be deceiving. Sometimes forgiveness is the best revenge of all.’ Thinking about Luna made his gut clench. It put everything into perspective. What was the use of holding grudges when there were things that actually mattered? The world was filled with worse things out there than a silly bully.

            “Listen, Longbottom.” Draco began with a giant breath. “I just wanted to say that I am sorry for everything that I have done to you in the past. I was a foul git to you and you didn’t deserve it. At all. I don’t expect any forgiveness but I did want to let you know that I _am_ sorry. And to also let you know that I admire your strength.” Draco couldn’t look him in the eye after that, so he busied himself with looking at the horrid puce color of the tile floor. Whoever decorated this place seriously needed to be fired. Or hexed. Preferably the latter.

            Neville blinked rapidly. He had expected a half-baked apology. He hadn’t thought that Malfoy would actually own up to what he did. Luna was right. Appearances were _definitely_ deceiving.   

            “Thank you. I won’t pretend that we will just suddenly be okay but I appreciate the apology. And thanks for the compliment. A lot of people have been saying that lately about the sword but it is still nice to hear.” Neville replied watching the confusion mar Malfoy’s features.

            “Sword?” Draco asked in confusion. He was about to ask him what he was talking about but he remembered that Longbottom had killed Nagini with the sword. “Oh, that was admirable too. But that wasn’t what I was talking about.”

            Neville raised his brows in surprise. If that wasn’t what Malfoy meant, then he couldn’t think of anything else that it could be.

            “I was talking about during the school year, with the Carrows. What you did with the sword and the snake took a lot of bravery but it was war. People do all kinds of courageous things during war. But it takes a lot of bravery to speak out against injustice when you have no one to back you up. You constantly spoke up against the things that the Carrows were doing despite knowing that you were going to be punished. Fighting out was the minority. You were the voice of everyone who hated what was happening but couldn’t speak up themselves. That… is an incredible amount of strength. That is what I meant.” Draco said shyly as he noticed the incredulous look that Longbottom was giving him.

            Neville was pretty sure that he would need proof that this was Draco Malfoy. Perhaps they were just taking the mickey out of him. There was no way that Malfoy was saying this to him. At the time, he hadn’t thought what he was doing was brave. The things that were happening were wrong and someone needed to do something about it. Usually Harry was the one who spoke up but Harry was gone. There was no one to stand up for the rest of the school. So it was Neville’s responsibility.

            Harry couldn’t help it. “Merlin, I love you.” That was all the warning Draco got before Harry was kissing his face all over. He laughed loudly. “Harry.” He said through little laughs that he would deny ever being classified as giggles.

            Neville watched them with a small smile. He was still having a hard time convincing himself that this was actually happening but he loved seeing Harry so happy. He couldn’t ever remember seeing Malfoy smile before. He would have to see the man smile without a glamour charm for him to really believe that Malfoy could smile.  

            Neville reached out a hand to Malfoy. “I would like a chance to get to know you Draco.” He almost laughed at the gobsmacked look on Draco’s, that would take some getting used to, face. He needed to stop doubting Luna. She was once again right, forgiveness really can be the best revenge. If he had known that all it would take was for him to forgive Draco to get a look like that on his face, then he would have done it a long time ago.

            Draco was sure that he was hearing things. Longbottom was willing to start over despite the torment that he put him through? He had always known that the boy was nice but this was something else. It just made him feel even more guilty. He slowly reached out a hand and shook it firmly. “Thank you. I would like that too.” Neville could hear the sincerity and he smiled slightly.

            “Are you visiting your parents?” Harry asked when a comfortable silence settled around them.

            Neville nodded. “I was until they reeled in Luna.” The kindness that he had been using evaporated. He couldn’t believe that someone would do that to Luna. She was so sweet and gentle. Never said a negative word against anyone. Always willing to reach out and talk to anyone that she felt like they needed it. He noticed that Harry and Draco shared a look. He wondered what that was about.

            “How was she?” Harry asked gently. He knew that Neville and Luna were close friends and possibly more. He wasn’t sure.

            “As good as anyone can be in a situation like that. She didn’t even look upset at the whole situation. I don’t know how she does it.” There was a fond smile on his face and it made Harry smile in return.

            “She just kept telling the staff that they needed to switch out the plants in the rooms. Said that nargles had already infested them. To be fair, the Lavender Jewelweeds _were_ wilting.” Neville shook his head but his mouth was twitching. He admired her strength. He couldn’t imagine what he would have done in a situation like that.

            Harry was bummed that he hadn’t had an opportunity to talk to her and let her know that they knew where her eyes were being kept.

            “Oh!” Neville said as he pulled out something from his robes. “She told me to give this to you. That’s why I am still here. Don’t know how she knew you would be here. She did warn me that you would probably be in a disguise.” He had long ago given up hope at understanding how Luna knew the things she did.

            Harry took the letter from his hands and smiled at it. It was just like Luna to know that he was coming here. He performed a wandless detection charm on the letter and grinned at the fact that she put a protection charm on the parchment.

 

_Harry and Draco,_

_I am terribly sorry that I will not be there when you arrive. Do not worry about me. I am perfectly fine. You don’t need eyes to see the beauty of the world. I would have stayed behind and waited for you but the wild savstiums were calling me._

_Harry, I fear that you are once again in trouble. My heart aches for the injustice of no peace that life seems to give you. Follow your instincts. They won’t lead you astray. There will come a time when you are lost and don’t know what to do. My advice to you, is to let go. Just let it all go._

_Draco, love is a wondrous thing, don’t you think? Love is more powerful than a quantitavius approaching the full moon. Those who have never known love, are the ones whose love will shine brighter than the sun. Keep in mind that love can be a tool when you have nothing else to give._

_My eyes are safe where they are. I know the location. There will come a time when I will take them back but I am fine as I am right now. Sometimes you have to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes to figure out where they have come from. I will walk a different path than the one that was originally intended of me, to learn life lessons that would have previously eluded me._

_You both have my best wishes and all the luck that I can spare you. I will see you when you take care of the darkness permeating the light that I know is still there. Congratulations on the engagement. I will be at the wedding. Don’t worry, I already know the date._

_With much love,_

_Luna._   

 

            Draco spluttered slightly. “She knows the date? _We_ don’t even know the date.” He had always known that Luna was odd but he took her advice to heart. He wasn’t sure how to beat the darkness but he wasn’t going to count out his love for Harry helping in some way.

            Harry laughed but he wasn’t surprised. Luna did always seem to be aware of things that no one else was. He was a little stunned that she didn’t want to get her eyes immediately but that was her decision to make. He wouldn’t interfere on that. He wished she had been more clear on her advice. Letting go? What did that mean? How was letting go going to help them?

            Harry folded the letter and put it in his robes. “Thank you for waiting for me.” He told Neville. It meant a lot to him that Luna had stopped to write him a letter and it meant a lot that Neville was willing to wait for them to arrive.

            Neville waved away the gratitude. “No problem. I was happy for a chance to see you.” The smile on his face made Harry smile as well. He really had missed Neville. “Well I better head out, I have a lot of shopping to do before the first.” Neville said regretfully. “But I better receive an invitation to your wedding.” He warned.

            Harry grinned. “You will definitely get an invitation. It was nice seeing you.” Harry said with feeling.

            They said their goodbyes and Harry and Draco watched Neville leave. “Well that went well.” Draco spoke up after a minute of silence.

            Harry smiled before wrapping his arms around Draco. Now that he knew that Luna was okay, he was feeling a lot better. “Yeah it did.” Draco closed his eyes, loving Harry’s warmth surrounding him.

            “You two are still here?” They looked up and caught the same healer who had told them that Luna was gone, staring at them with distaste. “I already told you that your friend isn’t here.”

            Harry rolled his eyes. “We heard you the first time. We are just leaving.” They were halfway to the door when they heard a rude, ‘good’. Draco shook his head. “You know, I think that I will have my father stop donating money here. I hear that St. Agnos in France has staff with _actual_ beside manners.” Draco smirked when he heard spluttering behind him.

            They waited till they were out of the room before laughing. “You know, I think I like it when you are mean too.” Harry mused.

            Draco had a wicked glint to his eyes that made Harry shiver in anticipation. “Is that so?” Harry could feel the interest oozing through the bond. He cleared his throat. “I think this conversation is better suited at home.” Harry finally said.

            Draco smirked. “Lead the way.” Harry furrowed his brows but walked back to the direction of the floos. Draco usually walked beside him not behind him, he shook his head trying to make sense of it all. He was almost to the main lobby when he stopped walking. “You just wanted to ogle my arse!” He accused. Draco laughed warmly. “Can you blame me love? You have such a nice arse.”

            Harry grinned despite of himself and made his way to the floo. They ignored the glares from the Welcome Witch. Looked like she was still pissy. Oh well. Harry sped up and quickly threw in the powder before Draco caught up to him. Draco reached the floo just as it whisked Harry away. The last thing Draco saw was Harry sticking his tongue at him before his lover was gone. He arched a brow before smirking ferally. He would just have to show Harry much better uses of his tongue than for childish purposes. With many lustful images floating around his brain, he settled into the floo and eagerly waited to be taken home.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this chapter wasn't as long as yesterdays but that is okay. 
> 
> What did you all think? I thought about having Luna be there but I liked this idea much better. Plus I wanted to add in Neville. 
> 
> What did you guys think of Neville, by the way. I have always liked Neville. I think that having him forgive Draco was something that he would do. Also, Draco's apology was kind of sweet. I think him being jealous of Neville isn't that hard of a concept either. I mean Neville literally has NONE of the same shite that Draco had to live up to. But at the same time, it wasn't like Neville had some fabulous life either. Appearances can be deceiving. 
> 
> I had a lot of fun with the rude staff members. I am not implying that hospitals are always like that. But I have had my share of unpleasant circumstances at hospitals. 
> 
> What did you think of Luna's letter and her advice? I think my favorite part was her knowing the date to their wedding. 
> 
> Not too much in this chapter but sometimes it is nice to have a simple chapter after so much drama of the past few chapters. 
> 
> Let me know what you thought of this chapter. 
> 
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	72. First Contact

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A couple things before you get into this chapter. Smut warning. There will be a bolded (*) signifying when the smut starts and ends. 
> 
> Here is a little tid bit about myself. I am a HUGE procrastinator. You wouldn't think that someone who writes daily chapters would be, but I am. I don't think that my smut is very good so every time it comes to writing it, I take forever to get it done. (No, I am not fishing for compliments. That is my general opinion.) It is like part of me foolishly hopes that by putting it off it will magically go away. *Sigh* I wish. But it has finally been finished. So the reason this chapter is late is because I suck at writing smut. Haha sorry! But to make up for it, this chapter is over 6k words. Ehh that has to count for something, right?
> 
> Also, it has been brought to my attention that I have been spelling Grimmauld Place wrong. Well... that is embarrassing. *Shrugs sheepishly*

            As soon as Harry landed, on the floor, he quickly scrambled up and hid behind the couch. This was the one instance that he was glad he was smaller than average.

            “Harry what are y-” Harry shushed Sirius as he poked his head up. “I am hiding from Draco.”

            Sirius was positive that he didn’t want to know. This just screamed too much information. He was thankful that he had an extra painting inside Gringotts or he would have been forced to listen to all of their sexual encounters. Merlin, they had no shame where or when they began. He had to wonder if they even remembered that he was in the living room most of the time. He himself had been very active at their ages but it was never like _that_. Although he hadn’t been in a serious relationship either.

            Harry quickly dropped his head as he heard the whoosh of the fireplace. He was sure that his heart was beating too fast to be considered healthy but he couldn’t help it. There was a thrill at hiding. It was almost as if he was Draco’s prey.

            Draco narrowed his eyes as he looked around the living room. He stepped out of the fireplace and put his hands on his hips. He could feel the excitement from the bond and it filled him with anticipation.

            “Harry?” Draco called softly. If Harry thought he could hide from him than he was gravely mistaken. He wasn’t a Slytherin for no reason. He felt a flutter come from Harry and he grinned. Gotcha. That meant that Harry was close enough to hear his soft call.

            Harry could feel satisfaction and he cursed inwardly. He had somehow given something away. He wasn’t sure how Draco figured whatever it was out. He could hear footsteps and he covered his mouth with his hands.

            Draco looked up and saw Sirius watching him with amusement. “Dearest cousin of mine, you wouldn’t happen to know where my fiancé is, would you?” Sirius arched a brow at the flattering tone but he smiled.

            Harry narrowed his eyes dangerously. If Sirius gave him away he was so going to put his godfather in Kreacher’s sleeping quarters. He would even give Kreacher permission to test paint thinner on the painting.

            Sirius considered his options. He could give Harry away but he was positive that Harry would do something awful to him. He could always request to be taken to Remus’s for a little while to get away from whatever Harry could do to him. But at the same time, he liked the idea of Draco having to find Harry all on his own. “I think he ran upstairs.”

            Draco scoffed. “Liar.” That’s fine. If Sirius didn’t want to tell him than that was just fine with him. He would find Harry on his own. It would make it that much more worth it in the end. Sirius arched a brow, wondering how Draco knew that Harry wasn’t upstairs.

            Harry breathed a sigh of relief that Sirius hadn’t given him away. Draco smirked widely at the relief in the bond. So Harry could hear them. That narrowed it down to the living room. He had briefly considered the kitchen. That might have been plausible since it wasn’t too far away but he had a hunch about the living room.

            “You know my love, you should probably have dimmed the bond. Your emotions give you away.” Draco told him as he looked all around the room trying to discover just where his lover could be. There were a lot of options, surprisingly enough. There was a side closet that was standing out in his mind but that was just a tad too obvious. There were many chairs that he could be behind or even the couch.

            Harry cursed inwardly. He had been so caught up in the fun of it all that he didn’t stop to consider the bond. He felt rather silly now, of course his emotions had given him away. He heard footsteps getting closer to him and his heart rate sped up. Harry tried to block out his growing excitement from the bond but he wasn’t sure if he succeeded.

            Draco decided to look in the closet first, despite his previous doubts. Just because he knew it was the obvious choice didn’t mean that Harry did. When he felt a small amount of trepidation and excitement leak through he knew he was at least getting warmer. He opened the door and peered inside. There was hardly anything in the closet except a few coats and some umbrellas. There was nowhere for Harry to hide even if he had wanted to. He narrowed his eyes at the amusement from Harry.

            “Oh, you think it is funny, do you?” Draco whirled around and squinted. Well if Harry wanted to play then Draco was going to prove that he was a force to be reckoned with. Draco waved both his hands and all of the furniture in the room left the walls they were up against and slid into the middle of the room in a pile.

            Harry didn’t even have time to register what had just happened before Draco’s shadow was looming over him.

            “I win.” Draco declared smugly. Harry blinked up at him before pouting. “Not fair. You so cheated.”

            Draco hauled Harry up and pushed him up against the wall. “It isn’t cheating if no rules were established.” He pointed out before lowering his head to nip at Harry’s jaw. He felt a shiver go through him and Draco smirked.

            Sirius shook his head and quickly vacated his painting. He _knew_ it was something he wouldn’t have wanted to know about.

**(*)**

            Harry’s mind started to wander as Draco began sucking at his neck and nibbling his skin. He vaguely hoped that Sirius had the decency to leave. He wasn’t one for voyeurism but he sure wasn’t going to stop Draco. It felt _way_ too good.

            Draco relished all of the little moans and gasps that Harry released. He loved how responsive his lover was. Harry was impatient and just vanished their clothes so that he could feel Draco’s skin on his own. He jumped up and wrapped his legs around Draco’s waist and moaned that the movement brought their hard members in contact.

            Draco hissed at the friction before gently lowering Harry on the rug in front of the fireplace. He reverently ran his fingers up and down his lover’s body as his lips found Harry’s neck.

            When his fingers gently rubbed across Harry’s nipples, Harry released a loud breathy moan. “You like that?” Draco whispered before lowering his mouth to the opposite nipple, while he pinched and rolled the already hard nub.

            Harry knew that it was a rhetorical question but it didn’t stop the pleasured, “Yes!” from escaping his mouth. “It feels so good.” He could feel Draco’s other hand roaming all around his skin. Everywhere that those wicked hands touched, left behind a warm sensation of fire. It was hot on his skin and he _loved_ it.

            Draco chuckled around the hard nipple in his mouth. He swirled his tongue around it before lifting his mouth and smirking at the already glazed expression on Harry’s face. He loved doing this to him. Loved being the one who got to see him like this.

            Harry groaned impatiently. He wanted to feel more of Draco’s mouth and his hands on his body. He rolled his hips up, trying to gain some friction for his aching cock. Draco pulled back quickly so that Harry only made contact with the air. He smirked when he felt frustration from the bond.

            With a warning glance to Harry to keep his hips still he leaned over and began trailing his tongue on every possible inch of skin that he could see. “This is what you get.” Draco pointed out. “You stuck your tongue out at me and I am just showing you that there are much more pleasurable ways that tongues can be used.”

            If this was the punishment that he got for sticking his tongue out at Draco then he would be doing it a lot more.

            Draco began sucking dark bruises into Harry’s skin. He knew how much Harry loved looking at them after the fact.

            Harry arched against Draco and moaned when he began biting and sucking his skin. When he began to bite into his thighs, Harry was sure that Draco was torturing him. Harry tightened his thighs around Draco’s head indicating that he wanted more. He felt a huff of amusement against his thigh but he didn’t care. He was really gagging for more and he needed Draco badly.

            Draco decided to let Harry have his way. He lowered his head and ran the tip of his tongue against the leaking head of Harry’s dick. He gave a tentative lick to the small pearl of liquid that had formed at the top. He loves the taste of Harry. Can’t get enough.

            Harry tried arching into the warmth that he knew was _right_ there but Draco held his hips firmly. He was forced to take the gentle licks. The barely there pressure was driving him insane.

            Draco ignored the frustration from the bond and only focused on the pleasure that he wants to give Harry. He swirled his tongue around the swollen head twice before swallowing him in one go.

            Harry nearly screamed at the sudden hot, wet warmth surrounding him. Oh it felt so good. Draco was a cock sucking gift sent from the heavens.

            Draco loved the firm weight of the hard length against his tongue. He loves the way his mouth stretches wide to accommodate the girth of the thick cock. He loves the way Harry comes unhinged by just his mouth. It is one of his favorite things to do. He slowly lifted his head and gave the tip one last lick before he made his way downward and sucked each of Harry’s balls into his mouth, tonguing them gently. He could hear Harry moaning, could feel him writhing. He kept one hand on the boy’s cock, slowly stroking him.

            Harry tried lifting himself up so that he could see Draco but it was so hard with how much pleasure he was experiencing. He threw his head back and gave up on trying to focus on Draco. He covered his eyes with one of his arms and let himself enjoy the experience.

            Draco pulled his hand away and sunk his mouth back down Harry’s velvety hard shaft. He used the hand that had been holding onto Harry and put it to good use, down at Harry’s balls. He gently rolled them in his hand and loved the way it made Harry twitch. He knew that there was no way he was going to manage to stop sucking Harry. So he used his free hand to grip his own cock.

            When Draco moaned around his dick, Harry forced himself up and he nearly came at the sight of Draco jerking himself off. That image would forever remain in his mind.

            Draco hallowed his cheeks and tightened his lips around Harry and began bobbing his head up and down, his tongue dragging against the underside of Harry’s cock.

            “Draco.” Harry moaned over and over again. “So close. I am so close.” Draco began doubling his efforts on both Harry’s shaft and his own as he fucked into his fist.

            Harry could feel his muscles tensing and he knew his climax was fast approaching. His entire body grew rigid and he shouted Draco’s name as he came shooting down his throat.

            Draco moaned as the spurts hit the back of his throat and it was enough to drive him over the edge. He came hard into his own fist, breathing heavily as he let Harry’s now softened member slip out of his mouth.

            Harry was incredibly spent and nearly boneless but he forced himself into a sitting position and grabbed hold of Draco’s messy palm and cleaned it with his mouth.

**(*)**

            Draco groaned at the sight. “You are trying to kill me.” It was a statement not a question. Harry laughed in delight. “But what a way to go.” Draco shook his head and apparated them to their bed. It showed how tired Harry was that he didn’t even gripe about the warning-less apparation.

            As soon as Harry’s head hit the pillow, he was out instantly. Draco shook his head in disbelief but settled down next to his lover and reveled in the warmth that Harry always seemed to radiate.    

 

                                                   **~.........~.........~.........~.........~.........~**

 

 

            There was some lucid part of him that **knew** he was dreaming but it was still nice to just enjoy the way the dream was playing out.

_“Daddy!” A little voice shrieked out. Harry looked down to see his beautiful daughter staring up at him with wide green eyes. The sun shining made her pale blonde hair almost shine. The poor girl’s hair was going in so many different directions that she appeared to have been rolling around on the floor. But he knew that was just the way her hair seemed to be._

_Harry picked her up and she immediately buried her face in his neck. He tried taming her hair the best he could with his fingers but she lifted her head to glare at him, something she picked up from her father and not him. “Daddy you are ruining it!” She scolded him the best that a four-year-old can. He shook his head, he never could understand how she can like having the wild mess of her almost rats nest._

_“Sorry but I had to get out some tangles.” He said with a smile. “Where is your brother?” He looked around expecting to see his son close by. The twins were never far from each other. Usually, she was the one who got her brother in trouble most of the time._

_“He got caught by father! That’s why I ran to you. You’ll protect me, right?” Her pleading was always one of his weaknesses. He could never say no to her. “Of course I will.” He promised as he zipped up his jacked over the both of them and tucked her head in._

_It was good timing too because no sooner had she settled in, did Draco come around the corner carrying their son, who was laughing so hard that his slicked back black hair was unraveling. His grey eyes were shining with happiness. He marveled at how opposite his children were. His daughter was the wild one, as wild as her hair. She was always wanting to do something or go somewhere. She couldn’t sit still to save her life. Her brother on the other hand took after Draco’s dignified ways. He was proper, always ready to listen to instructions and liked showing the proper decorum. Despite how different they were, they were inseparable. Always together even though they argued constantly about each other’s faults._

_“Hello my love.” Draco greeted him with a gentle kiss. “You wouldn’t happen to know where our lovely daughter is, would you?” There was a little giggle that escaped his jacket and they both grinned at each other._

_“I haven’t. I thought she was off playing.” Harry lied easily. He could feel the amusement through the bond._

_“Father! Daddy is lying.” Their son piped up with a knowing smirk that was identical to Draco’s. “She is in there!” He pointed at the human shaped bulge in his jacket._

_Harry gasped in mock surprise. “Whaaaat! I am wounded that you would think so little of me.” Another giggle from the jacket._

_“You know.” Draco began with a grin. “I think that he makes a fair point. Your jacket is quite larger than normal.” Harry couldn’t hold in the grin when his daughter started laughing. “I think that **is** just who we are looking for. Unless you are trying to hint at something? Perhaps another baby?”_

_His daughter shoved her head up, which caused his zipper to break off and the jacket to open. “A baby?” Both their children said at the same time with wide eyes. Harry knew that Draco had meant it as a joke but he couldn’t stop the emotions he was feeling leaking through the bond. He watched his husband’s eyes widen before he blinked rapidly._

_“Harry?” Harry melted at the wonder in his voice. He couldn’t speak but he nodded his head. Three identical gasps could be heard and suddenly he was wrapped up in Draco’s arms, with their children between them._

_“Why didn’t you tell me?” Draco asked through kisses. They ignored their children’s protests at the public display of affection. Harry smiled slightly. “I only found out yesterday and I wanted to surprise you.”_

_Draco laughed warmly. “Well I am surprised. No doubt about that.” He could feel the overwhelming happiness through the bond and Harry couldn’t stop the smiles._

_“I don’t believe it. I am going to be a sister!” Their daughter said in excitement as she clapped her hands._

_“You already are.” Their son pointed out with furrowed brows._

_“Yeah but this time I will get to be a sister to someone important.” Draco snorted in surprise that he quickly tried to mask as a cough._

_“I don’t like you.”_

_“Don’t lie. You love me.”_

_Harry and Draco smiled fondly as the two began arguing back and forth. If he didn’t know how much they loved each other he would worry about them when they got older. They set their children down on the floor and watched them walk away._

_“I bet Daddy will give birth to a girl.”_

_“No way. I say it will be a boy.” Their son argued._

_“I hope it is a girl. Then I will get to do all of the things with her that you refuse to do with me. I can do her hair and dress her up any way that I want.” She gushed in excitement. She paused when she noticed that her brother wasn’t following her._  

            _Harry frowned as his son began biting his lip. He exchanged a curious look with his husband._

_“But… you will still be my best friend… right?” Harry blinked at the self-conscious question. He wasn’t ever like that._

_His daughter must have thought the same thing because she just stared at him for a bit before she pulled him into a hug. “I will **always** be your best friend. No one can even compare to you. It will be me and you forever.” _

_“Forever?” He whispered shyly._

_“Forever and ever.” She retorted with a smile as she pulled away from the hug but entwined their fingers together._

_“I could do some of that stuff with you.” He said slowly with wrinkled brows. Harry raised his own in surprise. That was new._

_His daughter grinned. “You will let me dress you up?” The excitement and disbelief in her voice was obvious._

_He grimaced slightly. “Alright. But don’t touch my hair.” His son retorted as he began making sure his hair was still slicked in place. She grinned impossibly bigger. “Deal. Oh! You are the best brother ever.” She announced before dragging him away._

_“I am your only brother.” He pointed out but the pleased flush on his face gave him away._

_Harry sighed happily as he watched them go around the corner and out of his sight. He really did have wonderful children. He placed a hand on his belly where in a couple months it would be a little bulge. He couldn’t wait. He couldn’t wait for their little family to grow bigger._   

            _He turned his head to the side so he could look at Draco but he screamed when instead of Draco there was black mist surrounding everything. He looked back to check on his kids but everything was gone. He was above and below the mist. Inside it and all around it. There was no way out. He couldn’t see his own hand in front of his face. The part of him that remembered this was just a dream tried to wake him up but nothing was working. He tried calling for Draco, hoping that something would show through the bond but nothing was happening. He was trapped in this endless dark mist._

Draco wasn’t sure what woke him up. He hadn’t been dreaming about anything that he can remember. He felt weird and sluggish. Like that he was coming down with something. Draco frowned at an emptiness that was permeating his body. He tried to reach out to Harry through the bond but there was nothing. He sat up in a panic and looked to the other side of the bed.

            He let out a sigh of relief when Harry was still there, sleeping away. Draco wasn’t sure why he couldn’t feel the bond. This wasn’t something that usually happens when they sleep. He narrowed his eyes when he noticed that Harry wasn’t breathing. He quickly lifted two fingers to his neck to check his pulse. He almost sobbed in relief at the steady thumping he could feel against his fingers. As soon as his hand made contact with Harry’s skin his lover’s eyes opened.

            Draco let out a horrified whimper at the black eyes that were staring at nothing in particular. He made to move his hand away but one of Harry’s gripped him in place.

            “I will not harm you.” Draco frowned at the gentle way the darkness was speaking to him. It was a completely different way than it had spoken to him just yesterday.

            “The host needs you to survive. You shall be saved.” Draco blinked a couple times hoping that he was still dreaming.

            “Is he alright?” He tentatively asked. The darkness didn’t answer him. Harry’s lids closed once more and silence broke out in the room. Draco debated calling his father but decided to see what would happen.

            _“Do not struggle.” Harry froze when he recognized the voice. It was almost like his own but deeper and deadly. The black mist suddenly made sense. This was the darkness. It had somehow entered his dreams and took over._

_“Not exactly. We showed you what can be possible if you let us do what must be done.”_

_Harry frowned. He hadn’t spoken out loud. “You can read my mind?” He was horrified. He wondered if the darkness had been doing that since the beginning._

_“We can and we do. You are our host. It is imperative that we know what host is thinking.” It was odd talking to something that was all around him._

_“Who is we?” He asked trying to think of something to say about the darkness reading his mind. If that was true than it would know that they have been actively looking for ways to get rid of it._

_“We are one. We are the lives that have been lost.” Harry’s eyes widened. **All** of the lives that went into the false stone were what made up the darkness?_

_“Yes. All of us are here. We have merged into one collective. Host cannot get rid of us no matter how hard you try. There is no magic to contain us and nothing to bind us any longer. We have fed off of host's deformity and now have extended past the capabilities of magic.”_

_Harry was panicking slightly at this. He was so in over his head. Suddenly finding a way to get rid of the darkness seemed impossible. “What do you mean deformity?” He was a little offended by that._

_“There was darkness already inside of host when we entered. The deformity was leaching off of host. We needed life to sustain our being so we took it from the deformity instead of host. You are too light to have been able to feed us. The deformity was just the kind of darkness that we needed to survive.”_

_Harry was mildly concerned over the fact the darkness seemed to have fed off of the piece of Voldemort’s soul. That was a scary thought. Did that mean that the Horcrux could have influenced the darkness?_

_“We are not easily taken over. The deformity did not change our will.” Harry rolled his eyes. The darkness reading his mind was going to take some getting used to._

_“What is it that you want? How do I get you out of me?” He was willing to entertain the notion of a peaceful negotiation. He wasn’t sure about Severus’s plan anyways._

_“We want revenge. We want to show our makers just what it is that they have done to us.” There was pure evil in the tone and it made Harry shiver._

_“You want to kill the Flamels?” Harry asked in surprise. He would have thought that the darkness would **want** to go back to them. _

_“Do not speak their name in our presence!” The booming voice pierced his ears making him wince. “Alright!” Harry yelled as he covered his ears. “I won’t say it again.”_

_The darkness seemed to settle right down. “We are dark in nature but that does not mean that we are evil. The world is filled with more in betweens that you are aware of.” Harry nodded his head. That was something that he believed in as well._

_“We do not appreciate what our makers have done to us. We do not appreciate being turned into what we are. We want revenge. We want to make them suffer the same fate. We **will** take them over and we **will** destroy them.” There was a finality to the promise that left no doubt in Harry’s mind that they would succeed. _

_“What is stopping you?” He asked the question that had been bothering him from the moment they spoke of getting rid of the Fla- their makers._

_“We need host to take us to them. Once we leave your body we will not be able to return. We have one shot at doing this and we cannot afford for things to go wrong.”_

_Harry bit his lip as he thought this over. “Why can’t you do what is necessary from Finneus’s body?”_

_He watched as the darkness seemed to move around as if it were nervous. “Temptation is one of life’s hardships. Host has no darkness to feed off of. If we were to be placed inside of maker’s son then we might not succeed. He has such darkness inside of him and it calls to us. His darkness could tempt us against what we need to do.”_

_Harry let out a surprised huff of air. That actually made sense in a way. “If you needed my help then why did you not just tell me? And why did you kill Draco?” He watched as the darkness shifted uneasily all around him and he thought it was slightly endearing._

_“We need darkness to grow stronger but host has none. But when host gets angry it fuels us in ways similar to actual darkness. We did not have the power to make contact with you until now. Host had not given us sufficient anger before. We do not like the bond that host shares with his life mate. It is not your mate that we dislike. It is the bond. The bond will make it too easy for host's mate to know what we are doing. The bond is always watching us. We meant to attack the bond. We did not think that it would kill him. We are sorry.”_

_Harry furrowed his brows as he thought this over. “Why did you tell him that you could kill him yesterday?”_

_“We were talking about the bond. We could have killed him but we wouldn’t have. Host needs life mate to survive.”_

_“Why do I need him to survive? We haven’t completed the ritual that will tie us together.” Harry was confused as to what the darkness was talking about._

_“Host does not need a ritual to tie him to his mate. Host and his mate have been woven throughout time many lives over. Host is incomplete without his mate. If he dies then host will surely follow.”_

_Harry wasn’t sure what to think about this. He had wondered why him and Draco keep sharing their lives together. He didn’t want to live without Draco so it didn’t really matter to him why they were tied together._

_“How do you plan on getting rid of your makers once we reach them?” Harry asked, ignoring the bit about him and Draco. He just wanted his body back. He wanted to know that he wouldn’t accidentally harm Draco again. He wanted the darkness gone. He would do anything to make it happen._

_“Host will leave that to us to worry about.” Harry frowned at the response. “How do I know that I can trust you?” What if this was some elaborate scheme to get the darkness in the hands of their makers?_

_The darkness shifted rapidly all around him. Harry knew that it was angry at his statement. He was about to say something but there was a space that was clearing and he gasped when walked towards it and could see hundreds of people._

_It wasn’t the people that surprised him. It was their appearance. They looked to be near death. All of them had wounds that were bleeding. Some of them were obviously wizards by their attire but some of them looked like muggles. There was no preference in body type. There were women and men of all ages. Some even children. The thought alone made his stomach churn._

_Harry was about to ask who all of these people were when he made eye contact with a little girl. She looked no older than six. As soon as their eyes connected he flashed into a memory._

_**‘I just want my mummy.’ Alyce cried out as her vision blurred. Where was she? Why were these people harming her? She screamed when her hand was cut open and her blood went into a stone.**_

**_‘Couldn’t you have gagged her or at least charmed her to be quiet?’ Alyce looked over and noticed that it was a lady who spoke. If she had been hoping that the lady would be nicer than the mean man with the knife, then she was wrong._ **

**_‘Don’t look at me you filthy muggle.’ The lady slapped her so hard that her head made contact with the stone and her brain went fuzzy. The last thing she could remember was wondering what a muggle was._ **

**** _Harry could feel tears stinging his eyes as he looked at the little girl. He looked away and realized that that was a mistake because his eyes locked onto an old man who looked to be around 50._

_**‘You won’t get away with this. The Ministry will come looking for me.’ Edmund warned as two men began leading him to a stone alter. He knew there was no point in arguing. He knew with a sinking heart that he was about to die. He thought of his three grandchildren with a heavy sadness. He wanted to see them have children of their own. But at least he would get to see his late wife.**_

**_‘Ha! The Ministry won’t even know that you are missing.’ A man with brown sinister eyes promised him. Edmund eyed the dagger that the man was holding and he arched a brow. He fought in the Succubus wars, these people here didn’t scare him. That was the last thing he had been able to concentrate on as the knife began sliding into his skin._ **

_Harry shook his head and cleared the memory away. He turned around hoping that distance would make a difference. He screamed when he came face to face with a woman in her early twenties._

_**‘Please don’t do this. I have five children at home who need me.’ Edith begged as she thought of her children who were waiting on her.**_

**_‘That is not our problem. Perhaps you should have kept your legs closed.’ Edith whimpered as another cut sliced into her wrist. She glared at the teenager who said that._ **

**_‘I am the only parent they have.’ She refused to think about the father of her children who had abandoned them for his mistress._ **

**_‘Again, that is not our problem.’ This cut was pressed in harder than all of the others. She opened her mouth to say something but the teenager dragged the knife right into her throat and pain was the last thing she could remember._ **

**** _Harry looked around him and whimpered when he realized that he was surrounded by people. There were bodies everywhere, they all wanted their story to be told. “Please stop. I don’t want to see anymore.” Harry begged as he fell to his knees. There was a whisper of wind and when he looked up they were all gone._

_“Does host understand now? We want justice for what has happened to us all. We do not want to go back to our makers for anything other than revenge. We cannot after what has been done to us.”_

_Harry nodded his head. “Alright. I believe you. What do you want me to do?” There was one big movement and Harry got the impression it was in relief._

_“Host needs to get the makers whereabouts and deliver us to them. We will handle the rest.”_

_Harry arched a brow. “That is all?” It didn’t seem like he needed to do much at all._

_“Host’s life mate will not like this. Host may have to lie to him.” Harry’s gut churned at the thought of lying to Draco. He would just have to make Draco see that this was the best way to get rid of the darkness._

_He shook his head. “Draco will know if I lie.” He pointed out. The darkness moved again, only he wasn’t sure what it meant this time._

_“We can help mask the lie through the bond. If we enter a small amount than we can fool the life mate.” Harry already felt guilty just thinking about it. He didn’t like this at all._

_“If host can convince life mate then we will not need to interfere.” The darkness reassured. Harry bit his lip but nodded. He would just have to convince Draco. It should be easy, right?_

_“Your life mate is worried about you. We will let you have control again.” Harry didn’t like the way they were giving him permission to take control over his own body._

_“Before you do that.” The darkness seemed to move, Harry figured it was in curiosity. “What did you mean when you said that you were showing me what could be possible? Wasn’t that just a dream?”_

_Harry could have sworn he heard a chuckle but he must have been imagining that. “Host will have that once makers are taken care of. Host’s future is already written out. Even we can see it.”_

_Harry smiled widely at the thought that what he had been dreaming could actually come true. His children had been beautiful. “Thank you.” He whispered._

Harry snapped his eyes open and realized that he was holding onto Draco’s hand. He gasped when he felt the bond come back full force. He turned his head and smiled at the sight of those worried grey eyes.

            Draco threw himself at Harry in relief. Those beautiful green eyes were staring at him. The darkness was once again locked away.

            “I was so worried about you.” Draco said through kisses. Harry smiled and drank up all of the kisses to his face.

            “I know. The darkness told me.” Draco pulled away and looked at Harry in alarm. Partly at the statement but also at the lack of reaction from the bond. Why wasn’t Harry freaking out?

            “You talked to it? It told me that it wasn’t going to harm me and that I will be saved.” Despite the reassuring statement, Draco was more worried than he ever had been before. The darkness had enough strength to take over Harry while they slept. What was stopping it from taking over completely?

            “It doesn’t want to be put inside Finneus. The darkness wants to enact revenge on the Flamels for what they have done to it.” Harry could see the confusion in his face so he began explaining everything that had happened.

            Draco’s brows had steadily rose by the time his lover was done talking. The story sounded too good to be true. It just didn’t make sense. Why would something as powerful as the darkness need Harry to find the Flamels? Couldn’t it find them on its own? If it hadn’t taken Harry over he might have considered believing it but it all sounded like a giant ruse.

            Harry could see the doubt on Draco’s face and his heart sunk. He needed Draco to believe him.

            “Harry, tell me you aren’t buying into what it is saying?” Draco begged. He himself wanted to believe the darkness but that was just the thing. It was the darkness for a reason. It had been actively working against them since the beginning. It killed him for fucks sake!

            “I want to. It even showed me our kids.” Draco smiled sadly at that. He would have loved to see what Harry’s dream of their future children looked like but he didn’t believe for one moment that the darkness had told him the truth.

            Harry could see that nothing he said was going to change his mind. _‘We will mask the emotions, host.’_ Harry’s eyes widened but that was all the surprise he let his face show. He thought it over quickly before thinking his approval. He knew that he needed to do this. This was the right plan. This was the way they were going to get rid of the darkness. He _knew_ it.

            Draco frowned when he felt something odd in the bond but before he could really begin to explore it, it was gone. “I just wish you would believe that I know what I am doing.” Harry said not meeting Draco’s eyes.

            Draco sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “Right. Like the last time you said that to me.” He winced when he felt such pain through the bond.

            Harry’s eyes filled tears as he looked to Draco. “I can’t believe you are bringing up that day. You may have been right about the Flamels but you are wrong about this.” Harry stood up rapidly as he wiped his tears. “I will do the stupid ritual.” He lied easily.

            “Harry.” Draco began, blinking back his own tears. Harry summoned a robe and put in on before heading to the door. “No. Fuck you.” He slammed the door on his way out. He made it to the couch before he broke down in tears.

            Draco covered his face with his hands. He could feel the pain in the bond calling out to him. He wished he hadn’t said anything. He just wanted Harry to understand the similarities. This was a bad idea and he knew it.

            When he was able to control his emotions he sat up and stared at the wall. ‘ _The ritual is tomorrow.’_ Harry reminded the darkness in his mind. _‘We have a plan.’_   The darkness responded. Harry spent the next couple of hours sitting on the couch listening to the darkness go over what they would do tomorrow. It was a nice distraction from the hurt that he was feeling. It was almost like betrayal. He could feel the guilt and regret from the bond and he appreciated that but it wasn’t going to take what Draco said back. It wasn’t going to make it any better to know that his soulmate didn’t trust his judgement.

            Sleep was something that eluded both of the occupants in the house for the remainder of the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So lots of things to talk about for this chapter. 
> 
> First off, you don't have to comment on the smut unless you feel like it. :) I know it wasn't anything full on or anything that you are used to but I felt like being a little different than my normal smut. 
> 
> Now what are your thoughts on the dream of his children? Oh I just swooned heavily. May have harmed myself on the way down. No worries, I am fine. I do realize that I did not name those kids. There is a reason for that. No I won't tell you it. :P Do you think the darkness was telling the truth about his dream being a hint into his future? Who else loved the idea of twins? I adored the little girl and all of her sass. 
> 
> Ignoring the fight for just a moment. Are you on Draco's side or are you on Harry's side? Do you believe that the darkness is using Harry to get back to his masters? Or do you think that the darkness really does want revenge. I can see where Draco is coming from just as much as I can see where Harry is coming from. The darkness did just threaten to kill Draco hours previously and now it is saying that it wants to help? Seems fishy. But at the same time... those memories are pretty compelling. I can see why Harry is putting his eggs in that basket. I want to know which side you are on. Side Harry! Or side Draco! 
> 
> I do not like my sweet boys fighting. It just tears me up inside but this was necessary. How many of you are not happy with Harry allowing the darkness to filter through the bond to hide emotions? I want to go into some details with that. Imagine a coffee machine. You put in the filters and the coffee. The hot water hits the coffee and saturates it till the flavor flows down through the filter but leaves behind the grounds. That is essentially what is happening. The darkness is taking those emotions that Harry is releasing and only letting the parts that it wants to flow through the bond. Leaving behind the emotional coffee grounds if you will. Does that make sense? He isn't fabricating emotions, he is just covering them up. 
> 
> Did anyone catch the Star Trek reference with the title of the chapter? No? It was just me. Haha that is okay. 
> 
> I would love to hear your thoughts on this chapter. As it does change a lot of things. 
> 
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	73. Plan Plus One

            Everyone was sitting in the think room waiting on Harry and Draco. It wasn’t like the two of them to be late. Lucius was worried that something had happened to them since yesterday.

            “Has anyone heard from either of them?” Narcissa asked biting her lip. She was panicking a little as more time went by and they were a no show. Everyone shook their head in reply.  

            “They mentioned going to see Luna yesterday.” Remus pointed out. That was the last time that any of them had had any contact with them. His werewolf instincts were kicking in, he wanted to make sure his pack was safe and sound. Remus was itching to hold his son but he had asked Andromeda to watch Teddy for today. This was not an environment that his son should be around.

            Fred and George shared a look. “I wonder how that went.” They said at the same time. They really didn’t know Luna that well but she seemed like a nice girl. Back in their fifth year they had been doing a prank on the teacher’s lounge and Luna had walked out of it and told them that filch was going to arrive in _exactly_ one minute. They had hightailed it right out of there. It wasn’t until they were safe in Gryffindor tower that they wondered why she was in the teacher’s lounge to begin with.   

            “Probably really weirdly.” Pansy said honestly. She wasn’t being negative it was just that any instance she had ever come across Lovegood had been a weird one. Blaise nodded in agreement. He could still remember in his third year that Lovegood warned him to study an obscure reference for History of Magic. It wouldn’t have been weird if she had said it in passing but he was on the toilet… in the men’s restroom. He had been so startled by a girl’s voice that he had readily agreed just to shut her up. Luckily the whole thing had been so weird that he figured it wouldn’t hurt to listen to her. Turned out that was exactly what his next test had been about.

            “She wasn’t there.” They looked up in relief to see Harry and Draco.

            Lucius narrowed his eyes at the vibe they were giving off. Something was wrong. He could tell by their faces, not to mention they were standing at least a foot a part from each other. This was surprising considering that they were always touching one another. Almost to the point of being indecent. He looked around the room and saw that he wasn’t the only one who had taken notice. It looked like the entire group had realized that something was wrong.

            Harry sat down in the nearest chair and pretended that he couldn’t see the worried looks that everyone was giving them. His day had been a long one and it wasn’t even almost over with yet. Draco had tried talking to him but Harry wasn’t feeling it yet. His heart still hurt that Draco couldn’t trust him. The tension between them had mounted so strongly that even Sirius had fled his painting by noon.

            When Draco sat down in a chair next to Harry, everyone _definitely_ knew that something was wrong. They always sat in the same chair unless work was needing to be done.

            “Is everything okay?” Remus asked tentatively. He shared a concerned look with Severus but the man was just as confused as he was.

            Harry looked up and smiled as best as he could and hoped it was convincing. “Oh yes. Everything is fine. Just dandy.”

            The quartet lifted their brows. Dandy? Who said that anymore? Pansy took one look at Draco’s miserable face and she frowned. Something had happened between the two of them. She didn’t like it at all. Harry and Draco weren’t supposed to fight. That wasn’t allowed. It just wasn’t.

            “I call bull.” Blaise said with narrowed eyes. “We know you both and it is obvious that something is wrong.” Blaise was not liking that they were pretending that everything was fine. At least own up to something being wrong.

            Harry sighed heavily. “Nothing is wrong and I would like to talk about the ritual now.” He said as he turned away before Blaise could say something. Harry looked to Severus. “Is everything ready for the ritual?” He was not about to discuss his relationship problems with the rest of the family. He loved them all but some things should be kept private.

            “Harry what’s-” Pansy was cut off by Harry’s eyes flashing black.

            “I said nothing is wrong.” His voice had gone deep and dark and everyone sat up straighter. The darkness only came out when he was angry. _Very_ angry. This didn’t seem like something that would have warranted the darkness to come out. Either the darkness was getting stronger or Harry really was upset.

            “I don’t want to talk about it. So drop it.” His eyes went back to green and he looked to Severus clearly indicating that that was all he was going to talk about on the subject.

            Draco covered his face with his hands. This to him just proved that they were doing the right thing. If the darkness had just taken him over again than that meant that it couldn’t be helping them.

            Harry wasn’t sure what he thought about the darkness interrupting on his behalf but it did get the message across. Hopefully they really did drop it.

            Severus narrowed his eyes. Something was wrong and it was more than just a fight between them. Harry didn’t seem concerned at all about the darkness. Things have changed just since yesterday and he wanted to know what it was. But he didn’t want to risk Harry getting angry enough that the darkness would take him over again.

            “Everything is set up. The black room has all of the requirements. As far as dark rituals go it isn’t _that_ difficult. It is a sacrificial exchange. The darkness would be put into another vessel. Even if the darkness doesn’t want to go, there is nothing that it can do. I chose this ritual because it doesn’t need the recipient’s approval. So even if Finneus refuses to willingly take part in it, we can put the darkness in him by force.” Severus explained. In doing so, the only really requirement was the approval of the original vessel. Everything should go according to plan.

            Draco narrowed his eyes when an odd fluttering went through the bond. It was just a miniscule moment but he knew something was off. He realized that had been happening since Harry had woken up in the middle of the night. Was the darkness doing something to the bond?

            “ _We didn’t filter out host’s trepidation fast enough. We fear that life mate has caught onto us.”_ Harry’s eyes widened in surprise at the voice in his head. One would think that he would have gotten used to it by now but it still sent his heart racing every time.

            Remus frowned as Harry’s heart rate picked up. It was as if he had been frightened. He was about to comment on it but Harry seemed to be fine.

            Draco ignored the bond and focused on Harry’s facial expressions and his eyes. He could read his soulmate without a bond. There was definitely something going on but what was bothering him was that Harry seemed to be aware of it. Was Harry hiding things from him?

            Harry groaned internally at the suspicion and hurt he could feel through the bond. If Draco spoke up it could potentially ruin the whole plan. He felt guilty for lying and hiding his emotions but this had to be done. If Draco had just listened to him in the first place than none of this would be happening.

            There it was again. Another flutter. Draco could see the guilt in Harry’s eyes but there wasn’t even a hint of guilt in the bond. The bond was telling him that Harry was calm and slightly nervous. Which would be understandable considering the ritual but why was the bond not registering the guilt? He could tell that Harry was doing something and he didn’t like it one bit. Draco tuned out the boring instructions that Severus was droning on about. Something about the history of the ritual. Like that mattered. He decided to test the bond. He waited until it looked like Harry was relaxed before sending a sharp stab of emotions through the bond. He hadn’t limited it to just one emotion either. He sent at least five different ones and the frequency was random. Draco watched the surprise light up Harry’s eyes but there wasn’t a single ounce of surprise in the bond. There was an odd fluttering again and _then_ came surprise. If he hadn’t been watching Harry so closely than he might not have even noticed. Draco slammed the bond closed as rapidly and as harshly as he could. If Harry was going to fake emotions, then he wasn’t even going to bother letting him have access to his.

            Harry gasped at the sudden emptiness. The rejection from his soulmate was stinging in his veins. His eyes filled with tears. Draco had figured out that he had been messing with the bond and he closed it in response. Harry couldn’t blame him, he probably would have done it too if it had been reversed. But it didn’t stop the aching hurt that the action caused.

            Everyone looked at Harry except Draco at the gasp. Draco knew that if he looked at the pain that Harry was feeling that he would cave and open the bond back up. He couldn’t do that. How dare Harry mess with their bond? Their bond was a beautiful and sacred thing. It was a proof of their connection, an extension of their love. Harry allowing something to interfere with the bond was tainting its existence. He could feel his own tears well up in his eyes but he fought them long and hard.

            Lucius stood up and indicated that everyone else should as well. “That is it.” He declared with a hard tone. Harry and Draco looked up in confusion. “We will be waiting in the hall outside the black room. You two better work out all of your issues. You will not enter the room with us if you are fighting. We need everyone to be at their best today. This is important. So settle your differences.” He commanded before strolling out of the room with his hair flying behind him.

            Everyone shared surprised looks before following Lucius out.

            The silence of the now empty room was getting to Harry. He didn’t know what to say or how to begin. He turned to Draco and waited patiently for his lover to do the same.

            Draco bit his lip and thought briefly about not turning at all. He could feel Harry’s eyes on him but he wasn’t sure he wanted to look at him just yet. He was so hurt that Harry would hide his emotions from him. He sighed heavily before turning to Harry. Perhaps they could figure this out and move on. He really did hate fighting with him.

            Harry waved a hand and enacted a silencing charm around the room. He trusted that their family would give them privacy but he knew they are also nosy gits at the same time.

            “How are you hiding your emotions from me?” Draco demanded to know, not looking at Harry. He was steadily ignoring the gaze he could feel from him.

            Harry steeled himself for the reaction that he knew was about to happen. “The darkness is filtering the emotions.” Draco snapped his head up and shot Harry an incredulous look.

            “You are working with it?” Draco nearly shouted. “You are allowing something that killed me to fuck with our bond? Our bond is special Harry.” His voice cracked as his eyes filled with tears. “That bond is just another way that ties us together. The bond is a manifestation of our love. The bond is beautiful and it brings me such joy knowing that I get to feel you like that. I don’t understand why you would let the darkness mess with it. Why hide from me? Am I not worthy to know what you are feeling? Do you not want our bond anymore?”

            Harry’s heart was breaking as he watched the tears roll down his face. He wanted nothing more than to pull Draco into his arms but he knew that Draco would not allow that at the moment. To think that Draco thought he didn’t want the bond anymore crushed him.

            “No Draco. That isn’t it. I promise you. I love you and our bond more than anything.” Draco narrowed his eyes and could see the truth shining in those glittering green orbs. “I had to do this Draco. I didn’t want to but it needed to be done.”

            “Why?” Draco whispered. He couldn't understand it at all.

            “Because you don’t trust me.” It was Harry’s turn for his voice to crack. “Draco, I _know_ that I am right about the darkness. I know it with every fiber of my being. I know it just as I know that I love you.” He tentatively reached a hand out to cup Draco’s cheek. He sighed internally when Draco didn’t lean away from his touch. He smiled sadly when Draco raised his own hand to keep Harry’s from moving away. It was the first physical contact they had had all day.

            “I wish I could explain it more to you. I wish you could understand why I believe the darkness so strongly. You weren’t there. You didn’t see the same things that I did. I know I am doing the right thing by going with the darkness. I know it Draco. I didn’t want to filter out the emotions because I knew it would hurt you. It hurt me just as much. But I didn’t have another choice. You won’t believe in me and that hurts so much because I trust you more than anything in the entire world and I thought for sure that I could count on you to be there for me.” Harry wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.

            Draco threw his arms around Harry as they both broke down. “I’m sorry Harry! It wasn’t that I didn’t trust you. I just don’t trust the darkness. I am so scared that I am going to lose you. All I keep thinking about is the last time I lost you. The Flamels were the reason then and they could be the reason now. You mean so fucking much to me and I can’t lose you. I can’t.” Draco’s voice cracked. “You are my entire world Harry. I love you so much. I am so sorry I made you feel like I didn’t trust you. I am sorry I said that about the last time too. I wasn’t trying to hurt you. I was just trying to show you the similarities. I was wrong to say that. I am sorry.” He opened the bond up fully and completely and reveled in the feeling of his lover again.

            Harry sobbed when the bond came back. “I am sorry too. I never wanted to make you feel like I didn’t want our bond anymore. I love the bond just as much as you do. I am scared too Draco. I don’t want anything to happen to us and I can’t imagine losing you either. I just was running out of options. I won’t do it again. I promise.” Draco could feel the magic in the air signifying a verbal contract. He hadn’t needed a contract to know that Harry wouldn’t do it again. He could feel the honesty.

            “I love you.” Draco said as he wiped Harry’s eyes. “So much.” He whispered with such conviction that Harry smiled.

            “I love you too Draco.” He promised before smashing their mouths together in a heated kiss. It had been torture having to be so close to Draco but not allowed to touch him. All day he had just wanted to hold Draco close and never let him go. They had silly arguments before but nothing like today. This was an actual fight and he hated everything about it.

            Draco loved the desperation that was tinged in the kiss. If this was the end result of making up after a fight than he wouldn’t mind any future fights. They couldn’t get enough of each other. Their hands groped each other’s bodies through their clothes. Whispered words of love and affection constantly pouring out. The bond was happy and thrumming in the background.

            Lucius looked at the worried gazes on the rest of the groups faces and he frowned. It had been a good while. What was taking them so long? Even though he wasn’t privy to what had been the problem, he was positive that they would work out their issues. “I will go check on them.” There were relieved sighs heard all around and he smiled at that.

            When Lucius walked into the room and shut the door behind him, the first thing he noticed was that there was a silencing charm around the room. It only prevented listeners on the outside of the room from listening. Which in hindsight was a bad thing because the second thing he noticed was loud panting and grunting. Fuck. He should have sent someone else. He opened the door and slammed it shut with a loud bang.

            Harry and Draco looked up quickly to see Lucius standing by the door and looking at anything else but them. Which they found funny considering that they were still clothed. The sight of Lucius was enough to tame their libidos, unfortunately.

            “As pleased as I am that you two have settled your differences, I think that what you are doing is best left to be done in private.” Lucius grumbled loud enough for them to hear.

            “We were in private.” Draco pointed out with a smirk. Lucius groaned out loud. “The privacy of your own home.” He amended dryly.

            Draco shared an amused look with Harry. “We will be right out. We need a minute to collect ourselves.” Harry furrowed his brows at the statement. They hadn’t even done anything other than quick thrusts before they were interrupted. There was nothing to collect.

            “Too much information.” Lucius said with a growl and quickly tried getting out of there with his eyes closed. He didn’t want to _see_ anything. And if he bumped his head on the door on his way out, no one had to know about it.

            As soon as the door closed, Harry placed a gentle kiss to Draco’s lips. “We don’t need to collect ourselves.”

            Draco sighed before kissing Harry again. “I know love but I know you. You have a plan to avoid the ritual. I trust you. I want in.”

            Harry looked at Draco long and hard as he felt out through the bond and took in his lover’s eyes. He smiled widely when he caught nothing but the truth. He hugged Draco to him tightly. “Thank you!” He breathed before kissing his face all over.

            Draco laughed in delight. “If you don’t stop doing that then we really are going to have to collect ourselves.” Harry smirked in response. “Later.” He promised.

            Draco closed his eyes and groaned. “I am holding you to that.” He warned before sitting in Harry’s lap more comfortably. He listened intently as Harry filled him in on the plan.

            Lucius hurried down the hall to put as much distance as he could between him and his sons.

            “Where are they?” The quartet said at the same time when they noticed that Harry and Draco weren’t following him.

            Lucius shook his head rapidly. “They are finishing up their discussion.” Severus frowned at the way that Lucius wasn’t meeting any one’s eyes. That was odd.

            They didn’t have to wait too long for Harry and Draco to come out. The quartet let out loud snorts while everyone else arched brows at their appearance. Both boys had swollen lips and disheveled hair. Well, Harry’s looked the same but Draco’s was not his normal pristine hair. Their clothes were rumpled and it was obvious what they were doing.

            “Must have been some discussion.” Fred said sharing a leer with George.

            “Shut up.” Harry and Draco said at the same time. Everyone was pleased to see that their hands were entwined and they seemed happy again.

            “We are just happy to see that you worked out your issues.” Narcissa said with a smile. She hadn’t liked the thought of them fighting.

            Lucius ignored the conversations happening around him as he cut his palm and held it to the wall. When the door appeared, he opened it and allowed everyone to enter.

            It appeared that at some point during the 24 hours that had passed since they left Finneus, that the man had passed out from the bottled fear. That can happen if the fears get too intense. Everyone was covering their mouth at the smell of the room. Severus looked to Lucius in shock at the obvious use of Liquid Death. He was surprised that his friend had gotten this far into a torture. He wondered what else had happened in here.

            Lucius waved his wand and vanished the Liquid death and cancelled all of the sensory restrictions he had placed on Finneus before he stepped forward and slapped him pretty hard, trying to rouse him awake.

            Finneus groaned at the pain in his cheek. It stung but he couldn’t figure out where it had come from. He opened his eyes and was pleasantly pleased to find that he could see. Once his eyes focused he could see the grey eyes that he loved to bait so much.

            “Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes. I could get used to waking up every day to your beauty.” Finneus said with a little sigh. Lucius scowled at the man and ignored the surprised snorts from the quartet.

            “Excuse me?” Narcissa said with narrowed eyes. Finneus looked over to Narcissa and smiled wickedly. “I am not one for threesomes but I suppose I could share your husband with you. He is astoundingly handsome.”

            Fred and George were positive that Christmas had come early. The murder on Lucius’s face was golden. And the beauty of the whole thing was that it wasn’t even their fault, this time.

            Draco groaned in disgust before he stepped behind Harry and wrapped his arms around his lover’s waist. Harry closed his eyes briefly and he smiled at the warmth of Draco’s body. Remus caught the movement and he smiled slightly. He was pleased that they were okay now.   

            Narcissa stepped forward to give the delusioned man a piece of her mind but Severus stopped her with a hand to her shoulder.

            “Ooo. She is feisty. I see why you married her. Tell me, does that extend to the bedroom too?” Finneus wasn’t even surprised when his thumb was pressed backwards till it snapped.

            Everyone winced at the sound of the bone breaking. Well everyone but the three original torturers.

            “Are you ready to cooperate?” Lucius asked, ignoring the man’s previous statements.

            Finneus cocked his head to the side as he considered his options. He really _really_ didn’t want to go another 24 hours under the bottled fear. His mental stability couldn’t take it. Not to mention his bladder. He had been holding it in for quite some time. The real question he had to ask himself was if he was okay with giving up his parents. Finneus didn’t have any sense of loyalty and it wasn’t like they were decent parents. Giving them up would mean that his parents were going to die not too long after him. His entire life had been built around the damn Sorcerer’s Stone. It was his parents’ life work. Their pride and joy. The only thing that mattered to them. He would always come in second to the damn thing. Living forever meant more to them than their own son. To think that they would actually die was a sweet karma that he wanted to happen.

            “Alright. I will tell you where they are.” Finneus declared.

            Harry could feel the darkness swirling inside him with excitement. He himself was excited to _finally_ get somewhere.

            Lucius was about to open his mouth and tell him that wasn’t necessary, that they had an alternative option but he saw Harry raise a hand to stop him. He wondered why Harry would want their whereabouts if the ritual successfully got rid of the darkness. Was it just a backup plan?

            “They live in a small island only inhabited by themselves. If you hit Florida, you have gone too far but if you hit Puerto Rico going the other direction you have also gone too far. You might have heard of it before. The Devil’s Triangle?” The purebloods all looked at him in confusion. It didn’t sound familiar at all.

            Severus and Remus shared a startled look while Harry thought it sounded familiar but he couldn’t quite place it.

            “Are you telling us that your parents live in the Bermuda Triangle and that it actually exists?” Remus said with wide eyes. Harry snapped his fingers. That was why it sounded familiar! Merlin, the Bermuda Triangle. He hadn’t thought it was actually real. He just thought it was some myth that a lot of sailors liked to spew.

            Finneus made a pleased noise. “Ah so you have heard of it. I personally think that Devi’s Triangle sounds much more pleasing but to each their own, I suppose.” He shrugged. “Of course it exists. A lot of myth stems from true events. Sure, a lot of it is just nonsense but my parents thrive at creating mayhem. You didn’t think that they would stop creating things after they managed the Sorcerer’s Stone, did you?” Finneus scoffed. “They get into all kinds of things down there. Which is why there are so many disappearances. They need victims and they need a good excuse for the missing people.”

            The purebloods had no idea what the Bermuda Triangle was but they thought it was ingenious that the Flamels had found a way to take bodies without the wizarding world even knowing about it. Choosing a muggle myth to take them was brilliant.

            “Wow.” Harry said with a slow whistle. Severus and Remus nodded their heads in agreement. Wow was right.

            Lucius cleared his throat. “Well thank you for the cooperation but we have decided to go a different route.” He smirked at the way Finneus dropped his mouth open in shock.

            “Are you telling me that I just gave up my parents for no reason?” He couldn’t believe it. They had been dying to know yesterday. What could they have possibly come up with since then?

            “Unfortunately, yes.” Severus said stepping up. “We will be putting the darkness inside of you and then taking you out along with the darkness.” He began explaining everything that he was going to do.  

            Finneus gaped for a moment before he schooled his features. Well, this was an interesting turn of events. He looked up and noticed that Potter and his boy toy were exchanging glances. Something about their magic was pulling him in. The darkness that was in Potter yesterday had intermingled with Potters light. It wasn’t a merge but it was a closeness that would only happen with Potter’s permission. He narrowed his eyes as he got a feel for the Malfoy heir. There wasn’t any of Potter’s darkness in him but their bond held some of it. Not a taint or anything destructive. But like it was protecting it in a way or just covering it. The darkness and Potter had come to some kind of agreement. That much was obvious. He tuned out the man with the hideously long nose as the man began going on and on about the ritual. He would have scoffed if he wasn’t so interested in Potter, what would make the man think that he wouldn’t already know the ritual? Pssh. He had been around for nearly 700 years. Of course he already knew the ritual.

            Finneus frowned as he closed his eyes. Sometimes he needed to block out everything else to dig deeper. Once he was completely focused did he understand what was happening. He smirked at the realization that the darkness was in _contact_ with Potter. He could feel it. He could feel the way that the darkness was way more sentient than it had been yesterday. If he had to guess he would say that the darkness was aware of _everything_. There were times when a certain word or sentence would cause the darkness to pulse. It could hear what was happening around it. How intriguing. But what was more interesting was the fact that only Potter and his mate seemed to be aware of this. There was no way that a transfer was going to happen. Even if the darkness was willing to leave Potter, Finneus had a hunch that Potter wasn’t going to allow it to leave. That was the only requirement to the ritual. The original vessel had to relinquish control. One look into the way the darkness was spread comfortably around Potter’s core was proof enough that Potter wasn’t going to relinquish control.

            He was incredibly curious as to how so much could have changed in 24 hours. By the way that the darkness hadn’t entered the Malfoy heir he knew that the darkness was playing nice. If it wanted to, the darkness could have used the bond and taken them _both_ over. So for some reason it wasn’t doing that. To him, that didn’t sound like an evil thing that wanted to kill people. Finneus wondered if they had come to some sort of understanding. Was Potter going to share his body with it forever? Or was there another game plan going on? He wondered what was happening.

            Harry and Draco shared a sense of panic through the bond when they realized that Finneus must be aware of what is going on to some degree. There was a thoughtful expression on his face that didn’t sit well with either one of them. _‘Maker’s son can sense us inside of host. He can sense that we have grown stronger. He is awake to our intentions.’_  

            Finneus’s eyes widened at the way the pulsing inside of Potter grew rapidly for just a moment. By the way Potter’s eyes widened as well, it meant that the darkness had just communicated to him somehow. Interesting. He looked to the blonde boy and nearly gasped. The bond was pulsing wildly, as if the darkness could communicate to him as well. He blinked a couple times as his mind tried to understand what was happening.  

            Draco had to use every single ounce of Malfoy control that he had to stop a reaction from forming when a voice began talking to him in his mind. _‘We can connect to host’s life mate too. Maker’s son is aware of us. He no doubt knows that we are in contact with host and his mate.’_ Draco licked his lips unaware of how to respond. He sent a mental ‘Okay’ hoping that the message had gotten across. Oh that was just creepy! Harry better appreciate his level of trust because that voice made him want to run for the hills and never look back.

            Harry placed his hands around Draco’s that were still on his waist and squeezed them before sending him a rush of affection through the bond. Draco smiled as he placed a kiss to the top of Harry’s head. That was enough for him.

            No one seemed to be aware of the distraction that Finneus, Harry and Draco were under. Severus finished explaining and turned to Harry expectantly.

            Harry saw that all eyes were on him and he wrinkled his forehead. “What?” He finally asked when no one said anything.

            Severus sighed heavily. “Were you not listening to a word I said? It is time for you to take your place.” He said with annoyance, indicating a spot right next to Finneus.

            Harry shrugged sheepishly. He hadn’t been paying attention at all. He walked forward but wouldn’t allow Draco to go too far from him. They needed him close by so that the plan would succeed.

            Lucius frowned at the clingy way that Harry was acting but he just chalked it up to him being nervous.

            Severus summoned a black candle and immediately began chanting in Latin. Harry wasn’t that good at Latin so he only understood some of what was being said. He caught ‘transference’ ‘blood’ and ‘sacrifice’ but everything else was lost to him. He frowned when Severus pulled out a dagger. He _really_ should have been paying attention.

            Severus took Harry’s thumb and made a small pin prick of blood ooze outward from the dagger. Once he had done the same thing to Finneus, he pressed their thumbs together and continued on chanting in Latin.

            Harry felt an odd thrumming inside of him that seemed to be trying to suck the darkness out of him, almost like a vacuum. Harry closed his eyes and envisioned a wall. A giant wall that caged in the darkness. He needed to let the ritual know that the darkness did not have his permission to leave. The darkness told him that the ritual would only work if he willingly gave up his control. He just kept chanting his rebuttal over and over, hoping that the ritual wouldn’t work.

            Severus took a step back and motioned for everyone else to as well. Once the ritual was competed the potential for a magical backlash was high. He frowned when Draco refused to move. He was about to ask him why Draco wouldn’t move when he noticed that nothing was happening.

            Lucius frowned. “Did the ritual not work?” He wasn’t accusing Severus of performing it wrong but he was confused as to what could have gone wrong.

            Everyone but Harry, Draco and Finneus looked to Severus. “It should have worked. The only thing that could stop the ritual would be the original vessel.” They all turned their attention back to Harry.

            Harry reached out his hand and took hold of Draco’s. He opened his eyes and everyone gasped at the fact that his eyes were black. Lucius yelled for Draco to back away but his protest froze in his throat when his son turned equally black eyes on him. Harry and Draco smirked in identical ways before they reached hold of Finneus.

            “We have to stop them!” Lucius yelled. Before they could even take a step forward the three of them vanished right in front of their eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nearly 6k thousand words. Proud of myself haha. Okay before I get into everything that has happened in this chapter, I would like to give you all a little warning. Tomorrow's chapter may be drastically late. I am not sure when it will be posted but it will be posted. 
> 
> I thought about extending the fight between Harry and Draco but it just hurts me to see them upset. I almost had Harry leave with Finneus without him but I just couldn't do it. Hopefully the short fight is enough drama. 
> 
> I liked that Lucius was not having their fight to continue. I think it is sweet that they all cared enough to make sure that they talked it out. I thought it was kind of funny that they knew something was wrong when they sat in separate chairs. 
> 
> Finneus flirting with Lucius while Narcissa is in the room is not a good idea. Haha. 
> 
> I thought that The Bermuda Triangle was interesting. I wanted a way that would make sense and I loved the idea. I can just imagine all of the things that they could do. Now some of you may say it isn't real. Some may believe it exists. That is neither here nor there. For the sake of the story it is. :)
> 
> I am really interested in Finneus's abilities to sense magic. Watching him figure it all out was intriguing for me. 
> 
> Okayyyy what did you guys think of the failed ritual? What are your thoughts on the darkness being extended to Draco? Do you think there was a reason for that or do you think that the darkness is just wanting the both of them?
> 
> Let me know what you think of this chapter. I would love to hear from you all. 
> 
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	74. The Voyage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did warn you that this chapter would be posted drastically late. No worries, there will still be another chapter at my normal time as well. 
> 
> Before you get into this chapter I have a sort of request. This has nothing to do with the story or the chapter so you can skip that if you are so inclined. When I get stuck on a chapter, sometimes I just need to focus on something else. I would like it if you guys could give me some prompt ideas for oneshots. I would like for you to keep it in the Harry Potter world. Any pairing as long as Harry is one part of the couple. I would prefer if it wasn't with Ron, Dumbledore, Arthur, Kingsley or any girls. I am not against Harry being with a girl but that is not my type of writing. I think I can handle anyone else paired with him. If you want smut then tell me. If you want just a fluffy story than mention that as well. If there is no limits than I will interperate that as a free for all on what I can do with it. Which includes AU and even taking it non magical. Once finished I will gift you the story on here. Since I will be doing this when I get stuck, I can't promise you the one shots will be done quickly. But they will get done. If you don't want to comment the prompt idea then you can just message me at my email. xxthedarklordxx@yahoo.com I really would love to do some oneshots for you guys. :)

            As soon as they landed, Harry and Draco had been given control over their bodies by the darkness. Finneus was stilled tied together with the rope so there was no worry about him running off.

            Draco was incredibly worried about what just happened. The plan had gone exactly as it should have. It was rather simplistic when one stops to think about it. They had known from previous encounters that they could apparate in and out of the Manor despite the wards. All they needed to do was get a hand on Finneus and get out of there. Which is why Draco needed to be close by so that they could apparate at the drop of a hat. He was concerned about what everyone else was going to do.

           They could have tried to convince everyone else of their plan but Draco knew that his father and Severus would never have approved. They trust Harry but they would have said that his judgement was skewed by the darkness. It had taken Draco trusting in his love for Harry to even consider going along with this crazy situation. He was worried about what the rest of the family was going to do. Would they try and stop them before they could finish out the plan? He hoped not or it might result in a showdown and he didn’t want to fight his family.

            Harry looked around and realized that they were in the middle of some kind of forest. He almost snorted when he saw that Finneus was face down in the mud. He bit his lip when he recalled the panicked faces of everyone else as they left. He was kind of upset at the darkness for taking them over. Had it really been necessary to take them over for the brief moment? It made the whole situation look like they were under the control of the darkness instead of the other way around.

            _‘It was necessary to get host out of the room. The room was encrypted with ancient magic to prevent anyone from leaving the room that was not the Lord of the house. We had to protect host and his life mate.’_ Harry’s mind was filled with images of what the darkness had done. It was like the darkness had surrounded their entire core to protect them from whatever the Malfoy ancestors had used to safe ward the room. He was actually quite impressed. If the charm was anything like the one protecting the entrance to the room, then he wondered what kind of magic the darkness could really do. He shot a look to Draco and by the surprise on his face and in the bond, he knew that the darkness had said the same thing to him.

            Draco’s mind was going crazy trying to rationalize what the darkness had just said. He was soothed with the knowledge that he hadn’t been taken over for the hell of it but he was blown away that they had been able to escape the black room unharmed. He hadn’t really thought about it till now but it was actually a miracle that none of them were harmed. The spells surrounding the Black room went back since the beginning of the Malfoy line. Every generation added their own spells and updated the existing ones. There were so many spells that trying to get past them all would have taken days and maybe months to do. To think that the darkness had been able to get past them in seconds was actually terrifying.

            Draco furrowed his brows. _‘Did you enter my body like you are inside of Harry?’_ He wasn’t sure he could handle the answer. If the darkness could take over him like it could Harry, then that was a scary thought.

            _‘No. We used the bond. We did not enter life mate’s body. We told host that we would not enter life mate again. When we surrounded the bond that made it possible to protect life mate.’_ Draco breathed a sigh of relief at that. He had been scared that if he got angry then the darkness would be able to take him over like it could Harry.

            Harry frowned as he suddenly thought of something. _‘If you had to take us over to get out of there, then how did Finneus get out? Did you enter him too?’_ Harry didn’t like that idea at all. The darkness had told him that it was too tempting to enter Finneus, so then that raised some questions.

            _‘We decided that maker’s son is expendable. We did not extend our protection to him. We calculated the risk of him being harmed if host and life mate were not.’_ Draco snorted in amusement. The darkness took a giant risk in assuming that Finneus would not be harmed.

            “I am glad that you are finding humor in the situation but I would appreciate it if I could talk without mud in my mouth.” Finneus’s entire statement had been muddled by the ground and Harry only caught pieces of what the man had said. Another snort from Draco had Finneus groaning and wishing he was back in the Black room.

            Harry hauled the man up with the help of Draco. “Where are we?” Finneus asked as he took in the trees surrounding them.

            That was a good question. Harry and Draco shared a look. They had no idea where they were. None at all. Finneus caught the looks and he let out a surprised noise.

            “How in the world do you not know where we are? You can’t apparate without a destination. That _is_ one of the three D’s.” The tone of Finneus’s voice was one of incredulous exasperation. He was a little worried that they had been able to apparate out of the room without knowing where they were going. That is how one becomes splinched.

            _‘We have taken host to a forest right on the outskirts of Puerto Rico. Maker’s son will have to take us the rest of way.’_ Finneus frowned at the swirling coming from the two of them. He narrowed his eyes.

            “Are you telling me that you two allowed the darkness that is taking over your body to apparate us all to an unknown destination?” He was questioning their sanity. Why would they trust a sentient darkness that has unknown motives to dictate what they do? That was just asking for trouble.

            “We are in Puerto Rico.” Harry told him, ignoring his question. Finneus blinked rapidly for a moment. They apparated over four thousand miles without any back lash? The darkness had somehow bypassed the impossible in getting them here. Well this was single handedly the most interesting time of his life.

            “Which means that _you_ will be taking us the rest of the way to your parents. _You_ will get us past the wards that are no doubt in place and _you_ will **not** interfere in our plans.” Draco told him in a dangerously low voice.

            Finneus arched a brow and smirked openly. “You are reminding me of your father.” There was a hint of a leer in the man’s voice that irked Harry.

            Finneus kept his eye on the Malfoy brat to see what he would do, which turned out to be a mistake. A strong blow to the top of his head sent him toppling over onto the ground. Finneus looked up in a daze at Potter who was narrowing his eyes.

            “Draco is _mine_.” Harry seethed angrily. “You will watch what you say about him or I will kill you where you stand and take my chances with your parents.” He warned him darkly. Draco shivered in surprised delight at the possessive tone to his lover.

            Harry leaned closer and whispered darkly. “Lucius may have been a master at breaking your bones but I will liquidize your insides to a boiling bubble with the darkness inside of me. Do _not_ test my patience because you will always come out the loser.” Harry wasn’t entirely sure where all of this was coming from but he meant every single word of it.

            While Finneus was mildly horrified, Draco was struggling with his mounting lust. Right now was not the time for it but he loved seeing Harry so powerful and angry on his behalf. It was thrilling.

            Harry snapped his eyes to Draco and shook his head. “Later love. Later.” There was a promise in his voice and Draco nearly moaned but was able to suppress it.

            “The sexual tension between you two is giving me a secondhand erection.” Finneus grumbled, still on the floor.

            Harry kicked Finneus straight in the man’s groin. “There, that should help you tame it.” He smiled at the moans of pain that the man was releasing. Draco winced in almost sympathy but got over it pretty quickly.

            Draco stepped up to Finneus and hauled him up. He pulled out his wand and allowed Finneus to grab it while he kept his hand around it as well. “You, unlike us need a wand to apparate. So you will use mine and take us all to your parents.” This was a statement and the tone of his voice suggested that he should not argue.

            “Do I get out of these ropes?” He looked at the expressionless faces of Potter and Malfoy and sighed heavily. “It was worth a shot.” As soon as he felt Potter’s hand on his shoulder he apparated them out of there.

                                                                                 ~………~………~………~………~………~………~……..~

           

            The silence of the room was deafening. No one could believe what they had just witnessed. Harry and Draco apparated out of the room with Finneus and they had no idea where they had gone.

            “Did that just happen?” George asked pinching himself. That had to have been a dream. There was no way that Harry and Draco had just broken out their prisoner.

            The other three members of the quartet nodded in unison.

            Lucius was having an internal meltdown. There was _no_ way that they had been able to apparate out of the room. The Black room was sealed off from any magic except from a Lord Malfoy. There was no way that someone would be able apparate out of there. He had a sudden realization that Harry had performed magic yesterday. He had been so caught up with the fact that the darkness had taken him over that he didn’t stop to think about the ramifications of the magic that had happened. The darkness was able to get around the spells of the room. That alone scared him more than anything else. The sheer amount of ancient spells should have made that impossible. Even if _he_ had wanted to undo the spells it would take him ages to accomplish that. If the darkness was capable of getting around the room in seconds than what else could it do? How could they go up against something like that and win? And what was with Harry and Draco? Had the darkness taken them over? Or were they going along with it for some reason?

            Severus blinked rapidly at the space where the three occupants had just vacated. He had known that his ritual had been done successfully. The reason it had failed was because Harry had not wanted to relinquish control. Why was that? What could possibly come of keeping the darkness? He knew that Harry was against his plan from the beginning but it was the safest option. Had Harry just wanted to find the Flamels and go that route? If that was so then why would they not tell everyone else? Why take Finneus and run? Did they even need Finneus? They had the whereabouts of the Flamels. What purpose could Finneus serve? The endless questions were starting to give him a headache.

            “Why would they leave and not tell us what they were doing?” Remus said biting his lip. He was actually a little offended. He would always be there for Harry and he didn’t like the idea that Harry might have left to avoid their help. He was even more worried that the darkness had taken them both over. Why else would their eyes have shone black?

            “Maybe the darkness took them both over.” Narcissa said as her eyes filled with tears. She was worried about her boys. What if the darkness did something to them? What if it took them to the Flamels and then killed them? Was she ever going to see them again? Lucius wrapped his arm around his wife’s waist and tried to offer her silent reassurance. Narcissa whimpered before burying her head in Lucius’s neck.

            “Their eyes did go black.” Pansy whispered as she covered her cheeks with her hands. She didn’t know what to think but she was definitely freaking out. Two of her best friends had just disapparated out of the room with their eyes glowing black.

            “But they weren’t angry.” Blaise argued. Everyone looked to him with interest. “Every time that Harry has been taken over he was angry. The darkness obviously can’t take him over otherwise. So that has to mean something. If they weren’t angry then why would the darkness have been able to take them over? It makes no sense.”

            Severus tilted his head slightly as he thought it over. “He was angry this morning when his eyes had flashed black.” He pointed out slowly.

            Remus nodded. “Yes. Except this wasn’t typical to the other times. Usually when the darkness takes him over, Draco has to pull him back. This only lasted a couple of seconds at most. What was different about it this time?”

            Everyone lapsed into a silence as they thought over everything that had happened and tried to rationalize it all.

            “What if Harry is _allowing_ the darkness to take over?” Lucius said testing out the insane thought. Everyone turned to glare at him and he raised his hand in surrender.

            “Stop that. Just think about it. Why would the darkness take him over like it did earlier and then relinquish it’s control of Harry’s body so quickly? That was another free reign at trying to take Harry over. Why would it just go back? That makes no sense. Then again in here. Blaise is right, they weren’t angry. Everything that we have learned about the darkness so far has indicated that it _has_ to have anger to come out. So either it has gained some upper hand that we aren’t aware about _or_ Harry is allowing it to have free access to his body.”

            There was another deafening silence. “I don’t like thinking that Harry would allow the darkness to have control of his body.” Remus said glaring at the floor.

            “Neither do I.” Lucius pointed out. “But it does make sense. It could explain why they were fighting too. Perhaps Draco disagreed with whatever is happening with Harry.”

            “But they made up.” Fred reminded him. “So that must mean that they came to some sort of decision together. Draco was in on the little ruse that they just performed on us.”

            “If they had some kind of proof that the darkness was trustworthy than why wouldn’t they have told us?” George countered.

            “Maybe there is no proof. Maybe they knew that wouldn’t make us want to go with the plan. Maybe they are going on instinct.” Blaise piped up.

            Pansy scoffed. “That is a lot of maybes.”

            Severus was unsure of what to think. It was entirely possible that the two of them had hatched some plan with the darkness but that sounded so unlikely to him. Why in the world would they trust something like the darkness? “Or this could all be some elaborate explanation that distracts us from the unwanted possibility that the darkness has taken them over completely.” He said what no one wanted to discuss.

            “I am not sure which one is worse.” Narcissa admitted. If they were taken over completely then she had no idea how they were going to get them back. The darkness just inside of Harry was a scary thought. It was incredibly powerful but with the idea of it being inside both boys was scary. She didn’t want to even imagine what kind of horrible things could happen if the darkness was inside the both of them. They would have an unstoppable power in them. How do you fight the darkness? But if the darkness hadn’t taken them over and they were just working with it, well that was also bad. She couldn’t fathom a single reason why they would want to work with it. There couldn’t possibly be a good enough reason to trust it.

            “Where do we go from here.” Asked Remus. His whole being was wanting to go find Harry and make sure he was okay. And then he was going to rip him a new one for scaring him like this. His werewolf was crying out in panic at the thought of his cub being harmed.

            Severus frowned at the tone in Remus’s voice. He detected something wild in there and he wasn’t sure what it was. He pulled him into his arms and rested his chin on the man’s shoulder. Remus instantly melted in the embrace. He allowed the soothing smell of Severus to calm him. “He has been gone maybe minutes and I can’t handle it. I want him back Severus.” Remus whispered. The silence of the room made the whisper nonexistent. Everyone could hear him.

            “We will get them both back.” Severus promised. He wasn’t sure how he was going to keep that promise but he would die trying. That was for sure.

            “We need to form a plan.” Lucius told everyone.

            “Well I say it is pretty damn high that they went to the Bermeeda Triangle.” George deducted.

            Severus and Remus snorted. “It is Bermuda.” Severus corrected automatically.

            “What difference does it make?” Fred grumbled. “They probably went there.”

            Lucius nodded his head. “That is the most logical conclusion. Harry wanted to know where the Flamels were. It only makes sense that they would go there. So our first priority will be going to the Bermuda Triangle.”

            Severus arched his brows at the easy way his friend said that. “You say it like this is some simple matter.” Everyone but Remus looked at him in confusion. “The Bermuda Triangle is thousands upon thousands of square miles of open water. There is no island with a welcome matt outside announcing its existence. I myself thought it was just an urban legend.”

            Lucius deflated in disappointment. “Then how do we find it?”

            “By boat.” Remus said obviously. At Lucius’s horrified expression he almost laughed.

            “I am _not_ getting inside a muggle death trap. Boats sink.” Lucius argued. There was no way he was setting foot inside one of those.

            Severus rolled his eyes. “Not all of us will be in a boat. Some of us will have to fly and have an aerial view. We need to look at it from all kinds of angles.” Lucius winced. He wasn’t too big on brooms either. He bit his lip in indecision. He didn’t like where this was going.

 

                                    ~………~………~………~………~………~………~.........~.........~.........~

 

            As soon as they landed, Finneus jerked Malfoy’s wand out of his hand. He quickly delusioned the ropes on him so that he would appear to be a normal bystander. And then performed a spell to make his bladder go back down. It emptied his body of any excess waste. Not a spell he liked to do too often because it left him with a feeling of just wrong. He doubted Potter and Malfoy were going to be gracious enough to allow him to go to the bathroom. Worst prison guards ever. Even the muggles got a little toilet.

            Draco had panicked for a brief moment when Finneus took his wand. He could perform wandless magic so he wasn’t worried about that but he could hear the bustle of people nearby. Performing magic would not be a good thing right now.

            Harry tightened his grip on Finneus’s shoulder so that he wouldn’t be able to walk away from him or apparate without him.

            “Relax.” Finneus said as he tossed the wand back to Malfoy. “If I wanted to leave, I would have just now.” He pointed out. “I can’t be around here with ropes showing that I am a captive. That wouldn’t work for you guys. You are going to have to come up with some reason as to why you are helping me walk.” He pointed out with a shrug. His foot was still crushed and his hands were throbbing. If he ever saw Lucius again he was going to break every single one of the seriously handsome man’s fingers. Every. One. Of. Them.

            Harry kept his hand on the man’s shoulder but took a look at his surroundings. They were in some port. There was a giant dock not too far away and a bunch of boats that were lined up. The activity was astounding. People were everywhere. He hoped they could pull this off without attracting attention.

            “What are we doing here?” Harry demanded to know. He was kind of hoping that when they landed it was going to be on the Flamel’s island.

            Finneus rolled his eyes. “We are going to charter one of the boats over there.” He pointed to a dingy rental booth. “And I am going to steer us to the island.”

            Draco was horrified. He looked at the run down rental area with distaste. Finneus was barking if he thought he was going to set foot in a death trap like a muggle boat. He heard about the Titan from Harry. The boat sunk and a lot of people died. No way, no how was he getting on any boat.

            Harry winced when he took in Draco’s expression. It probably was a bad idea to tell Draco about the Titanic. It was just after the amusement park, Draco had been fascinated with other muggle things.

            “Why can’t we just apparate?” Finneus smirked at the panic in Malfoy’s voice. “My parents have not included me into their wards. Something about me needing to enjoy the experience of the ocean when I come to see them.” Finneus scoffed. “Really they are just hoping that I fall into one of their traps that they have set up along the ocean for their unsuspecting victims.”

            Harry raised his brows. “Parents of the year, I see.” Harry said dryly.  Draco was just glad that his father had never set up traps around their home.

            “If you would like to talk bad about mine then I will assume that your parents are up for debate as well.” Finneus jibed.

            Harry tilted his head in consideration. “Touché. Just one thing. Your parents are sick fucks that _really_ need to die. There, that is the last thing I will say on them.” Draco snorted but shook his head. Finneus decided to let that one go. One must pick their battles and this one wasn’t worth the effort.

            Harry let Finneus lean on him heavily and made his way towards the rental booth, while a hesitant blonde followed behind. Draco watched them discuss prices with a frown. He was trying to come up with an alternative or a really good excuse as to why he just couldn’t get on the boat but his mind was drawing a blank. He was so focused on his mounting fear that he was only vaguely impressed that Finneus had muggle money on him.

            “Where are you lot heading? If you don’t mind me asking.” Harry looked to Finneus to answer this one.

            Finneus smiled charmingly at the man they would be renting the boat they would be getting on. “We are going to head out to Bermuda. I have some distant relatives that live there and we are needing a little vacation.” Draco watched the man’s eyes widen in horror and he felt his heart sink.

            “Are you sure you want to go that way? Just last week a whole boat of fishermen went missing. They have yet to be found.” Draco whimpered at that. He wasn’t sure if it was the Flamels that were at fault for that or if it was faulty muggle technology.

            Finneus sighed internally. Great. That meant his parents were experimenting again. They were probably in heaven with an entire crew of people. He smiled at the man again. “We will be just fine. I have done this before, no worries.” The man looked doubtful but just nodded anyways.

            Harry was able to maneuver Finneus in the boat easily. He turned to Draco and prepared for the argument that he knew was about to happen. “Draco.” Harry began in a soothing tone.

            Draco shook his head rapidly. “No way, Harry. I am _not_ getting in this thing. It looks like it is one trip away from sinking to the ocean floor. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are holes already in it.”

            Harry ignored the snickering from Finneus. “Draco love, we will be alright. If you want, you can add some charms to the boat. Will that help?” He could hear the desperation to his tone but he didn’t care. They needed to hurry before the others could stop them.

            Draco bit his lip as he considered this. That was helping. He could already think of several charms that would help. He would have to filter the magic into a smaller frequency so that it wouldn’t affect the muggle technology but he was positive he could work something out.

            “But what about the Titan Harry? That sank and it was a giant boat. How safe can ours be? It is tiny.” Draco pressed.

            Finneus scrunched up his face. “What is the Titan?” His mind was immediately leaning towards mythology but he didn’t think Malfoy was talking about that.

            “He means the Titanic.” Harry mumbled. Finneus snorted before trying to make it look like a cough. He could tell by the flash of anger in the blonde’s eyes that he had failed.

            “Draco if anything goes wrong and the boat starts to sink then we can just apparate out of there. We can leave Finneus behind.” He added as an afterthought, playing to Draco’s ruthless nature.

            Draco ignored Finneus’s indignant ‘hey!’ as he thought over the offer. Harry certainly knew how to drive a hard bargain. “Alright.” He conceded. “But you owe me Harry.”

            Harry wanted to point out that this was to get rid of the darkness and that Draco really needed to suck it up but he could see and feel the fear from his lover, he just didn’t have the heart to say it. “Anything you want.” Harry promised. He watched the way Draco’s face lit up in a pleased expression and he knew he would do anything to keep Draco happy.

            “Someone is whipped.” Finneus told him as he started the boat and they began leaving the port.

            Harry rolled his eyes as he released the man’s hands from the ropes so that he could steer better. “You say that like it is an insult. I just happen to be in love.” Harry felt the rush of affection from the bond and he drank it all in.

            Draco wrapped his arms around Harry and kissed the side of his head. “I love you.” He told him. Harry grinned and leaned back in the embrace. “I love you more love.”

            “Oh god.” Finneus moaned. “I can’t tell which one was worse. Your sexual tension or this disgusting display of affection.” Finneus had long ago stopped feeling the ache of his missing soulmate but for the first time in centuries he missed the ache. The ache was a reminder that his soulmate could be out there but the emptiness was a reminder that he would never find his mate. Watching the horrid fluffy love between Potter and Malfoy was a sharp stab to his empty cavern.

            Harry and Draco ignored him and just focused on each other and their surroundings. If one ignored that a mass murdering serial killer was steering the boat, it was almost like a glimpse into what their honeymoon would be like. Well, if one also ignored the fact that they were on their way to kill people, then it was like a preview of a perfect honeymoon.

            Once Draco got used to the moving boat, it was like a calm had entered him. This wasn’t so bad. It was almost fun. Not that he would admit that out loud. He wouldn’t mind doing this again sans Finneus. The day was nice and sunny and the sound of the wind in his ears was a nice hum. He could get used to this.

            An hour later and Draco changed his mind. It was too hot and the damn wind was getting on his nerves. The boat was too slow and the smell of the ocean was getting to him. Who the hell does this for fun? Muggles needed faster ways to get around. This was dreadfully boring. He was about to pull his hair out just for some entertainment. Well, perhaps not his hair. Harry’s would do just fine.

            Harry could feel the growing restlessness from Draco and he wasn’t sure how to keep him occupied. He wasn’t a big fan of boats either. Not since he was eleven and Uncle Vernon had thought that they could escape his letters. Harry leaned over and rested his head on Draco’s shoulder. “Tell me about all the things that you have planned for the wedding.”

            Draco perked up instantly. He began telling Harry all of the things that him and his mother had planned. He was pretty sure that he had already told Harry all of this but he wasn’t going to turn down an opportunity to escape his boredom.

            Harry smiled as he listened to Draco enthusiastically explain their wedding. He didn’t think that they needed a ten course meal for the guests but he wasn’t going to complain about it. Nor did he think that the guests _had_ to wear certain colored robes but he was willing to give Draco anything that he wanted.

            “Then I thought we could get those recorder things that the muggles use. I think it would be something that we could show our kids one day. What do you think?” Draco asked patiently.

            Harry wrinkled his brows in confusion. “Recorder things?”

            Draco bit his lip. He probably was saying it wrong. “The things that record people’s movements.”

            “Ahh. A video camera. You want a video of our wedding?” Harry smiled softly. He wondered what Lucius would say about the addition of muggle technology to the wedding. He was thrilled at the thought of capturing the wedding. He would love to watch it.

            Draco nodded and opened his mouth to verbally confirm this but Finneus yelled suddenly. “Brace yourselves.”

            The warning had come too late. Harry and Draco gasped when they noticed that Finneus was steering them straight for a giant rock. Harry was about to ask him what the hell he was doing but when they made contact with the rock, they slipped right through it. It took him a moment before he realized it was just an illusion. There was a ripple of magic and Harry could almost visualize a barrier of some sort.

            “This is a protection that my parents have set up. If we had gone around the rock then the boat would have immediately sunk and we would have fallen victim to their first trap. Right below us are cages of Slovakian Seekers.”

            Harry had no idea what a Slovakian Seeker was but from the horrified gasp from Draco he realized that it must be a magical creature. Draco clung to Harry as hard as he could and refused to look outside of the boat.

            “What is that?” Harry asked. He was worried about Draco’s reaction.

            “You know what a piranha is, right?” Finneus called over his shoulder. Harry’s eyes widened, he was already not liking where this was going. “Yeah.” He said hesitantly.

            “Well they are similar to piranhas but they are tiny. Almost microscopic. They burrow into the skin and they eat anything living from the inside out.”

            Harry dropped his mouth open and burrowed into Draco. Nope. Fuck that. He wanted off the boat.

            “They are so small that even with magic it is hard to detect them. They swarm and fight for dominance inside the body. It is a cruel but quick way to die.” Harry was seriously wishing that Finneus would shut up.

            “The first time they deposited them in the cages, they needed a test subject. So they took a yacht full of people that had unfortunately passed through the Triangle and the little suckers devoured them within minutes. Bloodiest thing-”

            “Okay! That is enough.” Harry interrupted firmly. He was not wanting to talk about this further. Creatures that can eat you and magic can’t find them? Oh hell no. He eyed the water closely. “How far do the Slovakian Seekers reach?”

            Finneus shook his head in amusement at how freaked out they were. This was only one of the protections. If this bothered them than he couldn’t wait till they saw everything that his parents had come up with to ward off people.

            “They are only in that section. You don’t have to worry about them right now.” Harry and Draco sighed in relief. “Besides, they are tame compared to everything else in the water.” Draco whimpered. This had been a very bad idea.

            “We should have just gotten on a little plane.” Harry mused out loud. Then they would have been able to avoid the water all together. Draco raised his brows. Harry was insane if he thought he would have willingly gotten on one of those. They were scarier than the boat!

            Finneus laughed out loud. “You think only boats have fallen victim to their traps?” He shook his head in amusement. “Planes too. They have traps to prevent aerial entry as well. Take a look at Earhart. They _say_ she disappeared somewhere in the Pacific but really it was the Atlantic. My parents had just set up aerial dampeners that stopped muggle technology. It is gradual so that no one catches on. It is random too. They have shifts. If every plane couldn’t go through the space then it would attract too much attention. So they pick and choose what planes go through. Usually all commercial planes make it. The private little ones are most likely going to be taken victim.”

            Harry was positive his mind had just stopped for a moment. “Earhart as in Amelia Earhart?” Draco was confused to who that was but said nothing.

            Finneus nodded. “That is the one. My parents used her to test out the new batch of Puellas.” Draco snapped his head up. Good lord. What was wrong with the Flamels? He could feel the confusion from Harry.

            “They are smoke like creatures. They have no shape of form but they are attracted to women. They take possession of the body by entering through any available hole. Once inside the body they can live a matter of days in the skin. It would be like wearing a costume. They get to ‘wear’ the skin of the victim but by doing so the body decays at an unnatural rate.” Draco nodded at the horror he could feel coming from Harry.

            “Muggles have no protection against Puellas. There are some spells that a witch can use against them but they have to be done quickly or the Puella will gain full motor control over the body and then they are powerless to stop the takeover.” Draco shivered as he explained it. Puellas live in places near the ocean where there is a high humidity. They like dark spaces so they can blend in. Ocean caves are their usual habitat. He hadn’t even stopped to think that there could be any nearby.

            Harry stood by his earlier statement. The Flamels were sick fucks that really needed to die. “They never go for guys?” He wondered.

            Draco shook his head. “No but there are Peuras. They are the same species and they are attracted to men. They are near extinction. There hasn’t been a case of a Peura attack in generations.”

            Harry frowned. “Because wizards have hunted them?” Draco and Finneus both snorted. “No. There is no way to kill a Peura or a Puella unless they are inside a body. But they can attack each other.” Finneus said like it was obvious.

            Draco rolled his eyes at the vague explanation. “Despite being the same species, Peuras and Puellas do not get along. They are vicious to one another and only come together for mating purposes. Once the Peura is no longer needed the Puella kills it.” Harry was reminded of black widow spiders.

            “Why would they do that if they Peuras are needed for mating purposes? If the Peuras are dwindling, then wouldn’t they stop?” Harry wondered.

            Draco shrugged. “You would think so but they haven’t learned. Researchers have estimated that there is only a handful of Peuras left.” He narrowed his eyes at the back of Finneus’s head. “What did you mean by a new batch?”

            Finneus smirked wickedly. “My parents have those handful of Peuras.” Draco gaped openly and _really_ thought about just abandoning the mission. “They have been breading them with Puellas for generations. They have a nice little army of them actually. They pride themselves in secrecy. So the wizarding community isn’t even aware that they are no longer near extinction.” Even though he detested his parents, he had to admit that they were incredibly gifted when it came to dark and dangerous things.

            Harry was horrified that the Flamels would create an army of murdering creatures. It wasn’t surprising, just horrifying. “Is there a way to prevent them from entering the body?” Harry asked desperately. He was praying that there was. He had not come this far to have some creature enter him. He already had one darkness, he didn’t need another one.

            “Actually there is-” Draco stopped midsentence when a giant roar sounded off in the distance. The sound rose every one of his hairs and made his blood turn cold. That couldn’t be it. That really couldn’t be what he was hearing.

            “Ah. Say hello to Nessie.” Harry squinted hard as off in the very distance was a _giant_ shape emerging from the water. It was hard to judge the size of the creature but it had to be at least 30-40 feet long.

            “What is that?” Harry asked quite worried about the answer. “That is a Lactera. A lot of wizards have nicknamed them the underwater dragons. They are more lizard like than an actual dragon. I don’t know why he called it Nessie. I have never heard that name to describe a Lactera.” Draco mused.

            Finneus was going to enjoy this. “Potter. You may know her by another name. The Loch Ness Monster.”

            “Oh sweet Jesus we are going to die, aren’t we?” Harry asked through wide eyes.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, there is a lot to be talked about. 
> 
> What do you think about the darkness being able to bypass the magic of the Black room? It is a little concerning that it had no trouble at all. I do find it fascinating that the darkness surrounded them to be able to get them out. I also love that it didn't even bother doing so to Finneus. :P
> 
> I really enjoy possessive Harry. Hitting on Draco is an awful idea. Not to mention tacky. Harry is right there. 
> 
> What are your thoughts on the rest of the group? I can understand why Harry and Draco didn't tell them what the darkness had planned. I highly highly doubt that anyone of them would have been on board with trusting the darkness but at the same time, I think it completely takes the decision process out of the whole thing. They assumed what would happen but didn't give the family a chance to be there for them. 
> 
> I was amused that both Lucius and Draco had nearly the same reaction at the thought of getting on a boat. Silly purebloods. Every time Draco called it the Titan, I couldn't help but snort. Now as Finneus began explaining why people who go through boats and planes fall victim to his parents' traps, who else immediately thought of the rest of the group? How are they going to survive without inside help? 
> 
> Hopefully you liked the creatures that I have invented. Nasty things they are. But is it really surprising considering who the Flamels are? 
> 
> I was amused by adding in Amelia Earhart into the story. I rather liked that bit. 
> 
> Now I know that I am mixing quite a few myths into one but just go with me on this one. I promise I will leave big foot alone. Hahaha. :)
> 
> Let me know what you thought of this chapter. 
> 
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	75. Florida and Lactera

            Lucius led everyone into the think room. He pulled out a map and quickly laid it on the table. He looked to Remus and Severus. “Where is the Bermuda Triangle supposed to be?”

            Severus picked up a quill and dotted a line from Bermuda to Puerto Rico and then to Florida. “This entire area is considered the Bermuda Triangle.”

            The quartet scoffed. “That is huge!” Pansy and Blaise nearly yelled. “How are we supposed to find them in that?” Fred and George wondered. Finding them already seemed like a daunting process but now… now it seemed impossible. Boats and brooms weren’t going to help much at all.

            “This does seem like a lot of water.” Narcissa said with a frown. “Do we even have the time to search this? What about the traps that the muggles fall under? How are we going to avoid those? We don’t even know what they are.”

            Remus didn’t like the negativity from everyone. It just made him that much more nervous. He wanted to hear that this was going to be easier than they thought. He knew that was stuff of fantasy but he _really_ didn’t think he could handle the thought of losing Harry and Draco.

            “We are just going to have to keep a watchful eye on the ocean. I think we need experienced wizards split in the groups. I know that you four.” Severus pointed to the quartet. “Are good on a broom but we need either myself, Remus, Narcissa or Lucius with you. We should probably split into even groups. Four in the boat and four in the air. It would be better if two of you came to the boats and two of us will be on brooms.”

            The quartet all looked at each other and quickly formed a group huddle. Severus rolled his eyes but allowed them to continue.

            “What do you think guys?” Fred asked as soon as their heads all made contact.

            “I would argue that you are not our leader but we kind of need to hurry. So don’t let it get to your head.” George warned. By the looks on Fred and Blaise’s faces, they had already let it get to them.

            “Should we break into couples or sibling pairings? As the leader, I say couples.” Fred said with an authoritative tone. George and Pansy rolled their eyes before sharing a look.

            “Couples.” They said together. They knew that neither one of them would be able to concentrate fully if they had to worry about their partner.

            Blaise and Fred nodded in agreement. That worked for them too. “Which pairing will go on brooms?” Both sets of couples shared looks with their partners. Fred didn’t mind flying but he was really intrigued about the boats. If it was freaking Lucius out than that meant it was probably a lot of fun.

            Blaise sort of, kind of, possibly had a secret. He absolutely hated brooms. He was terrified of them actually. It was the lack of control. With flying there is an unknown set of variables where things can go wrong. There is no control when flying. Oh he could fake it no problem. Perk of being a Slytherin. Which he has done many times. Pansy and Draco adored playing quidditch, well Draco did. Pansy just liked to fly. She wasn’t too big on the actual sport but any excuse to be on a broom and she was there. Most of the time he was able to use homework as an excuse but during the summer or days that his homework was already done, that was when he had to pretend. He was positive that he should get some kind of award for best acting. He knew that if his friends knew he was scared that they wouldn’t care or tease him about it. That wasn’t the problem. Slytherins aren’t scared of brooms. Slytherins don’t have issues like that. Especially ones that have been around brooms their whole lives. It was personal issue.

            So when Fred spoke up and announced that he wanted to go on the boat, Blaise knew that his boyfriend was a gift from the love gods. He just had to be. Fred looked to Blaise to see if that was alright with him and he detected relief in his eyes. He frowned briefly, he would have to ask Blaise about that later.

            “Who said you get to ride in the boats?” Pansy demanded. She didn’t really want to get in the boat, she just liked arguing. She shared an amused grin with George and he immediately jumped in on it.

            “Yeah. What if we wanted to ride in the boat?” George honestly didn’t care either way. He loved to fly and was glad that Pansy loved to as well. His brother played quidditch with him when they were younger but he knew that Fred just wasn’t into it that much.

            “Uh leader remember?” Fred said haughtily.

            Pansy and George scoffed in unison. This probably would be a debate that they would have for the rest of their lives. Neither couple wanted to relinquish control.

            Blaise wasn’t sure if they were kidding or not but he really couldn’t take the thought of getting on a broom and flying over so much open water. The thought just made his stomach churn and he felt like passing out. He swayed slightly and had to grip on to Fred.

            “Baby are you alright?” Fred asked suddenly. That got the attention of Pansy and George. They both stared at Blaise in concern as they dropped all playfulness.

            “Can we go in the boat? Please. I can’t-” He stopped mid-sentence to take a deep breath as he willed the fear away. This was not a time to be panicking.

            Fred wrapped his arms around Blaise and held him tight. “Of course.” He assured him with a kiss to the temple.

            Pansy and George shared a worried look. “We don’t mind flying. You can stay in the boat Blaise.” George told him in all seriousness. He wasn’t going to fool around about something that Blaise seemed to be having a hard time with. Pansy frowned and eyed her best friend with sad eyes. She didn’t understand where this was coming from. She would have to talk about this with him later.

            Blaise sighed in relief and they all stepped away. “Blaise and I will ride in the boats.” Fred declared as he continued to hold on to his lover.

            Severus looked to Lucius but he already knew which way this discussion was going to go.

            Lucius hated both of the options. To think that he was even considering getting on a death trap like a muggle boat was astounding. But he also was not a big flyer either. He much preferred apparating places. In his youth, he had played quidditch for two years before a Ravenclaw beater knocked him off his broom fifty feet in the air. Ever since then flying was not a big thing for him. Today was just not his day.

            “I am not getting in a muggle boat.” Lucius said firmly as he made his choice. Severus rolled his eyes, he had known that from the beginning. He looked to Narcissa.

            “I will go with my husband.” She replied with a bite of her lip. She actually would have preferred the boat despite it being muggle. Flying was not something she enjoyed doing. It just made her nervous. She couldn’t even go to any of Draco’s games because of how nervous she got. She just knew that if she had shown up she would have made a scene and demanded her son to come down. She was tempted to go on the boat but with her sons gone, she needed her husband’s support.

            Remus sighed in relief. Brooms had never been something he enjoyed. Not even when he was younger. James and Sirius were the quidditch lovers. Even Pettigrew liked it well enough. Remus didn’t like the sport of it or the flying. The only time he had willingly been on one was when the school made all first years take flying lessons. Then possibly a handful of other times due to other circumstances. He was also glad that he would be with Severus. He needed the smell of his partner to keep his werewolf instincts in check. He feared he would go wild without him.

            “Okay, now that the groups are settled, where should we begin our search?” Lucius asked. He wasn’t even sure where to look. It was indeed a lot of water to cover.

            Remus frowned as he looked over the map. “Florida, Bermuda and Puerto Rico. I would say that any of the options are plausible.”

            “But when Finneus was talking about it, he said if you hit Florida you have gone too far and if you hit Puerto Rico in the other direction you have also gone too far. He never mentioned Bermuda at all.” Lucius said with furrowed brows.

            Severus tilted his head to the side. “That could be because it is a given that we are also talking about Bermuda. It is called the Bermuda Triangle.” He frowned. “But it does raise the question of why he would not mention it.”

            “Should we only start from Florida or Puerto Rico?” Remus asked. The quartet followed the conversation with their heads but didn’t pipe up. They had no idea or input on what should be done. This was out of their element.

            Lucius sighed. This was difficult. “I think since he didn’t mention Bermuda that we shouldn’t start there.”

            It was a big risk to take a third of their options away but they were needing to make decisions quickly.

            “Alright then.” Severus began. “Florida or Puerto Rico?”

            Everyone was silent for a long while. The question hung in the air. No one really wanted to speak up and be the one to decide the choice. The quartet looked to each other for a moment before finally breaking the silence.

            “Florida.” They said in unison.

 

            ~………~………~………~………~………~………~………~………~………~………~

 

            Harry was staring at the giant creature not too far off in the distance and he was positive that he was about to die. This is not how he thought he die. He had assumed that if he was to die it would be in a blaze of glory or a terrible accident down a flight of stairs. Oddly specific. But this… this was not how he thought he would be spending his last moments. The underwater dragon was huge! He wasn’t even able to fully rationalize that the Loch Ness monster is real. His mind felt like it had combusted slightly. First the Bermuda Triangle and now the Loch Ness monster. Too many urban legends in a short span for him.

            “Nonsense.” Finneus snarked back. It was honestly insulting to think that they didn’t have any faith in his capabilities. It wasn’t like this was his first time encountering a Lactera nor was it his first time around Nessie.

            “I thought the Loch Ness monster was rumored to be around Scotland.” Harry mused once his brain function had returned to him. At least he thought it was Scotland.

            Draco frowned. “I don’t know what this Lockness monster is but you say that like there is only one of them.”

            Harry gaped at his lover for a moment. “You mean there are a lot of them?” Finneus laughed openly. “How else would you explain all of the muggle sightings? They are sighted in drastically different regions of the world. If there was only one of them than that would mean that it was constantly on the move. Some sightings overlap and are in different countries. Which is why muggles think it is just a myth. Because it isn’t possible for the Loch Ness monster to be in two spots at the same time. But really it is a Lactera.”

            Draco prayed for patience. It was annoying him that Finneus was only offering up vague explanations. It was like he wanted Harry to have to ask questions.

            “Lactera aren’t like the Peura. They aren’t on the brink of extinction. Despite their nickname, they aren’t really underwater dragons. They are closely related in species but that is about it. They feed off of magic. They are relatively safe creatures. A dragon eats many different things. Including smaller animals but they don’t feed off of magic.” Draco explained.

            Harry scrunched his brows. “How do they feed off of magic? How do they find magic in the water?”

            “Magic doesn’t always represent itself inside of a core like in a witch or wizard. There are ley lines for magic users that go off of the land. There are also magical hotspots in pockets of the earth. There isn’t just one type of magic out there. Lacteras feed off any type of magic that they can come across. They aren’t picky at what kind.” Draco shivered slightly and noticed the curious look from Harry and explained further.

            “They aren’t extinct because wizards leave them alone. They can suck the magical core right out of you and swallow you whole.” Harry frowned. “But I thought you said they only feed on magic. Why would they eat people?”

            Finneus laughed darkly. “They aren’t eating the people. They are swallowing them whole. They have no digestive track since they don’t actually eat any substance. They just have a cavern inside of them where they house the magic that they eat. A Lactera will use the magic they feed off of to keep a victim inside of them longer than normally possible. The person or magical creature, since they aren’t picky at who they steal from, will spend _years_ wasting away inside the belly of a Lactera.”

            Harry was genuinely horrified. “Why would they do that? And how many Lactera are there?” His mind was imagining thousands upon thousands of them just filling the ocean.

            “They are sadistic predators. So are dragons to an extent. But dragons can’t suck the magic out of you and there are many ways to handle a dragon. Lactera like having victims. It is just in their nature.” Draco kept comparing them to dragons because it was something that Harry would be able to follow along with.

            “But there aren’t as many as you would think. Just because wizards aren’t killing them doesn’t mean that they aren’t dying. They are notoriously vicious. There is a hierarchy to Lactera. Alphas. Omegas. Betas. There are actually a lot of magical creatures that have the same hierarchy. With Lacteras magical territory is a priority. There are packs or groups of them. Take a ley line for example. One single line has no doubt been fought over thousands of times. The packs will go at it until one Alpha pack leader harms the other leader. It doesn’t always end in blood shed. Some researchers believe that is because they are now aware that they could potentially become extinct in a couple generations otherwise.” Draco could feel the interest and the fear coming from Harry.

            Harry was kind of tired of all of the things that he just didn’t know about his world being sprung on him. He looked at the now much closer creature warily. “Do your parents have more than one of them?”

            Finneus snorted. “No but that is not for a lack of trying. It took them fifty years to finally track down a lone Alpha.”

            Draco gasped. “That is an Alpha without a pack?” Draco was positive his heart was about to beat out of his chest. “Is that a bad thing?” Harry asked tentatively.

            Draco laughed a little hysterically. “For us yes. An Alpha without a pack becomes restless and more ruthless. Packs are calming not only for the Alpha but also the other members as well. It is a family instinct that they are all wired with. Any lone Lactera feels a separation that begins to tear at their subconscious. A packless Lactera can’t survive for long without a pack. But it is even more hard on an Alpha. Alphas are born with the need and the strive to take care of others. They are at the top of the chain and they demand respect. When they have no one to care for and no one to be there to respect them, well they go crazy.”

            Finneus was impressed with Malfoy’s knowledge. A lot of people can name a magical creature and give the basics of one but don’t really know the finer details of the species. “Hogwarts must really have upped their teaching practices.” He mused out loud.

            Harry and Draco both scoffed at that. “No but they sure need to.” Draco muttered under his breath. “I just really like magical creatures. I find them fascinating.” It wasn’t just the ones that could function in normal society. He was intrigued by all magical creatures. Always had been. “Plus reading was the one thing my father allowed me to do without restrictions. There is a lot that I know about.”

            In anyone else that last statement would have sounded cocky but Harry knew that he was just being honest. He personally loved it when Draco gave him little history lessons.

            Finneus sighed dramatically. “Ouch. That is a negative mark against Lucius. Damn. I was really starting to like him.”

            Draco rolled his eyes as he snorted. “My mother will kill you. I wouldn’t go there.” He warned. Finneus smirked. He always loved a challenge.

            “Falling for the guy who tortures you. Isn’t that some twisted version of Stockholm syndrome?” Harry asked cheekily before smirking at the way Finneus growled.

            Draco smirked and would have added something to the conversation but he noticed something odd the closer they got to the Lactera. “For an Alpha this one is very small.”

            Finneus grinned. “That is just because she only eats about once a month if that.”

            If Draco hadn’t feared what else could be in the water he would have jumped out of the boat and swam the fuck away. Harry really didn’t like the fear he could feel in the bond. “What is it?” He asked even though he didn’t want to know the answer.

            Draco ignored Harry’s question. “You mean to tell me that your parents not only have a lone Alpha but also a starved one too?” He was seriously going to panic.

            When Finneus only laughed darkly in response, Harry himself grew frightened. “What does that mean?”

            Draco turned to Harry. “That means not only do we have to deal with an already depraved Lactera but also a rabid one. They _need_ magic to survive. If that Lactera only gets fed once a month then it is going to devour the smallest hint of magic that it can find. It is going to be so blinded to hunger that it wouldn’t even hesitate to take victims. Not to mention that only feeding once a month leaves no room for the victims inside of the Lactera. Which means that its victims will die quickly and that alone would affect the mindset of a Lactera. Add that in with all of the other mountain of circumstances and we are in for hell. I am astounded that it hasn’t already swam our way. Fuck Harry, our bond alone is probably a lot of nutrient to them.” Draco was seconds away from panicking.

            Harry wasn’t even sure what to say to that. He was wondering if magical dampeners would help anything but if the creature can sense magic then it probably wouldn’t be affected by a dampener.

            “He’s not wrong.” Finneus stated in agreement. “You two alone have enough magic in you to keep Nessie sated for years. She sensed you all the way back there. That’s why she came out of the water. You two are giant beacon to her.”

            Despite his growing panic, Harry wasn’t sure if he liked knowing that this one was a girl or not. Calling the Lactera ‘it’ had been a separation in his mind.

            Draco frowned. “Then why hasn’t she come to us.”

            Finneus shook his head. Sometimes it was frustrating being around people who couldn’t sense magic like he could. “There is a barrier keeping her in. She can’t get too far or else she would escape. She doesn’t ever come out of the water so any boats that do manage to get this far don’t see her until it is too late.”

            Harry relaxed slightly at the realization that she was in a barrier. They could just go around the barrier, right?

            “Why would she harm muggle ships?” Harry asked. Draco smiled slightly. “Muggles have magic too my love. It is just a different type. It isn’t magic that they can do anything with. It is a really small amount but it still exists. Which is why it makes it possible that a wizard could have a muggle soulmate. So to a Lactera, they don’t care what kind of magic it is. But since it is such a small amount, even an entire boat full of muggles would hardly even count as a snack.”

            Harry was torn at what he thought. On the one hand, he hated that the Flamels would keep anyone captive. He didn’t like that Lacteras feed off of magic but it wasn’t like they could help what they are. It was in their nature. It was the food chain. On the other hand, he didn’t care enough to want to free her either. He was a little confused about muggles having magic. It being a different type of magic and not enough to do anything with would still explain why wizards thought they were better than muggles. But he just thought the whole thing was silly.

            As they got closer to the Lactera, Harry was able to almost see the barrier. He could feel the tingle of magic and he definitely saw the way the creature was banging up against the barrier. It was effectively a cage. A small one at that. He almost felt bad for her.

            “Oh fuck.” Finneus breathed out wildly. He kept one hand on the wheel but the other one was tugging at his hair repeatedly. “We have to get out of here. Now.”

            The urgency and panic to his tone was making Harry and Draco very nervous. They had just begun to go around the barrier keeping the Lactera captive. They shot her a look but the creature was still restlessly trying to break the barrier.

            “What is it?” Draco demanded to know. He began looking all around them, hoping to see whatever it was that Finneus was freaking out about but he only saw open water.

            Finneus turned his head back slightly and Harry winced at the fear. “We have leave _now_. Apparate us out of here. We will have to come at their island a different way.”

            Harry was not about to just give up hours of sailing with zero information. “Why? What is going on?”

            Finneus opened his mouth to scream at the idiots but several loud roars made him freeze in terror. A splashing noise indicated that something was close by.

            Harry whimpered, while Draco actually let out a scream as they realized they were entirely surrounded by Lactera. By the looks of it, it was an entire pack.

            “I told you that you two are a beacon.” Finneus whispered quietly.

 

            ~………~………~………~………~………~………~……….~………~………~………~

 

            The group landed from the international portkey in relief. The quartet had landed in a giant heap on the ground but they didn’t seem too upset by this.

            “Ugh.” Fred moaned in despair. “I am never using another international portkey again in my entire life.” Portkeys were usually a quick process but international ones take longer. He wasn’t sure how long it had been but it was at least an hour. His stomach had felt like it had long ago been vanished. He wasn’t even sure he had a stomach any more.

            “It wasn’t that bad.” Severus argued. Sure, it had not been pleasant but it he would rather do it again than listen to them gripe and moan.

            “Maybe for you.” Pansy retorted as she sat up. She immediately grabbed her head and let out a noise of distress. She felt like she had drunk an entire bottle of elven wine by herself.

            “You okay ba- ohhhhh.” George had attempted to check on his girlfriend but that had been a giant mistake because he felt like the world had just tilted on its axis.

            Blaise being the smart one of the group didn’t move at all. He was uncomfortable and he was positive that the ground was wet from more than just rain but he couldn’t bring himself to care right now. Not when his brain was splitting in two from the portkey. He blinked up at Severus who was sneering at them. “I will literally give you my soul if you have a potion that can help.” Blaise told him weakly.

            Severus arched a brow at the very non-Slytherin offering. “Is that so?” His mouth was twitching. He noticed that the other three had stopped moaning and were now listening intently.

            Remus shook his head but decided that wasn’t a good idea. He hadn’t done too many international portkeys so he wasn’t that used to it but he would prefer this over the after effects of the full moon any day.

            Severus noticed the way Remus seemed to be in pain and he immediately pulled out several bottles before mixing two of them and handing him the new one. “Drink half of this.” He instructed. Remus leaned in to give him a gentle kiss before he did what he was told.

            Remus smiled widely when he instantly felt better. He wrapped his arms around Severus’s neck and drew him in for a much deeper kiss.

            “If my soul is not good enough and you are now requesting kisses as payment than I will decline. I think I would rather feel like this.” Blaise piped up effectively ruining their moment.

            The rest of the quartet and Lucius snorted. Severus sighed heavily before pulling out several more potions and handing them out.

            Lucius watched the quartet take drink them with amusement. He had been handling international portkeys since he was a child so they didn’t even bother him anymore.

            The quartet all narrowed their eyes in suspicion at Severus. They felt worlds better but still a little under the weather. “Why did you combine two potions for Remus?”

            Severus smirked at them. “Because I actually like Remus.” Lucius snickered at the offended faces. “What I gave you is sufficient enough. Deal with it.” Honestly, one would think that they would be happy with the potions. Not everyone carries around potions these days. He could have given them nothing at all.  

            Narcissa had tuned them out since the moment they landed. She looked around the portkey hub with interest. It was a little rundown for her tastes but that was alright. They were the only wizards besides the staff in presence so they were attracting attention from the workers. Which was not a good thing.

            Severus noticed the attention as well and he made his way over to a young witch. Remus was instantly by his side with a possessive arm around his waist. His instincts were all out of whack from losing Harry and he was keeping a close eye on Severus.

            Severus rolled his eyes but he was thrilled that Remus was so open with his affections. Even if it did make him feel like a piece of meat.

            “Is there anything that I can help you all with? We have a large selection of muggle clothes so that you will not appear out of place once you reach the rest of the port.” The friendly girl asked. Remus narrowed his eyes at the fact that she was eyeing Severus a little too closely.

            “Yes, that would be nice. Thank you. Also, we are need of a boat. Would you happen to know any good rental places nearby?” Severus asked.

            “There are quite a few along the way to the docks. They are all fairly well. I guess it would depend on what kind of boat you need. Where are you headed?”

            Severus exchanged a look with Remus before answering. “We were thinking of sailing up into Bermuda.” He was going to say or even Puerto Rico but he stopped when the girl’s eyes widened.

            “Are you sure about that? A yacht full of teen muggles disappeared just a couple days ago. Aurors suspect Lactera were involved.” He could hear the gasps from the rest of the group behind him and he knew that meant they had come close to him.

            Fred and Blaise were seriously reconsidering going in the boat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay what do you think of this chapter? It is shorter than yesterdays but that is alright. 
> 
> I love the quartet. Any time I get to add them in, I just love it. With this chapter there was actually a lot with them. It showed their silly side and their seriousness when needed. I liked having some of the family be alright on brooms but others not like it at all. I think that would be similar to people who just don't like to fly in planes. Some are terrified, like Blaise. Others just don't care for it, like the rest of them. I myself don't really like planes. I am not afraid but I would just rather drive.
> 
> So the group chose Florida to start form instead of Puerto Rico. Any thoughts on this?
> 
> I was actually really interested in the Alpha, Omega, Beta aspect to Lacteras. It made me want to think about a oneshot dealing with ABOs. 
> 
> Now what do you think about the Lacteras? A pack of hungry magic sucking creatures. Makes me shiver. 
> 
> Any thoughts on the little moments between Remus and Severus? Not much but I thought they were adorable. 
> 
> Do you think the yacht full of muggles had come across the pack of Lactera or perhaps just Nessie?
> 
> Let me know what you think of this chapter and I really would love anymore oneshot prompts that you guys might have. 
> 
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	76. Near Death Experiences and Conspiracy Theories

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. So I have given up all pretense of trying to keep a steady time that I will post the chapter. I used to be able to have it almost like clock work. But that is getting difficult. So I am letting you all know that there isn't a schedule any longer. The chapters will still be posted daily but not at any specific time. Hopefully you all understand. :)

            As soon as everyone made it out of the hub with new clothes, they began looking for a boat rental. Everyone ignored Lucius who was complaining about the muggle clothing. ‘It’s too open. I feel a breeze where there shouldn’t be one.’ Yeah, no one was touching that with a ten-foot pole.

            “Ever get the feeling that we are more mature than Lucius sometimes?” George whispered quietly to the quartet. Remus had to hold back a snort. He would tell them that whispering doesn’t help them when it comes to his ears but it was honestly too much fun listening in. 

            “Us mature?” Pansy asked clearly offended. “The day we become mature better be on our death beds.”

            Fred shook his head. “Not even then. If the last words out of your mouth aren’t some type of joke, then clearly you are doing something wrong.”

            Blaise liked to pride himself on being the most mature out the four of them. Not that he would own up to it, considering their feelings on maturity. “It is a scary thought though.” He mused. The three turned to him with arched brows.

            “What is? Us being mature?” George asked shuddering slightly. Blaise snorted. “Sort of. Us being more mature than Lucius.”

            “Can we talk about something else?” Fred rushed in a hurried tone.

            Remus snickered as he rolled his eyes. They acted like being mature was the worst possible thing in the world. Heaven forbid what kind of parents they will be. The children will probably be more mature than them.

            “What’s funny?” Severus asked as he wrapped an arm around Remus’s waist. Remus smiled at him softly before he looked back at the quartet to make sure they weren’t listening. He snorted again at the look of wonder on their faces as a muggle walked by on a cell phone.

            “The quartet thinks they might be more mature than Lucius and they are horrified at the idea.” Severus let out a surprised laugh.

            “Right.” He drew out the word sarcastically. “If they are mature then I am next in line to take over for the queen.”

            Remus laughed. “Ooo. I like the idea of that. You could sit at a throne and I would be your right hand. Like a consort or something.” Severus smiled softly.

            “Consort?” Pansy interrupted. “Have you guys decided to take over the weird kink of Harry and Draco’s now?”

            Severus looked over and was disturbed at the lack of personal space the quartet seemed to have. They were practically crowding him. “One, that conversation did not include you.” He felt a small elbow hit his side from Remus. “And two, I don’t want to think about _any_ kinks that those two might have.” He shuddered at the thought.

            “Pity for you then.” Fred piped up while Pansy nodded along. “I think they are quite kinky. Makes me curious.”

            “Can we cease this disturbing conversation?” Lucius demanded. “It is not the proper place for a discussion like that. Actually, there will never be a proper place for that.”

            Luckily Fred and Pansy dropped the conversation as Severus led them over to the nearest rental agency.

            Lucius blinked rapidly at the place and sneered openly. The place was in a desperate need of a paint job. It was so washed out that he couldn’t even tell what color it had originally started with. He was itching to set fire to the place. It looked like a shack more than anything. If this is what the place looked like, then he was afraid of what the boats would resemble. He was incredibly pleased that he would be in the air. He feared for the ones that would be in the boat though.

            Severus was a little wary about this but the lady in the international hub had recommended them. There was a teenager behind the counter who looked like he wanted to be anywhere else. “Welcome to Flounder’s Fastest Waterworks. Where we have all your water needs at competitive prices. Ranked number two in customer satisfaction in all of Florida.” The monotone voice was off putting.

            “Number two?” Fred scoffed. “What kind of sales pitch is that? That just lets the customers know that you are the first-place loser in customer service.”

            Severus groaned internally. He really couldn’t take them anywhere.

            “Look.” The teenager began in a rude tone. “I just work here man. I don’t actually care about customer service.”

            Lucius snorted, that much was obvious. When it looked like Fred was going to argue with him he opened his mouth. “We just want a boat thingy.” He waved his hand hoping to convey his message.

            Remus and Severus both groaned. Boat thingy? Now they were surely going to be looked at oddly.

            The teenager arched his brows and narrowed his eyes at them briefly before a genuine smile appeared on his face. “Wizards.” He said nodding his head. He must have seen their surprise because his grin widened.

            “We see a lot of wizards actually. Not too hard to spot. Especially from people who call them a boat thingy.” Lucius shrugged sheepishly.

            The teenager pulled out a catalogue and handed it to Severus so he could flip through it and decide what they would like to rent.

            “So what brings you here?” He asked conversationally. The group all shared a look.

            “We are looking for some friends who made their way either up into Bermuda or somewhere around Puerto Rico.” The worker gaped at them for a moment.

            “Don’t tell me you are going to go after them.” He said in astonishment. “Do you have any idea what kind of stuff lurks around here?”

            Lucius looked at him unimpressed. “We heard about the Lactera.” He was concerned about how they would be handling that. He supposed if they came in contact with one they could all apparate out of there. Lacteras were dangerous but unless they actually catch you then there is ample time to get away. Well, as long as it isn't a pack. A pack of Lactera will combine their magic and ensnare the victims by dimming all other types of magic.

            The teen tilted his head in consideration before shaking his head. “It is more than that. Muggles disappear like crazy around here. It has to be more than Lactera. Which by itself is odd. There are no ley lines around here. There is no magical hotspots either. What is a Lactera doing all the way out here?” His voice was now a whisper.

            “There was a fisherman out here about three months ago. Said he had been following behind a friend when his friend’s boat suddenly started sinking. Before he could get to him the entire thing sank and his friend was eaten. He swears that he saw him being eaten from the inside out.” The quartet took a step away. “Of course the muggles said it must have been an odd instance of piranhas. Please. That doesn’t even make sense. Piranhas typically live in South America. Not all the way out here and definitely not the open ocean.”

            Remus blew out a breath. “You think it was Seekers?” Seekers don’t live out here either. “That would mean it was deliberate. Seekers tend to live in freshwater. I know that the Florida Everglades is the largest freshwater biome but that wouldn’t explain why the Seekers would be this far out.”

            Fred frowned. Magical creatures were not his forte. He knew what a Seeker was when it came to creatures. He always liked their name because it reminded him of quidditch. That was until he realized that they were called Seekers because they seek out the blood stream before devouring the insides. He tried to think back to the different types of Seekers to remember which ones liked saltwater but he was drawing a blank. He really should have paid more attention in school.

            The teen seemed glad to have someone to listen to his theories. “Yeah.” He said in excitement. “I think it might be Ugandan Seekers.”

            Remus tilted his head back with a bewildered face. “No way. Ugandan Seekers are too close to the Kenya branch. Recent studies show that they have even intermingled the different kinds. With the Kenya tendencies there is no way that Ugandan Seekers would function in the saltwater.” He watched the kid’s face fall slightly under the new realization.

            “It is possible that it might be Slovakian Seekers. Or even Slovenian but the latter is dying out.” Remus piped up. He knew that they were getting a little off topic but he did like talking about things in his field of knowledge.

            Severus smiled at the easy way Remus could teach anyone anything. “What did the Aurors say?” He butted in, still looking through the catalogue.  

            The kid scowled. “They didn’t even investigate. The word of a muggle wasn’t enough to open a case and since most Seekers are freshwater species they didn’t think it was very likely. But they don’t even know much about the muggle piranhas, because if they did then they wouldn’t have assumed it was piranhas.”

            Lucius didn’t like the thought of any type of Seeker being out there. He had a bad feeling about all of this. A really bad feeling.

            “Odd, isn’t it?” George mused. “Lactera shouldn’t be out here yet they are and also Seekers.” He exchanged a significant look with the others. If this was deliberate then it was highly likely that the Flamels were the cause. And it was worrying that they were able to have such dangerous creatures out there without getting caught.

            The kid leaned forward and put his hands underneath his chin. “Right!” The excitement in his eyes was obvious. “Not to mention this area being near the Bermuda Triangle and all. Makes it all so suspicious.” He sighed heavily and a little too dramatically. “But I am the only one who really thinks so. All the other wizards around here just think it is coincidences and just creatures being creatures.” The tone of voice was very grumpy.

            “Well we believe you.” Lucius assured him with a charming smile. He knew an opportunity when he saw one. And by the way the kid’s face lit up, he knew that he had him right where he wanted him. “Why don’t you tell us what else you think is going on.”

            By the time Severus had found a boat that would be preferable, Lucius had charmed the kid into talking about a wide variety of conspiracy theories. With Remus’s knowledge mixed into it, the kid was loving the attention.

            “You know.” The worker said looking around and making sure that no one was around. “I could upgrade your boat for the same price. The one you chose isn’t big enough for all of you.” Severus was going to tell him that there was no need since it was only going to be the four of them but Lucius stepped forward.

            “That is very kind of you. I can’t imagine why this place is only number two in customer service. Why I bet with you working here, that rank should go up.” He had to restrain his grin when the kid blushed his thanks and rushed off to make sure they had a bigger boat ready for them.

            Severus turned to Lucius with raised brows, silently asking a question. Lucius sighed in disappointment. “Severus, if you are going to get in one of those infernal traps then you might as well do it in style.”

            The kid came back and assured them that everything was in order and even allowed them to pay using galleons. He told them that his bosses usually like to have it paid in muggle money but he would take care of that. Lucius sent Severus a smug smirk at that. Flattery will get you everywhere.

            They said their goodbyes and assured the kid that if they found any Seekers that they would let him know. On their way out, a couple entered the agency and they could hear the monotone greeting.

            “With an opening statement like that, it is no wonder they are only number two.” George said shaking his head. He was having a hard time understanding why they would hire someone who obviously had a hard time talking to people nicely unless it was about creatures. From a shop owner’s point of view it seemed like bad business. But he couldn’t really point fingers since they had hired Verity. She wasn’t exactly friendly either.

            At the dock, Lucius, Narcissa, George and Pansy delusioned themselves. They all did a rather poor job at it on purpose. A muggle wouldn’t be able to spot them but a wizard with keen eyes would see through it easily. Which is what they were going for. They wanted the rest of the group in the boats to be able to see them. Lucius pulled out the shrunken versions of the brooms that they had brought and delusioned them as well before passing them out. They all nodded to each other and began what would surely become an interesting journey. Hopefully with no Lactera or Seekers.

 

            ~………~………~………~………~………~………~………~………~………~………~

 

            Up close, Harry decided that Lactera were quite ugly. He immediately understood why Draco said that they were more lizard like than dragon. The textured skin and the intricate patterns on them were interesting. They all looked different from each other and he wondered if that was differences in the hierarchy. Perhaps Alphas were certain colors than the rest. Same with Betas and Omegas. He looked around quickly and spotted what he assumed was the Alpha. He had no idea how to specify if it was male or female. This one was _way_ larger than the other Lactera and he definitely understood why Draco had asked about Nessie’s size, because she was tiny compared to this one. And wasn’t that just a scary thought? The Alpha’s skin was a beautiful light blue and dark green. The color made him want to reach out and pet it but that was not a good idea.

            The alpha let out a giant roar that made Harry whimper and grip Draco tightly. He looked over to Nessie and noticed that she stopped trying to get out of the barrier. She seemed to be frozen. Was there some hidden warning inside the roar?

            There was a Lactera to the Alpha’s right and it let out a roar that nearly rivaled the Alpha’s. Harry wasn’t sure but it kind of sounded like it was impatient. Where the Alpha was beautiful this Lactera was not. It was a murky brown color that looked like diarrhea.

            The two Lactera turned to each other and began posturing at one another. “They are going to state dominance. This could turn into a fight.” Finneus breathed out. Despite the scary realization that they could become Lactera chow, he was intrigued. He had never seen any other Lactera except for Nessie.

            Draco could care less what the Lactera were about to do. He quickly laid a hand on Finneus and attempted to apparate out of there. When nothing happened he tried harder, putting more force behind it but nothing was happening.

            “It’s the Lactera.” Finneus whispered horrified. “With so many of them they are already using their magic and dampening ours so that we can’t get away.” Harry was horrified that they were able to do that.

            There was a splash and Harry looked over and jumped high in the air when he realized that there was a baby Lactera _right_ next to the boat. As adorable as it was, with its bright yellow patterned skin and red symbols etched into it, he knew that it would eat him in a heartbeat.

            He forced himself to look back to the Alpha and whimpered when he saw that the two of them had worked out their differences. The Alpha swam closer to them and Harry closed his eyes. “We are so going to die.”

            “No!” Draco jumped at the angry tone to Harry’s voice. He turned and his eyes widened when he saw that the darkness had taken over. But he gasped when he saw that the Alpha had frozen. It was staring at Harry with beady little eyes.

            Finneus nearly choked on the magic that Potter was releasing. The normal darkness that was always swirling inside of him was oozing out. It was dark and it was suffocating. He could feel the way the Lactera were recoiling away from the magic. Lactera by nature don’t care what kind of magic they eat but the darkness was infusing the magic with something that he couldn’t quite detect. Finneus frowned when the bond that Potter and Malfoy share was dimmed. Instead of the giant beacon that had originally drawn the Lactera to them, it was a teeny tiny candle. If he hadn’t been so attuned to them, then he wouldn’t have even noticed the bond like this.

            Finneus shivered in delight when the darkness reached out its magic and cocooned him inside of it. It was like nothing he had ever felt before. It was every sinful, wonderful temptation all rolled into one. It was everything he could ever imagine. It felt like pure heaven. The wicked dark undercurrents were drawing him in. He could feel his eyes grow heavy lidded. Could feel the drunk sensation of too much power. He could almost taste it. He wanted that inside him. He wanted it to invade his senses and bury its roots in him. Nothing had ever felt so sweet before. Nothing had ever felt so raw and all consuming. He was just on the edge and could almost touch it. Such power. Such energy. _Oh_ , how he ached for it. He wanted more.

            Draco’s eyes filled with tears as he felt the bond go quiet. The normal hum was nearly silent. He didn’t like it. He didn’t like the absence of Harry. It filled him with so much terror. Harry was supposed to be linked to him. What was going on? What was the darkness doing? If he was going to die, then he wanted to at least feel Harry’s love one last time. He couldn’t die without feeling the bond.

            _‘We will not allow host to die yet. We must reach our destination.’_ Harry didn’t like the use of the word yet. It filled him with apprehension. He was about to speak but a loud shriek filled the air and it took him a moment to realize that it was him. The darkness had used his body to release the noise. He didn’t even know he could reach such tones.

            Finneus’s eyes widened when he saw the Alpha swim backwards just slightly. It shook its head and then attempted to swim forward one more time but Potter released another horrible loud bellow. The sound made his blood turn cold. There was so much authority in the noise and he didn’t like it. It made him want to submit and he wasn't even the one the noise was directed to.

            The Alpha released his own shriek but it didn’t match the pitch or volume of Harry’s. It was much quieter and it was directed at the rest of his pack. They watched as the rest of the pack surrounded the Alpha. Odd gurgles and noises filtered through and Harry realized they were communicating with one another.

            The murky brown Lactera made a noise that sounded like a snarl and shoved the Alpha away with its head before making its way towards them. Finneus and Draco had the foresight to cover their ears before Harry let out his loudest noise yet.

            Harry narrowed his eyes when the Lactera stopped and stared at him. He had never had a creature study him like this before. It was like it was judging his very character. He had no idea what he was supposed to be doing so he just stood there like he had been all along.

            After what seemed like an eternity, the Lactera lowered its eyes and then barred his neck in surrender. Finneus and Draco let out shocked gasps. They had never heard of a Lactera submitting to a non-Alpha let alone a wizard.

            Before anyone could even sigh in relief, the Alpha lunged forward and took the other Lactera by the throat. Blood oozed out of the neck and splashed everywhere. Draco leaned away quickly and only Finneus was hit with any of it. There was a loud gurgling from the wounded Lactera before it went stiff and obviously died. The Alpha dropped the neck and spit out blood before roaring loudly and diving under the water.

            The rest of the pack didn’t even glance in their direction, they just dived after their leader, leaving behind their dead pack member.

            Finneus wiped the blood off of his face and sucked it into his mouth. He ignored the disgusted noises from Potter and Malfoy at his actions. He could feel the darkness receding and he mourned the loss of such beauty.

            “Why did the Alpha kill him?” Harry asked once he was fully in control of his body. He sighed in relief when the bond was no longer dimmed. The humming of their connection was music to his ears. He wrapped his arms around Draco when he could feel the same relief from him.

            “Because it went against its orders. The Alpha had retreated and apparently that one disagreed with the decision. If it had succeeded in killing us, then that one would have become the new pack leader. But since the darkness had somehow showed more dominance and the Lactera lost, the Alpha had to make a stand or lose its own rank in the pack. They are vicious.” The last sentence had been a reminder of what had already been previously stated.

             Draco ignored Finneus’s voice and just focused on the feeling of the bond and his soulmate. That had been a close call. They were never going out to the sea again after this. Without the darkness they would have been toast. He remembered that the goblins had warned him that they would need dampeners. This was proof that bond can attract unwanted attention.

            Harry nodded his head when Finneus started up the boat again. _‘What did you do?’_ He asked the darkness. He was interested and a little upset. He didn’t like that the darkness had dimmed the bond. _‘We had to make host and life mate unappealing to the creatures. They like magic. We made them temporarily not be able to sense it no longer. Unfortunately we extended our protection to maker’s son. If his magic had stayed detected, then they would have attacked.’_ Harry and Draco smirked at the fact that the darkness hadn’t wanted to save Finneus.  

            Harry was really hating this journey. He had already had about ten mini heart attacks since they got into the damn boat. He was hoping that the Flamels didn’t have any more traps waiting for them. That wasn’t too much to hope for, right?

            “Are we getting close to the island?” Harry asked tentatively. Finneus tilted his head back and forth in consideration.

            “Yes. But there are traps on the island as well. They don’t live on the shore. They live in the heart of the island.” Draco groaned. Of course they did. That was just perfect.

            “And they make you go through all of this every time you want to see them?” Harry asked with bewilderment.

            Finneus scowled. “Yes. I think it is their way of ensuring that I don’t come around too often.” Which was just fine by him. It wasn’t like they were pleasant hosts. He didn’t come around too often anyways. Not unless he had something urgent to discuss with them.

            Harry couldn’t understand how a parent could treat a child like that. He would _never_ allow something like to happen to his children, once he had them. Draco was going to be a wonderful father. Their children would know that they were loved. To him it was unfathomable how a parent would even have children if they so obviously didn’t like them.

            They rode in silence for a while. Everyone was lost in their own thoughts and reveling in the feeling of being safe after a near death experience. Draco had rested his head on Harry’s shoulder and tried not to think of the horrid creatures that could be underneath them. Finneus was thinking about what would happen when they got to his parents. He was hoping he would get to see their deaths before his own was to happen.

            Harry was still picturing his children that he wanted. He could see the twins from his dream and he fell in love with everything about them. He loved the mixture of both of their genes. He had been hoping for a little tiny Draco but he adored that they had looked like a combination of the two of them. He hoped that the dream really would come true.

            Draco kept his eyes closed but he nuzzled his face into Harry’s neck. “What are you thinking about?” He asked curiously. There was a sweet gentle feeling from the bond and he thought it was enticing.

            “Do you think that I could carry our children?” Harry asked suddenly in response. Draco snapped his eyes open and lifted his head up. He subconsciously ran his hand against Harry’s stomach.

            “You want to be the one to become pregnant?” He had no problem with Harry being the one to carry their children. He felt a mixture of desire and love at the thought of Harry being swollen with his child. Draco swallowed heavily when Harry nodded.

            “I would like that.” Draco whispered as he stared into Harry’s eyes. He felt his heartbeat pick up and he couldn’t stop picturing Harry pregnant.

            “If this is some odd dirty talk, could you wait until I am not here? Or if you are into voyeurism than I can turn off the boat and watch.” The suggestive tone made Harry and Draco wrinkle their nose in disgust.

            “Just focus on steering us.” Draco grumbled. Leave it to a serial killer to kill the mood. He was kind of wishing that the darkness hadn't saved Finneus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay what did you guys think of this chapter? I know that not really a lot happened but I do still like this chapter. 
> 
> I know I say this a lot but I just love the quartet. Okay did anyone else pick up on Fred's statement? It was kind of a sad play on what happened to him in the books. He had been joking around with Percy when he died. *Weeps on the inside*
> 
> I think my favorite bit was 'boat thingy'. Yeah, Lucius should probably let Severus talk about muggle stuff. What did you think of the teenager? He definitely shouldn't be working retail. I think it is interesting how he came alive once they started indulging him. Remus is knowledgeable about magical creatures due to being a Master at Defense Against the Dark Arts. It is more than just spells. Which is why he taught them about some of them in his teaching year. He is probably also knowledgeable about them due to being one himself. He might have wanted to branch out and explore other kinds. 
> 
> Some of you might be curious as to why the rest of them didn't know as much as Remus but I like to look at it like this, take sharks for example. I know of sharks but I couldn't tell you jack shit about them. Same with a lot of sea animals. I may know of them but not much about them. I think it would work similarly in the magical world too. 
> 
> What did you think of the darkness being more Alpha-like than an actual Alpha? I thought it was kind of funny. 
> 
> I loved that after they were safe, Finneus was thinking about death instead of feeling safe and being glad that he was alive. Twisted man. 
> 
> So let me know what you thought of this chapter. I love hearing from you guys. 
> 
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	77. Merrows and Mourning

            Fred and Blaise eyed the boat a little warily. Yeah it was decent sized but could it really protect them against anything? They just hoped that it would be fast.

            Blaise thought that it wasn’t so bad. The boat was a little jerky at first but it wasn’t as bad as he thought it would be. He had been nervous about what would happen once they actually got on the ocean. He shot a look up at the sky and shook his head when he saw George do a dive bomb straight at Pansy. Her laughter could be heard from here. He looked to his surprisingly silent boyfriend and frowned at the green tinge to his lover’s face.

            “Fred, are you alright?” He asked tentatively. Severus and Remus turned sharply around to see what was wrong.

            Fred shook his head rapidly. Oh merlin, this was awful. He should have gone on a broom. That would be preferable to this. His stomach was a mess. He was positive that the whole thing wanted out of his body. “I think that-” His eyes widened and he ran to the edge of the boat and vomited.

            Blaise ran a hand up and down Fred’s back in a soothing manner as his boyfriend got sick.  

            Severus sighed and pulled out a potion and handed it to Blaise. “As soon as his stomach settles for a moment, have him take this. It will stop the nausea.” Blaise smiled at him widely. “Thank you.” He softly said before returning to keep a watch on his boyfriend.            

            “You are wonderful, you know that?” Remus murmured in Severus’s ears before kissing his cheek.

            “I think prepared is a better word.” Severus argued. He hadn’t done anything but carry around potions. Remus sighed. “One day, I will make you understand what I see when I look at you.”

            Severus swallowed slightly as he focused on steering the boat. “What is it you see?”

            Remus closed his eyes and leaned on Severus’s shoulder. “I see an incredibly jaded man who has the most wonderful caring soul I have ever seen. I see a man who has given so much to the world that you aren’t sure if there is anything left for you. I see a man who has done horrible things but will strive to be better at all costs. I see a man who has been used too many times but is smart enough to never be in that position again. I see the love that I know is inside of you. I see the sweet caring nature that you have buried away under a shield. I see you Severus. I see everything good about you. I am not romanticizing any of the faults that you are probably clinging to. I don’t just see the good. I see the bad too. The only difference is that I love both sides to you, while you hate what I so clearly love. One day Severus, one day you will see what I see too.”

            Severus closed his eyes briefly before turning his head and softly kissing Remus. He sighed into the gentle press of the other man’s lips. “I think.” Severus whispered. “That you are seeing what you want to see. But I love that you want to see it anyways.” Remus sighed. This was the best he was going to get out Severus for now.

            “Do you think that we will be as disgusting as them when we get that old?” Fred mock whispered. Blaise rolled his eyes. Yeah, his lover was definitely feeling better.

            “Disgusting?” Severus said with a dangerous tone.

            “Who are you calling old?” Remus was slightly offended.

            Fred grinned wickedly. “It’s kind of cute. Finding love at that age. Old people in love makes me melt a little inside.” He sighed dreamily. Blaise stepped away from Fred when he saw the look in Severus’s eyes.

            “Weasley.” Severus growled. “If you don’t shut up, I swear I will hand you over to a Lactera willingly.”

            Fred gasped in mock outrage. “How rude. All I was saying is that for people your age-” He was cut off by another growl.

            “Or perhaps a Seeker? Would you like that? Because I sure wouldn’t mind watching you disemboweled from the inside out.”

            Fred winced at the mental image and shot his traitor boyfriend a look for abandoning him. “Alright.” He raised his hands in surrender. “I won’t mention your approaching grandpa age any longer.” He barely was able to hold in the smirk.

            Blaise watched Severus clearly grapple for patience. The man must have barrels of it if he was able to restrain from killing Fred. When Severus ignored him and just turned around in Remus’s embrace, he let out a sigh of relief.

            “You are going to get yourself killed one of these days.” Blaise warned as he stepped up to his boyfriend. “I will have to put, ‘Here lies Fred Weasley, large mouth but nothing to back it up with’ on your tombstone.” He could hear Remus and Severus snort and he grinned at Fred.

            Fred shot his boyfriend a disgruntled look. “I will come back as a ghost and haunt you if you ever do something like that.” Blaise just grinned cheekily in response and wrapped his arms around Fred.

            Fred was a little wary about looking out in the water but there was nothing to occupy his time with or a distraction. So he spent time just staring at the ocean and hoping that Harry and Draco were alright. He had been staring at nothing in particular when he saw something green flash by. He blinked a couple times but whatever they passed was gone. He narrowed his eyes at the water around them and noticed other green things. They were moving too fast to really catch what it was but it almost looked like sea weed. Which isn’t too odd but for it to just be bobbing at the surface all the way out here, kind of was.

            “Why is there so much sea weed?” Fred asked in confusion. Remus stiffened instantly and spun around to look where Fred was looking.

            “There isn’t.” Remus said softly and a little terrified. Blaise and Severus caught his tone of voice and immediately looked around as well.

            Remus felt the boat slow down slightly and he shook his head vehemently. “No Sev, keep the speed. Don’t slow down.” Severus gripped the wheel so tightly that his knuckles went white. “What is it?” He demanded to know.

            Remus ignored him and turned to the now panicked Fred. “Fred, what do you see?”

            Fred frowned. Couldn’t they see it too? “I see sea weed.” He told them. “A lot of it.” His frown deepened when he realized that the sea weed had doubled.

            Remus bit his lip and looked around quickly but couldn’t see anything. That was to be expected but it still didn’t help anything. “Whatever you do don’t-” He was cut off.

            “Hang on.” Fred interrupted. “I see something coming out of the-”

            “NO!” Remus yelled and lunged toward Fred and knocked him over till he was lying flat on his back. Blaise startled but was too surprised to even move. He was staring at the two of them in shock.

            Severus jerked causing the boat to turn sharply before he cursed and set them straight again. “Remus!” Severus managed to have a demand and a question laced into the man’s name.

            “A Merrow, Sev. There is a Merrow out there.” Severus inhaled sharply and gripped the wheel tighter.

            “Stay laying down and close your eyes.” Remus told Fred.

            Blaise spluttered. “But isn’t a merrow a-” He trailed off unsure he wanted to continue.

            Remus nodded. “Yes. A byproduct of a Selkie and Siren.” Blaise shuddered before sitting down next to Fred.

            Fred frowned. “Someone refresh my memory on Merrows. I thought that they lived near Ireland.”

            “They do.” Remus agreed. “I am not sure what a Merrow is doing all the way out here.” Everyone understood that it was probably the Flamels doing.

            Fred was about to ask a question when a noise reached his ears that made him want to discover where it was coming from. It made him want to crawl into the depths of the ocean and find out who was making such a noise.

            Blaise laid a hand on Fred’s chest as soon as his boyfriend attempted to get up. “What’s he doing?” He asked in worry.

            Remus bit his lip. “He is hearing the call of the Merrow. Merrows take after both of their parents. Selkies and Siren are a species of Merpeople. Where Siren are devastatingly beautiful, Selkies are not. Siren use their beauty to lure in their victims and trick them in a state of calm until they attack. Selkies use their brute strength and their looks to frighten their victims until they attack.” He closed his eyes trying to come up with a reason for Fred to be falling victim.

            “Don’t you have to look at a Selkie to fall victim?” Blaise asked. This wasn’t making much sense. He remembered that Hogwarts had Selkies in the black lake but they were a separate colony of reformed violent Selkies. His mother had told him that it had caused quite a lot of stir in the Ministry when Dumbledore had assured them that this group of Selkies were safe.

            Remus nodded. “Yes, but remember, a Merrow is a combination of the two. Merrows do not have the looks of a Siren. They take after the appearance of the Selkie. So looks alone will not lure a victim but eye contact _will_ scare the victim in its own lure. But Fred didn’t look at the Merrow. He saw sea weed. That is the Merrow using some of the Siren lure. Since it is aesthetically like a Selkie, it needs another way to lure in the victims. Terror can only get you so far. It uses the lure of a Siren but channels it into visual aspects to ensnare their victim.”

            Blaise shook his head. “Are you saying that Fred is attracted to sea weed?” Despite the seriousness of the situation, Severus couldn’t help but snort.

            Remus shook his head but his mouth was twitching. “No, that is not what I am saying. The sea weed isn’t even there. It is a hallucination brought by the lure of the Siren side to the Merrow. The first trap of a Merrow is sight. It used the sea weed to attract his attention. Almost like a hypnosis. The sea weed is luring his subconscious into thinking that it is okay to want to jump overboard.”

            Fred could hear the conversation happening around him and he wanted to say something but the call of such beauty was in his ears. The sound made his whole body vibrate. It was such a wondrous sound. The prettiest music he had ever had the pleasure of hearing. He could feel something on his chest preventing him from getting to the noise and it started to anger him. What was holding him back? Why would they want to prevent him from seeking out such wonder?

            Remus added his own hand to Fred’s chest when he started trying to fight off Blaise.

            “Why is it only targeting Fred?” Severus asked. “With only four of us, it should be able to handle that.”

            Remus growled and ran his other hand through his hair. “That’s what I don’t understand. Normally it should have gone for all of us. It makes more sense. If we all had fallen victim then there would be no resistance. But for some reason it is only going for him. Which is odd. Sometimes a Siren will act like this when they have tasted a victim and then they themselves have fallen victim to humanity.”

            Blaise tilted his head back. “Like a mate?” He had heard of lucky victims of a Siren that manage to come out alive. The Siren will get a taste of the person but then fall in love with their victim instead. Their mate feelings will prevent the Siren from killing them.

            “Yeah.” The confusion in Remus’s voice was palpable. “Which makes no sense because there was nothing for the Merrow to taste, if it was tapping into the Siren side of it.”

            Blaise blinked rapidly for a moment before his eyes went wide and he gaped. “He threw up.” Blaise said slowly. “Not too long before the sea weed started appearing.”

            Remus openly gaped right back at him. It was the only thing that made sense. The Merrow must have tasted Fred’s throw up and fallen for humanity.

            “That is disgusting.” Severus said as he curled his mouth up. “I have heard of love at first sight but never love at first vomit.”

            “Not helping any Sev.” Remus said with a sigh. Severus didn’t turn around but he did smile.

            Blaise narrowed his eyes. “The Merrow has fallen in love with Fred?” There was a growl to his voice that caused Remus to arch a surprised brow. “ _My_ Fred.” Remus looked down when Fred stilled for a brief moment at the growl but then started fighting against them again.

            Remus nodded and averted his eyes from the very angry teen in front of him.

            “I wish Harry and Draco were here.” Remus said with a frustrated sigh.

            The random statement threw Blaise for a loop and it distracted him from his anger. “So do I but what does that have to do with anything?”

            Severus scoffed. “Because you dimwit, soulmates are completely immune to the call of a Siren, Merrow or a Selkie. Merpeople can sense the magic of a soulmate bond and their bond would have in a way dampened us. The Merrow wouldn’t have even attempted to come at us because they would know a lost cause when they see one.” Just another reason to envy the bond of a soulmate.

            Blaise bit his lip as he stared down at Fred. “Is there something we can do to get him to snap out of this?” His voice trembled.

            “Distance helps.” Remus told him. “But with us being out in the open ocean it can just follow us. He will be under the call of the Merrow until he overcomes us or the Merrow attacks the boat.” He was actually a little surprised that it hadn’t already. A Selkie would’ve used their strength to just scare the victims. Why was the Merrow only relying on the Siren half?

            Blaise whimpered before resting his forehead against his boyfriend’s as well. “I love you Fred.” Blaise whispered in conviction. “I love you, you giant redheaded monstrosity.” Remus didn’t think that was a good term of endearment but whatever floats their boat. “I will **_not_ ** allow some Merrow to take you away from me.” He growled again in anger.

            Remus frowned when Fred stilled again. It was like Blaise was reaching his subconscious.

            “You are _mine_ Fred Weasley.” Blaise promised. “Mine to hold. Mine to love. Mine to cherish. You will _not_ leave me. You _will_ fight this and you _will_ succeed.”

            Fred felt like he was in a darkened tunnel with no way out. All he could hear was the sound of the sweet call. He wanted to find a way out to see where it was coming from. There was a vibration that rocked his chest and just for a moment he could hear the call of something else. Something calmer, something rich and homely. It sent a strong sense of familiarity and love throughout him. For just a moment there was a light at the end of the tunnel. He could almost see the end. He tried fighting the tunneled vision to find this familiarity but it was fruitless. The tunnel was closing one again.

            Remus tilted his head. “Blaise keep doing that.” Blaise blinked owlishly at him for a moment. “Keep telling him how much you love him but do it forcefully.” Blaise looked at him like he had lost his mind but looked back to Fred.

            Blaise swallowed as he stared at the only thing to bring him joy in a long time. “Fred.” Remus’s heart ached at the sadness in the tone. That was not what he had been hoping for.

            “Fred, I need you to come back to me. I need you to throw off the call.” Blaise begged. “I love you so much.” His voice cracked. Blaise pressed his head against Fred’s forehead. “Fred.” He whispered.

            Remus closed his eyes at the pure heartache in the simple whisper. He wasn’t sure how to help. If he could just see the Merrow then he would be able to trap it so that it couldn’t follow them. The distance would help clear the call. But looking at Merrow was just as bad as looking at a Selkie. Unless he wanted to be next then he would have to keep his attention out of the water.

            Fred instantly stilled and Remus snapped his eyes open to peer at him. Fred’s eyes were still closed but he was panting hard and his eyes were moving rapidly under the lids. Like he was seeing something that they weren’t.

            Fred could see the opening again and he tried so hard to get to the light. He just wanted to get out. His mind was split into two. One side wanted to surround itself inside the blackness of the tunnel. To dive into the call that was reverberating all around him. The other part of him wanted to find the light that was at the end of the tunnel and find the familiarity that was sparking through him. He wasn’t sure where to go or what to choose. It was two warring instincts that were fighting with each other. He was about to give up and just let one of them win when he heard a faint whisper. ‘Fred.’

            Sharp pain filled his entire body at the whisper. His mind was telling him that this voice was important. He knew that he was Fred but everything else had been slipping away. But this whisper. This person knew him. This person was the familiarity that was at the end of the tunnel. This was something real to cling on to. This was something that he could focus on. He pushed aside the side of his brain that wanted him to ignore the light. He shoved away every instinct that would hinder him. With a one strong push he seized that light and held onto it.

            Fred opened his eyes and immediately squinted when the light hurt. Once he was able to see properly he gazed into the worried face of his boyfriend. “Blaise.” He breathed out.

            Remus let out a relieved breath while Blaise let out a sob and buried his face into Fred’s chest.

            Fred was instantly worried. He was about to ask what had happened but a loud wail filled the air. Everyone froze and no one dared to speak. Another screech had everyone cringing. The noise was loud and it grated on their nerves. But it was also filled with such pain. The wail was a sound of mourning. It was a sound of longing and despair rolled into one.

            “What was that?” Fred whispered. The silence after the wailing had been too much for him. Blaise was still clutching at his chest, so he raised a hand and ran it through his boyfriend’s hair.

            “That was the sound of a Merrow mourning its chosen mate.” Remus told him gently.

            Blaise probably should be feeling a little guilty that he had Fred and the Merrow didn’t. Because his own pain would probably feel just like the cries that the Merrow was feeling but he was tempted to tell it to go fuck itself. Fred was _his_. No one else’s. You don’t go after someone who was already committed. Homewrecking Merrow.

            Fred shook his head in bewilderment. Things were starting to come back to him. He could remember the confusion over the sea weed. He could remember Remus lunging at him. He could remember the all-consuming need to find whatever was calling to him. But he could also remember Blaise calling out to him. The sadness in his lover’s voice was killing him the more he thought back to it. At the time, he hadn’t been able to recognize Blaise but now… now he could remember exactly what Blaise had said.

            “I love you.” Fred told Blaise.

            Blaise tightened his hold on Fred’s shirt for just a moment before he lifted his head and stared watery eyed at his lover. “I love you too.” He croaked. His mind was whirling with all the awful scenarios that could’ve happened if he hadn’t been able to reach Fred. This could have been the last time he had ever seen his boyfriend. That didn’t sit well with him. It made him think of all the things that he had never said before. Did Fred know how much he meant to Blaise? Did he know that Fred was it for him? Did he know that Blaise loved him more than anything in the entire world? Did he know that Blaise couldn’t imagine a single moment in life without Fred? Did he know?

            Fred stared into Blaise’s eyes and saw something unreadable in them. He wasn’t sure what was going on in his boyfriend’s mind. “Come here.” He whispered. Blaise didn’t need to be told twice. He quickly laid down and wrapped his arms around Fred in a tight embrace.

            Remus stood up and made his way to Severus so that he could give them the illusion of privacy.

            “That was intense.” Severus whispered as Remus wrapped his arms around Severus’s waist.

            Remus snorted before resting his chin on the man’s shoulder. “You have no idea. You at least got to focus on steering. I had to witness Blaise’s heartache.”

            Severus winced. Yeah, he can’t say that he would have wanted to see that. “Do you think the Merrow will follow us and try and get to Fred?”

            Remus shook his head. “No. I think it is mourning and will be mourning for a while. Merpeople don’t do well without their chosen mate.” Chosen mate and a soulmate were vastly different concepts. Chosen mate was the same as a human choosing to be in a relationship. Merpeople do horrible without their chosen mate. Remus shuddered to think what would happen to a Merperson if they lost their soulmate.

            Severus didn’t even pretend to understand the mechanics of Merpeople. He looked up to check on the rest of their family in the air and to see how they were faring. He was a little surprised that they hadn’t already came to investigate during the whole Merrow incident. He frowned but quickly looked back at the ocean.

            “Love, will you see if you can spot the rest of the group?” He wanted to look harder but he needed to focus on steering. Who knew what was in these waters and he wasn’t about to get distracted.

            Remus smiled at the endearment and kissed the side of Severus’s neck. He looked up and frowned when there was nothing. He looked all around him but there was still nothing. He wondered if they had upped the delusion charms. He was about to say something when a shriek filled the air.

            Blaise shot up. “That was Pansy.” He whispered.

 

~………~………~………~………~………~………~………~………~………~………~………~………~

 

            Lucius was very uneasy about the whole prospect of being up in the air. He had to take a deep breath and remind himself that he was _not_ a teenager and there were no evil Ravenclaws with a grudge to knock him down again. He shot his wife a look and was pleased to see that she seemed to be faring well. He knew that she didn’t like being up in the air either.

            Narcissa had to take several calming breaths to keep steady. This voyage was off to a horrid start. Her mind was filled with images of her sons in trouble but yet she had to focus on not falling off. She was distracted and she knew that was the one thing you didn’t want to be when on a broom.

            Pansy felt so free up in the air. She felt like a lot of her worries were washed away when she got on a broom. She was worried about Harry and Draco but up in the air, everything seemed so easy. Finding them seemed less troublesome than when they were on the ground. She felt like they could accomplish anything. She looked up and laughed in delight when George dived straight at her.

            “You will have to be more skilled than that to best me.” She taunted before sticking her tongue out at him.

            George grinned at the challenge but now was not the time to get involved in one. Especially not over so much open sea. He didn’t trust these waters. After hearing about Lactera, he was worried for the ones in the boat. He just hoped that it was just stories. He really didn’t want to come in contact with Lactera.

            Hearing Pansy and George teasing each other actually calmed Lucius and Narcissa down. If teasing was going on then things were alright.

            Lucius looked down quickly and frowned. “We have to slow it down. The brooms are _much_ faster than the boat.”

            The other three looked down and George let out a whine. “Good lord we have to go at a snail’s pace.” Pansy shook her head but he wasn’t wrong. Ancient brooms went faster than they were going. Brooms were not meant to go so slow.

            “We should have two people looking at the sea and two people looking in the air.” Lucius told them.

            George and Pansy shared confused looks. “Why would we do that?” They said in unison.

            Lucius rolled his eyes. “We have an aerial vantage point. We should be keeping a watch on the ocean. We could possibly see things that they wouldn’t be able to see. But we also need to keep a look out on the sky as well. There could be traps in the sky. Severus said that EroPlains crash. Whatever those are, use the air to travel.”

            “EroPlain.” Pansy said mulling on the word. “That is an interesting name. Do you think Plain is in the title because it is boring? They have muggle machines that fly in the air?” She was impressed but if they went as slow as the boat then she would have to take that back.

            “Think they are individual? Like a broom. Maybe there are bunches of EroPlains.” George wondered. “I want to see one.”

            “I would prefer to not see one.” Lucius grumbled. “If they are easily crashed then they must be awful.”

            Narcissa rolled her eyes but didn’t say anything. It wouldn’t matter if the muggles had something amazing, her husband would still sneer at it.

            “You can crash a broom though.” Pansy pointed out. George nodded in agreement. “Yeah that is true.”

            Lucius mumbled under his breath but decided to let it drop. He didn’t want to argue with them.

            “Narcissa and I will watch the air.” Lucius declared. He didn’t even care if they argued. There was no way he could be able to look down and not flash back to his accident. His wife was relieved with that option as well, he could tell.

            Pansy and George shrugged. That didn’t bother them. “Alright but if you see an EroPlain than let me know.” George demanded.

            Lucius sighed rather put out. “Fine.” He agreed. He really hoped there would be no EroPlains.

            Pansy was looking at the water below them and she was getting bored. The slow pace made it possible to see the water but it just looked like an endless blur of blue. How was she supposed to detect anything out of the ordinary?

            George knew he was supposed to be looking at the water but he was worried about his brother. He frowned when he saw Fred and Blaise leaned over the side of the boat. He squinted, trying to see clearly. What was going on down there. He saw Severus hand something over to Blaise who gave it to Fred. Had Fred ate something that didn’t sit well with his stomach? What would cause his brother to be sick? He breathed a sigh of relief when his brother straightened and seemed to be okay. Thank goodness for Severus. Merlin, that was an odd statement.

            Lucius pulled out his wand and at random intervals performed sensory charms. He was hoping that if they did come across a trap that they would be able to sense it in time.

            Narcissa kept a watchful eye on the air around them. If the circumstances were different then she might have enjoyed herself. She couldn’t relax while her sons were gone.

            It had been a little while since the last time that George looked in on his brother. He almost fell off his broom when he noticed that something was wrong with him.

            “Fred.” George nearly yelled. Everyone quickly looked down and stilled their brooms.

            “What’s happening to him?” Pansy whispered. She could just make out Blaise and Remus holding down what appeared to be a seizing Fred.

            “I am going down there.” George declared. Lucius nodded his approval but when his head moved he caught sight of something gold out of the corner of his eye.

            “George wait!” Lucius yelled. George stopped and turned to look at him angrily. Why was he stopping him from getting to his brother?

            “What is it?” George asked in frustration. Lucius pulled off a button from his shirt and threw it about five feet below George.

            Everyone watched the button fall curiously. Why would Lucius have disfigured his clothes? The button made contact with something unseen and immediately caught fire and disintegrated.

            George stared at the spot in horror. That could have been him! He looked to Lucius and gaped at him openly.

            “How did you know that would happen?” Pansy demanded to know.

            Lucius shrugged. “I didn’t. I saw something odd and told George to stop on instinct. My sensory charms didn’t even detect anything. So I have no idea how long it has been below us.”

            Everyone looked around quickly, like they were hoping to see other things that were invisible. George pulled off his own button on his shirt but threw it above them as hard as he could. About twenty feet above him the button made contact with something and his button caught fire.

            Pansy reached over and took off another button from George, she wasn’t ruining her shirt. She threw it to the side of them and the same thing happened. “We are in some kind of cage.” She said in horror.

            Lucius bit his lip trying to think of what could have trapped them invisibly. Not to mention, instant disintegration.

            Pansy was looking around wildly, as if she could find a way out but something knocked her into George. She let out a surprised scream and spun around trying to find out what had just touched her.

            There were fast blurs going in all different directions. They were pushing them all closer and closer into the invisible walls of the cages.

            Lucius moved up and down constantly, hoping to throw whatever it was that was hitting them off their guard. He saw the blur slow down and he gasped.

            “They are full blooded ancient Veela.” They were in bird form. He could make out the colored beaks and the scaly wings. Ancient Veela were things of legends. They say that the Veela now a days had evolved from ancient Veela. Ancient Veela only had the bird form. They didn’t have a human form like Veelas now a days. Veela currently only go into a semi bird form when they are angry. Beaks form and wings come out. Ancient Veelas were always angry and only had the one form.

            “What??” Pansy and George screamed at the same time. If they didn’t know Lucius than they would have told him that he was barking. But they knew that Lucius was of sound mind and had no sense of humor, so this must be true.

            A particularly hard jab from a fast blur of Veela slammed into Pansy, causing her to roll over on the broom and her footing to slip. She screamed as she began to fall off the broom.

            George leaped into action and grabbed hold of her hand and swung her on his broom. They watched in horror as her broom hit the invisible cage below them and immediately caught fire. The broom was just a pile of ash.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know there wasn't any Harry or Draco in it but I felt like I needed to show what this group was going through. Before you ask why they haven't encountered any of the things that Harry, Draco and Finneus did, I want to point out that the rest of the family made their way from an entirely different direction. Harry, Draco and Finneus took off from Puerto Rico. While the rest of the family came from Florida. So that is why there are different things in the water.
> 
> I had to look up some things for this chapter. There are more than one kind of merpeople for the Harry Potter world. The ones in the black lake are a group of Selkies. I made up their rude and violent tendencies but it wasn't that much of a stretch. Because the ones in the books weren't exactly nice. The mermaid in the prefects bathroom on the window was a Siren. I always wondered why she looked pretty but the ones in the lake were not. That is because they were two different species of a mermaid. I guess you really do learn things every day because I did not know that. There is also a Merrow. This is where I changed things. I made a Merrow for my story a offspring of a Siren and a Selkie. Hopefully you liked the Merrow. Haha. :P
> 
> I actually feel a little bad for the Merrow. It was just doing what is natural to it. Then it fell in love with Fred and his vomit. (Sorry about that. Lol) The poor thing had to lose him to Blaise. Oh well. Blaise needs him more. 
> 
> Small bonding moment between Severus and Remus was something I really enjoyed as well. 
> 
> Giant redheaded monstrosity. I think that was my favorite part. Haha. Blaise and Fred made me swoon a little. Blaise sure loves him. 
> 
> EroPlains. That killed me haha. 
> 
> I liked the idea that the Veelas had evolved into what they are now. The Flamels are old themselves so I don't think that it is a stretch that they would have some ancient Veelas.
> 
> Let me know what you thought of this chapter. 
> 
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	78. I Don't Belive It

           Draco sighed heavily from his comfy spot inside of Harry’s arms. The constant blue of the ocean was really getting to him. It was almost giving him a headache. He just wanted to get there already. He was sick of the fucking ocean. Ocean sightings would not make it to their honeymoon.

            Harry could feel frustration from his fiancé and he began nuzzling his head into Draco’s neck. He could feel the tension slowly leave Draco’s shoulders and he smiled slowly. He loved that simple touches always calmed Draco down. It just showed him what kind of connection that they had.

            Finneus looked behind him as the silence stretched on and rolled his eyes at the cuddling couple. Ergh, they made him sick. So much love was not natural. Couldn’t they go five minutes without touching one another? His parents were soulmates but he couldn’t remember them ever being in love like this. Potter and Malfoy were nauseating.

            “We are almost to the island.” Finneus spoke as he looked back to the ocean.

            “Thank Merlin.” Draco grumbled. “This was an experience I never want to repeat.”

            Finneus gasped. “Oh I am wounded. I am the perfect tour guide.”

            Harry scrunched up his face. “Tour guide?” He asked in bewilderment. “You say that like someone would _want_ to explore all of this.” He looked around and raised a hand. “If you look over to the right folks, you will see the Slovakian Seekers devouring some poor soul. _Oh_ , you are in for a treat ladies and gentlemen, up ahead is a pack of wild Lactera. Wouldn’t it just be _lovely_ to see them in their natural habitat? Don’t forget to explore the surrounding caves. You may just find a Peura, be sure to take pictures. Have fun and make sure to come back and see us again some time!” His false cheery tone made Draco crack up.

            Finneus pouted. “Geez, just take my job why don’t you.”

            Harry and Draco rolled their eyes but decided not to say anything. The lull of the boat was sending Harry into a false calm. He could almost fall asleep but he knew that was a bad idea. It would be irresponsible to fall asleep with all of the creatures and unknown traps out there.

            “Hey look!” Draco said in excitement. Harry squinted in the direction Draco was pointing in and he breathed a sigh of relief at what was undeniably an island.

            “It’s a lot smaller than I thought it would be.” Harry mused out loud.

            Finneus snorted. “It may look small right now but just wait till we get there. The land goes _far_ back.”

            Harry wasn’t too sure about that but Finneus knew more about this than he would. Draco was so thankful to see the island that he could have danced for joy. He couldn’t wait to get off this stupid boat.

            Finneus narrowed his eye when he couldn’t detect the army protecting the island. He frowned as he reached out with his magic to find them. This was worrying him. Had his parents moved them? Surely, they would have told him. Moving that many Peuras without _any_ help would have been suicide. The Peuras have always surrounded the perimeter while the Puellas stood guard further along on the island. Changing things now seemed redundant. It had taken centuries to get them trained to follow orders.  What worried him the most is what had taken their place? The army had been doing their job just fine all of these years. Switching them out would imply that they had found something that could do it better. But what?

            Harry noticed the tension in Finneus and he straightened up. Something was wrong.

            “What’s going o-” Harry was cut off by something slamming into the boat.

            Finneus looked around wildly, trying to understand what it could be. There were tons of things that his parents had at their disposal. The boat didn’t tilt over which was a good sign. They didn’t have much longer to go until they reached the shore, if they could just make it.

            A gust of wind brought a horrid rancid smell. “Ick. It smells just like that stuff Lucius had.” Harry said as he covered his nose.

            Finneus went rigid and he couldn’t help but gasp. His mind went blank and all he could think of was, ‘oh god’. “She knows.” He whispered and he smacked the wheel in futile effort to get them to the shore faster.

            Harry and Draco shared a confused look. “Who knows what?” Draco demanded to know as he searched the water for whatever horrid creature had just rammed into them.

            “My mother. She knows I bring them their death.” He couldn’t even begin to fathom how his mother would know. Had there been some type of sensory charms that he had been unaware of? That didn't make sense. He could detect all kinds of magic.

            Harry was positive that there was more to the story. “What makes you say that?”

            Before Finneus could answer there was a low deadly growl that sounded in the air, quickly followed by several more. Harry bit his lip and looked around in worry. Whatever was doing this was not alone. He detected at least three separate growls.

            Draco was staring fixed at the bottom of the boat as his mind was screaming at him. Harry had been right. The smell did resemble Liquid Death. But why would the Flamels have put Liquid Death on a creature? They wouldn’t. Most magical creatures have an advanced sense of smell. Liquid Death would just harm them in the process. If the creatures were supposed to be guarding the island than getting rid of one of their senses would be stupid. There weren’t even any creatures that he knew of that could stand to be around Liquid Death.

            Well that wasn’t entirely true. There was one. It didn’t tolerate Liquid Death, it created its own. He wanted to immediately scoff at the idea and move on. He wanted to say there was no possible way that the Flamels would have access to such creatures but this _was_ the Flamels. If anyone was going to have a creature like that then surely it would be them. There hadn’t even been solid proof of their existence. Just rumored sightings and lucky testimony. His father told him that they were myths.

            Finneus shook his head trying to clear the memory that was beginning to surface. _‘Why won’t you allow me to see them? You aren’t even using them.' Finneus asked his mother. A shrill laugh followed the statement. ‘Oh you will see them one day Finneus. Shall you ever betray me is the day that you see them.’_ At the time he thought she had been spewing nonsense. Even if he had wanted to betray her, it wasn’t like he knew anyone that would make it worth it. But now… now he was almost regretting coming here. Almost.

            “Please tell me my mind hasn’t gone mad.” Draco begged. “Please tell me that is not Liquid Death that I smell. Please tell me your parents didn’t create such abominations.”

            Harry’s eyes widened. There was a desperation to Draco’s tone of voice and he didn’t like it one bit.

            More loud growls surrounded them and Draco flinched. Finneus closed his eyes when floating right in front of him on the surface of the water was what he had always wanted to see. Never under such circumstances though.

            “What the hell is that?!” Harry asked horrified. It looked like a rabid dog. Only ginormous. It was at least the size of two great danes. The dog looking creature was pure black. Even the eyes, although instead of a black pupil, red was peeking through. Its hackles were raised and its teeth barred in a snarl. The sharpness to its teeth looked like it could rival a vampire. Harry had no idea what it was but just looking at it was giving him the creeps.

            Finneus was tempted to look away but he couldn’t. “You can see it?” He knew that should be impossible. There is no way that his mother would have been able to pull that off. For him to finally see it was one thing but for Potter? Not even his mother is that good.

            Draco looked in the direction that Harry was staring in horror but there was nothing there. Harry seeing something that he couldn’t just proved to him that he was on the right track.

            “ _Subinfernium_.” Finneus whispered. Draco squeezed his eyes tightly and let out a terrified whimper. He reached out and gripped Harry tightly.

            Harry frowned. It was Latin. “Below.” That was the first part. That much he knew. “Below… below… below what?” He finally asked. He couldn’t figure out what the rest of it was.

            “Hell. Below hell.” Draco whispered just as quietly as Finneus had.

            “Also known as Hellhounds. Muggles have myths about them.” Finneus added.

            Harry squinted as he tried to remember anything that he knew about hellhounds. He thought that they guarded the gates of hell. Well if that wasn’t a perfect metaphor for their situation than he didn’t know a better one.

            “They are a necromancy ritual.” Draco breathed out. He almost wished that he could see them but he would rather not.

            “They can only be seen by the ones who they are about to kill. They say they drag the soul into the fiery pits of hell.” Draco wasn’t sure if that was true or not but it sure wouldn’t surprise him.

            “Release me from the ropes.” Finneus told them. “Then I want you two to charm yourselves to allow you to walk on the water. You have to make it to the shore.”

            They frowned at each other before looking at Finneus. “What about you?” Harry asked.

            Finneus shook his head. “You can’t kill a hellhound. I am going to die Potter. That is why my mother switched out the army for them. She had the capabilities to allow me to see them but she refused. Told me that the only way I would ever see a hellhound was the day that I betrayed her. She knows that I have brought someone to the island. This is her revenge.”

            The calm way that he spoke about his approaching death and the fact that it was his mother who had set this up, worried them.

            Harry quickly released Finneus from his ropes and put charms on the bottom of all three of their feet. Before Finneus could even protest, Harry had grabbed hold of him and they jumped out of the boat.

            “Potter! What are you doing? You have to make it to the island and away from here. They won’t harm you. They only go for the ones that have been targeted.”

            Draco was in full agreement. He wasn’t sticking around with hellhounds nearby. No way. If Finneus was going to die then that was just fine with him. Better Finneus than them.

            “I can see them too. Then that must mean that they will be after me too.” Harry argued. “There must be a way out of this.”

            Finneus shook off Potter’s hand and took a step towards the hellhound. As soon as he did that he was able to see two more hellhounds flanking the original. They were slightly smaller but still freakishly large.

            The largest hellhound lifted his head up in what must have been a signal because the two beside him lunged straight at Finneus.

            Finneus buckled under the weight of both hell hounds. He felt teeth rip into his leg and his shoulder. The smell of them was enough to send his stomach churning but the pain of the attack sent his head swimming.

            “No!” Harry yelled. This was not how he wanted Finneus to die. Even in the serious situation he couldn’t lie to himself and say that they would spare him his life. Harry knew that Finneus was going to die by the end of this voyage but now was not the time. They still needed Finneus. They had no idea how to navigate the island.

            Draco made to grab hold of Harry to keep him from moving but Harry shook it off. As soon as his yell registered with the hellhounds, they immediately unlatched from Finneus and sat back on their haunches.

            Finneus could feel his blood rolling down his body. It wasn’t deep enough to have nicked any arteries but his whole body was aching. He could feel a jagged gash in his left leg and his right shoulder was completely useless. He blinked rapidly at the hellhounds who were now cowering away.

            Harry wasn’t sure what was going on but he quickly made his way over to Finneus and helped him stand up.

            The leader of the hellhounds growled at the other two but they didn’t move an inch. They just kept staring at Harry. The leader crouched in an offensive position. He knew that it was going to come for him. He had somehow taken control of the other two. Taken away his hellhounds. When the hellhound jumped for him, he did the only thing that had worked before.

            “No!” He put more force behind it this time and watched as the hellhound faltered midair and crashed against the surface of the water. He was curious as to how the creatures were floating but he would have to find that out later. Whimpering registered in his mind and he looked over to see the other two hellhounds rolled over on their backs, showing him their stomach.

            “I don’t believe it.” Finneus whispered as he watched the leader carefully make its way over to Harry and sit at his feet.

            “What’s going on?” Draco demanded to know. His heart had nearly given out when Harry stepped up and talked to them. He couldn’t see them but he knew that Harry was trying to save Finneus. Damn Gryffindor mentality.

            “They are submitting to his will.” Finneus breathed out in awe. That shouldn’t be possible. He still couldn’t even figure out how Potter could see them.

            “Like with the Lactera?” Draco wondered. He hadn’t felt the darkness do anything but if there was a way to tame a hellhound than he was pretty sure the darkness could find it.

            _‘We did nothing.’_ The darkness whispered into Draco’s subconscious. He jumped slightly at the intrusion before scowling. He really wished it wouldn’t do that.

            Finneus took a step back to put some space between him and the hellhounds. His movement made the leader growl low in his throat. “Hey!” Harry said forcefully. Finneus’s jaw dropped when the hellhound immediately dropped its head and went still. What the hell was going on?

            Harry was just going off instinct. He had no idea why they were listening to him. But as long as no one was getting attacked then he didn’t mind. He reached out a hand and patted the top of the hellhounds head. Even with the creature crouched, Harry barely was able to reach it.

            Harry squinted when he caught sunlight bouncing off of something on the leader’s head. He leaned in and realized that it was a collar. There was something green that was oozing out from underneath the collar. There was a lock on the collar which was something that he found odd. He vanished the lock and used wandless magic to cut the collar open. There would have been no way he would’ve been able to pull it off like you would a dog, he wasn’t tall enough. Harry tried to remove the broken collar but it was imbedded into the creature’s skin. He frowned when the hellhound whined softly. Like it was in pain. Harry whispered an apology before he yanked as hard as he could. The creature howled in pain before quickly recovering.

            As soon as Harry had taken off the collar, Draco was able to see the creature. He wanted to shout at Harry to get the hell away from it but he calmed himself down. Harry obviously knew the thing was there.

            Harry narrowed his eyes at the inside of the collar. From the outside, it appeared to be a normal collar, just gigantic. But the inside was lined with pointed spikes that dug into the skin. It was laced with something purple. The green oozing out of the hellhound made him realize that their blood must be green instead of red.

            “Draco, come here.” Harry called over his shoulder.

            Draco looked at the back of Harry’s head in bewilderment. Harry wanted him to go over there? With the giant monster? The monster that could tear out his throat in the blink of an eye. He shook his head as he stepped forward. The things he does for love.

            Harry watched the hellhound eye Draco curiously but it didn’t growl, which was an improvement. As soon as Draco was next to him he held up the collar. “What is that purple stuff? I think it is a potion of some kind.”

            Draco leaned in a little closer and inhaled slightly. This close to the hellhound was affecting his sense of smell. He had to try and let his mind filter out the Liquid Death.

            “The spikes keep the wounds open.” Finneus spoke up. The leader growled when Finneus talked and Harry bit his lip to hide his amusement. It was obvious that the hellhound didn’t like him.

            Draco blinked rapidly and then inhaled one more time. “It’s a poison.” He said with a frown as he tossed the collar into the ocean. “Hellhounds are rumored to heal extraordinarily fast. If that is true than that means that the poison is designed to keep the collar in place. They wouldn’t be able to take it off.”  

            “That is basically what I just said.” Finneus grumbled before glaring when the hellhound growled at him again.

            Harry quickly took off the collars of the other two and winced when they howled in pain as well. When he made it back to where Draco and the leader were standing, he noticed that the wound around the creature’s neck was healed.

            Harry turned to Finneus. “Why would your mother do that?” He knew that Perenelle was an evil bitch but what good would purposefully harming the hellhounds do?

            “Hellhounds do their masters bidding. My grandfather was the one who created them. He did so on the request of my mother. Since she wasn’t the creator they don’t have to stay with her. They only had to listen to her first command. After that they would have been free to go. But she found a way to keep them under her command. The collar is lined with many spells and runes to keep them enslaved. Hellhounds have more than one form. They can mist into places. Almost like apparation but different. She used the runes to trap that ability so that they couldn’t escape.”

            Harry was sickened that anyone would enslave a creature. It was cruel. The spikes weren’t even necessary. The runes would have worked. She just did that to show them that they were at her mercy. Who knew how long the poor things had been forced to endure the open wound.

            Draco sighed heavily. He couldn’t believe it. Harry was actually feeling sorry for them. They were hellhounds! Vicious murdering creatures. Necromancy created them for crying out loud!

            Finneus watched the other two hellhounds approach Harry slowly. They cocked their head and stared at him curiously. Finneus frowned. It was like they were waiting for a direction. They shouldn’t be listening to him at all. The only one who would have even had this type of control over them would have been his grandfather.

            Harry looked at the three of them. “Well you are all free to go.” He told them firmly. He was not going to put the collar back on them nor was he going to make them do his bidding. He didn’t care if they were now listening to him. He didn’t care that they were necromancy creatures. They were going to be set free. It was the right thing to do.

            The two smaller hellhounds looked at each other quickly before looking back to Harry.

            Harry smiled slightly. “Go on. You are free.” He told them gently. In the blink of an eye the two hell hounds became black mist. The mist touched Harry softly, as if to give thanks before it was gone. He wasn’t sure if the wind carried them away or they just apparated out of there.

            Draco’s mouth had dropped open when the hellhounds had listened to Harry. Did his lover have some unknown hellhound ability that he was never aware of?

            Harry frowned when the leader hadn’t moved at all. It was staring at Harry with determined eyes.

            “You don’t want to leave?” Harry asked as he ran a hand up and down the hellhounds healed neck. A slight rumble escaped the creature’s throat and it took Harry a moment to realize that it was a purr. The hellhound liked it.

            Harry let out a soft laugh before he raised his other hand and gently pat the side of the hellhound’s cheek.

            “I don’t believe it.” Draco and Finneus said at the same time. They shot each other glares. Each blaming the other for uttering the same sentence. Draco took a step forward and looked at the creature warily. He wasn’t sure if he was allowed to touch it.

            “Can Draco touch you?” Harry asked quietly. The hellhound narrowed its eyes and lifted its head so that it could smell Draco.

            When no growl came out, Draco assumed that it was giving permission. So he lifted his hand and gently laid it on the hellhound’s neck. When it let out a rumble, Draco laughed.

            Finneus shook his head at the odd scene before him and took a step forward. He froze instantly when the hellhound’s head whipped over and let out a deep growl.

            Harry and Draco snickered. “Hey, it’s alright. You don’t have to like him but you can’t kill him.”

            If a hellhound can pout than it surely would be doing just that. It turned begging eyes to Harry, causing Draco to let out peals of laughter. They ignored Finneus’s grumbling.

            “You are free now.” Harry reminded the hellhound. “Don’t you want to be with the other two? Or more of your kind?” He sighed when the hellhound didn’t make a move.

            Harry turned and walked a couple steps away and sighed internally when the hellhound followed. “You want to come with me, is that it?” Harry wanted to know. He smiled slightly when he could see the tail of the hellhound wagging.

            “No way. There is no way that I am walking through the island with a hellhound.” Finneus said as he crossed his arms across his chest.

            The hellhound turned around and barred its teeth. “Easy.” Harry said in a soothing tone. He watched the previously raised fur fall back down in a calm position.

            “It looks like it is coming with us.” Harry declared with a cheeky grin. He was thinking that this was a good thing. Perhaps there wouldn’t be too many creatures that would want to go up against a hellhound. Maybe it was an extra form of security.

            Draco wasn’t sure what to think but he did know that the hellhound liked him and not Finneus. Which was already a great start to a beautiful friendship.

            Finneus sighed but didn’t argue. There was no way he was going to make an enemy out of a hellhound. That would be suicide. He stepped to the other side of Malfoy, to put some distance between him and the hellhound.

            “Are you a necromancer?” Finneus asked Potter.

            Harry and Draco shared an amused look. Harry a necromancer? Please.

            “No.” Harry said with a shake of his head. “Why do you ask?”

            Finneus frowned. “It was just the only thing that I could think of that would explain why you can see them _and_ command them.” He winced slightly at the pain from his shoulder and leg. It wasn’t too bad but it did make every step ache.

            “I can see Thestrals. Are they similar like that?” Harry wondered. Draco shook his head. “If that was the case than I would have been able to see them too. But I couldn’t see them until you took off the collar.”

            Finneus stopped walking and stared at Harry in awe. “I just assumed that Malfoy could see them too. I thought perhaps it was the bond. But if he couldn’t see them until the collar came off, that means that it was because you were taking off the power my mother held over them. Anyone can see a hellhound, unless the owner doesn’t wish it to be so. It makes more sense to have only the one that is being targeted to be able to see the hellhound. Taking off the collar had given you control over them. You are now their owners.”

            Harry frowned. “But I don’t want to be their owners.” He argued. He didn’t want to control anyone.

            Finneus sighed at the statement. Such a ‘light’ thing to say. “Well you set them free, so you no longer own them.” He pointed out.

            “But that doesn’t explain why Harry was able to see them in the first place.” Draco piped up as they began to walk again. They made it to the shore and they looked around making sure that they couldn’t see anything before heading into a forest.

            “Only the creator should have that kind of obedience from them. They listened to you with their collars on. It over rode the control my mother had on them. Which again, should only be possible by the necromancer who created them. The one who has gone back and forth from the afterlife and the living.”

            Harry stumbled over a rock and Draco quickly grabbed him to make sure that he didn’t fall. Draco smiled when the hellhound’s tail rubbed his shoulder. Like it was giving him thanks for saving Harry. This was going to take some getting used to.

            Harry stopped walking once Draco righted him. “When you say gone back and forth from the afterlife and the living, what exactly does that entail?”

            Finneus frowned at the nervous tone. “One who has been marked by death. Necromancers are taking things from the afterlife when they do their rituals. Messing with the veil of the dead. They are the only people who have seen the afterlife and the living.”

            Harry blinked a couple times. “But I went to the afterlife… sort of.”

            Silence surrounded them as Finneus stared at him. “What are you talking about? You just said that you weren’t a necromancer.”

            “I’m not.” Harry pressed. “But I did sort of die. I was given a choice to come back to earth or to continue on into the afterlife.”

            Finneus dropped his mouth open in surprise. “You have been marked by death.” He said the statement slowly, like he was trying to understand just what it was that he was implying.

            “Hellhounds aren’t meant to walk the earth. Necromancy _is_ going against death. In a way necromancy is an abomination. There is a debate though. I am positive that my mother would disagree with that statement. So I guess it depends on who you ask. The point is, you were able to see them because you went to the afterlife. The place they are _supposed_ to be but aren’t. Since you yourself came back that gave you the opportunity to see them.” Finneus breathed out in awe.

            Harry and Draco both shared surprise and unease through the bond. Harry wondered what other necromancy creatures that are supposed to be invisible are out there. He didn’t like that he once again could do something that others could not.

            Draco entwined their fingers and pulled Harry closer to him. Harry was thankful for the contact.

            Finneus was having a hard time wrapping his mind around this prospect. Potter sure was an interesting person.

            “Hey.” Finneus piped up when they started walking again. “You want to tell me how you managed to die but not really die?”

            “No.” Harry and Draco said at the same time.

            “But-” A growl from the hellhound made Finneus shut up. He sighed rather put out.

            “Fine.” He said with obvious complaint. “Ow!” He muttered when the flick of the hellhounds tail smacked him in the back of his head.

            Harry and Draco laughed openly. “I like you.” Draco told the hellhound and grinned when purring reached his ears.   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I rather like this chapter. I was going to end it on a cliffhanger by adding in something that will happen a little further up but decided against it. 
> 
> What did you think of the hellhounds? The name subinfernium was sort of Latin. I took below and hell and combined them with a slight spelling difference. Not all necromancy creatures are invisible, so don't get caught up in that. Hellhounds are just one of them in my story. I combined a couple different lore when it came to my version of a hellhound. 
> 
> I just adore that the hellhound likes Harry and Draco but not Finneus. Part of that is because of Perenelle. She sent them to kill her son and they are having a hard time getting past that. Also, they just don't like him. 
> 
> I could have had all three follow Harry along but I liked the idea of only one of them being loyal. Now remember, Finneus's grandfather was the one who created them. He did not have any Elixir. So that means that the hellhounds have been alive for nearly 700 years. 700 years of being enslaved. So I can understand why the other two hellhounds just hightailed it out of there. 
> 
> What do you think of Perenelle sending hellhounds after her son? Is it surprising? I don't think so. She is an evil bitch. Wonder what she will think of when she sees her son alive.
> 
> So they have no made it to the island. They are finally out of the water. But one does have to wonder what other kind of horrors are lurking in the forest. And just what happened to this 'army' that Finneus was thinking about?
> 
> Let me know what you think of this chapter. :)
> 
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	79. Sephtis and Sphinxes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took me forever to post this chapter. I am not very good at Riddles. You can already tell by the title what is going to be inside this chapter. I apologize if it makes no sense. I worked on that stupid thing for hours. Enjoy.

            At first glance the forest appeared to just be a normal forest but Harry wasn’t so sure anymore. It looked more like an odd cross between a forest and a jungle. But Harry was positive that the vines were watching him. There was an odd menacing hiss coming from some of them.

            _‘Nothing to eat. Typical. If Cyprus ate my portion than I am feeding her to the thing in the water.’_

Harry stopped walking and looked around wildly for whatever just spoke. “What the hell was that?” Harry whispered.

            Finneus and Draco shared a confused look before staring at Harry. “Love, I didn’t hear anything.” Draco told him reassuringly as he squeezed Harry’s hand.

            Harry was not reassured.

            _‘What is that putrid odor? Smells worse than Cyprus on a good day. Better avoid that or I will have to dip in the water.’_

Harry frowned as he listened to the voice. He squinted trying to dissect the sound. He nodded to himself when he was able to detect hissing.

            **_‘Hello?’_** Harry asked, still looking all around for the snake. He smiled when an orange head popped up off of the nearest tree. The snake was beautiful. A dark blue mixed in with a coral color, an orange tail and head. A tongue poked out.

            _‘Who said that? I smell no snakes. Only stench and humans.’_

            Draco shivered at the parseltongue. He was positive that it was his weakness. He didn’t even bother hiding his desire. Harry knew what it did to him.

            Harry grinned at the lust in the bond but didn’t take his eyes off of the snake in front of him.

            **_‘I said that.’_** Harry told the snake. He knew that snakes used their tongues to smell, so he lifted his hand up.

            “That is a Blue Malaysian Coral Snake.” Finneus whispered. “Deadly.” He added for good measure. Of course Potter could talk to snakes. The boy had managed to touch a false stone, kill Voldemort, visit the afterlife and take in a stray hellhound.  Nothing should really surprise him anymore.    

            _‘Of course I am deadly. Idiot sack of water.’_ Harry snorted in humor. If he hadn’t already had a thing for snakes than this would have done it for him.

            **_‘My name is Harry. What about you?’_** Harry watched the snake look at him steadily.

            _‘Sephtis. That is my name. Don’t mistake my response for fondness. I still might kill you. I am undecided. I have never come across one who can speak the language.’_

Harry bit his lip at the sassy snake. **_‘Who is Cyprus?’_** Harry wondered.

            _‘My mother.’_ Harry arched a brow. The snake hadn’t been very nice when it spoke of his mother.

            _‘Why? You haven’t killed her, have you?’_ Harry chuckled at the hope he could detect in the question.

            **_‘I am afraid not. You are the first snake that we have come across.’_** He thought he saw the snake posture slightly. Like it was proud of that.

            _‘Than what good are you?’_

Harry was about to respond but Sephtis stuck his tongue out and made an odd noise.

            _‘Your mate calls you.’_ Harry frowned. He hadn’t heard Draco say anything. Sephtis must have seen his confusion. _‘Can’t you smell it? He is releasing his mating pheromones. I confess that I have never seen a human mating ritual. Can I watch?’_

Harry choked and looked at the snake with wide eyes. He turned to Draco with pink cheeks. “Draco love. Can you try and tone down the feelings? Sephtis here can smell you.”

            Draco closed his eyes. “Oh god.” He said completely mortified. The snake could smell his lust. Perfect.

            Finneus cackled. “That is gross.” He piped up.

            Sephtis eyed Finneus, which caused him to regret speaking at all.

            _‘Speaker. This one is more dangerous than I.’_ Harry’s brows rose in surprise. He was impressed at how both the hellhound and Sephtis seemed to pick up on Finneus.

            **_‘I am aware. I have to find his parents. They are on the island. We are here to kill them and then he will also die.’_** He watched the snake nod his head. Like it approved. ** _‘And the name is Harry.’_** He added in afterthought.

            _‘I know, speaker. I don’t like your given name. You don’t look hairy to me. Not like him.’_ Sephtis pointed his tail at the hellhound.

            Harry looked to the hellhound with a smile. The hound hadn’t moved or tried to attack the snake. It was just content to see what Harry was doing. His eyes lit up when he realized what the snake said.

            **_‘The hellhound is a boy?’_ ** Harry asked. He probably should have figured that out before now but it hadn’t seemed like a big deal.

            _‘Obviously. His smell is clearly male.’_ Harry ignored the jibe and turned to the hellhound.

            “Sephtis says that the hellhound is a boy.” The hellhound wagged his tail and Harry grinned.

            Draco was pretty much used to all of the amazing things that Harry could do. So he didn’t even bat an eye over the fact that a snake told them that their hellhound is a boy.

            Draco reached out a hand to pet the hellhound. “You are a boy? I think you need a name.” He mused before sending a look to Harry.

            Harry smiled softly. “You name him.” He offered.

            Finneus held up a hand. “Hold it.” He said incredulously. “Naming him is the first problem. Next you are going to want to keep him.”

            Draco scrunched his nose at the thought. He looked to Harry and winced at the hopeful green eyes. There was pleading in the bond.

            “Oh, please Draco?” Harry batted his eyelashes and adopted what he hoped was a look that Draco couldn’t refuse.

            Finneus shook his head. “He brought out the puppy dog eyes. You are screwed.” Finneus told Draco.

            Draco sighed, Finneus was right, he was so screwed. He couldn’t believe that he was even considering this. It was a hellhound for crying out loud. They were vicious creatures. He looked to the hellhound and his heart melted at the pleading in those eyes too. They were double teaming him! That was just unfair.

            “Oh alright.” Draco conceded. “You can stay with us, if you like.” He told the hellhound. He had no warning before suddenly he was being licked across his cheek.

            “Gross.” Draco said through little laughs. “But we will have to find a way to mask the Liquid Death. I won’t have the house smelling.”

            Harry and Draco furrowed their brows when the smell suddenly went away. They both looked at the hellhound curiously.

            “Perhaps it only releases Liquid Death when it is going to kill someone.” Finneus mused. “Or they can release it whenever they want.”

            Draco was just glad that he could breathe normally again. The smell had been giving him a headache. “I think I will name you Azad.” He tested the name out on his tongue. “It means freedom. What do you think of that?” Draco laughed when he got another lick from the hound.

            Finneus shook his head. “Naming hellhounds?” The disbelief was clearly heard.

            Azad let out a warning growl and Finneus threw his hands up in the air.

            Harry grinned. “Azad. I like it.” He told both the hound and Draco.

            _‘It is alright. Not as good as Sephtis but that is to be expected.’_ Harry snickered at the snake.

            **_‘This is Draco.’_** Harry pointed to his lover. **_‘He is my soulmate_**. **’** He ignored the ‘obviously’ from Sephtis. **_'This_** _ **is Finneus.'**_ He gestured with his head.

            _‘Can I bite him?’_ Sephtis asked as he stared at Finneus. Harry smiled but shook his head.

            **_‘No. We need him.’_** Harry reminded the snake.

            _‘Pity.’_ Harry grinned widely. _‘Well I shall follow you. I can provide great help to your quest.’_

            Harry raised his brows. He rather liked the snake. “Sephtis would like to come with us.”

            Finneus looked at him in disbelief. “We already have a hellhound. Now you want to take a snake? What are we, a bumbling caravan?”

            _‘You are sure I can’t bite him? His death would be swift.’_

            Harry ignored Sephtis and looked to Draco. Who cares what Finneus thought.

            Draco shrugged. He didn’t care what Harry wanted to do. If his lover wanted to bring a snake than who was he to argue? “Do what you want angel.”

            _‘Oh, I like him.’_ Sephtis said with a little snake noise that Harry assumed was a sigh. _‘He has a nice name too, unlike you.’_ Harry grumbled at that. He watched the snake slither his way over to Draco.

            Draco watched the snake approach him. He knew that Harry wouldn’t have offered the snake a position if the snake seemed untrustworthy. He had seen Harry hold out his hand earlier. Perhaps that was what the snake wanted. He held out his hand.

            Draco startled slightly when Sephtis didn’t stop to lick his hand. The snake just kept going and slithered his way up Draco’s arm. The skin of the snake was cold on his skin but he didn’t dare move. The snake stopped once it reached Draco’s neck and wound himself there.

            _‘What are we waiting for?’_

Harry shook his head at the bossy snake but walked over to Draco. “He likes you.” Harry answered the question in Draco’s eyes. “Says your name is better than mine.”

            Draco smirked and ran a finger down the top of Sephtis’s head. “Well he is not wrong.”

            Harry rolled his eyes before entwining their fingers and they all started walking again.

            “But Harry is a _much_ better person than I am. You won’t find anyone else to match.” Draco whispered to the snake. Harry’s heart melted and he pushed him a wave of love through the bond.

            “Make me throw up, why don’t you.” Finneus gagged next to them. He was not sure how he felt about the snake tagging along. This was getting out of hand.

            “We are like the Wizard of Oz. We keep picking up more strays.” Finneus grumbled.

            Draco frowned when Harry snorted. “Where is Oz? I haven’t heard of a place like that.” Usually he was the one who knew about wizards.

            Finneus and Harry laughed, which caused Draco to frown again. “It is a muggle book and movie.” Harry told him who let out a ‘oh’.

            Harry looked to Finneus. “Would that make you the scarecrow or the tinman? Personally, I think that you are combination of no heart and no brain.” He told him with a wicked grin.

            Draco may not have understood the reference but he could appreciate a good insult.

            “I hate you.” Finneus told him and then narrowed his eyes when Potter and Malfoy laughed at him.

            They had made it quite a ways in without any incidents. Well not many for the others. Harry had to put up with Sephtis.

            _‘Look at me Sanjiv. I have my own speaker. He is at my command.’_

_‘Bet you wish you had left me a rat now Rayya.’_

_‘Tazu, tell Cyprus not to wait up for me.’_

_‘No, you cannot come along Ulsta.’_

_‘That is right you unworthy,_ _my very own speaker. Be envious.’_

Harry groaned. He couldn’t even see all of the snakes that Sephtis kept calling out to.

            **_‘Will you stop taunting them. And you do not command me.’ _**Harry grumbled to him.

            _‘We will see.’_ Harry didn’t even bother arguing. He doubted it would do anything. If he could have found a snake that represented Draco, Sephtis would be it. The snake had a haughtiness to him that rivaled his lover.

            Draco had no idea what the snake was saying but he found Harry’s frustration funny.

            Harry was surprised that they hadn’t really encountered anything in the forest so far. 

            “Get down.” Finneus whispered loudly and out of nowhere. Harry sighed, he must have jinxed them. They all hid behind a giant rock. He looked to Finneus who was crouched but peering around the side of the rock.

            “What is going on?” Harry whispered.

            “Guys.” Draco interrupted. He sighed when no one looked to him.

            “Shh.” Finneus pressed.

            Harry didn’t like being shushed. “What is it?” Harry whispered again.

            Finneus sighed. Didn’t they have any patience? Couldn’t they see that he was busy?

            “Guys.” Draco said again.

            “What?” Finneus and Harry said at the same time.

            Draco pointed at Azad who was three times the size of the rock they were crouched behind. “This isn’t going to hide him.”

            _‘Idiots.’_ Sephtis mumbled.

            Harry waved his hand and the rock enlarged enough to cover Azad too. Finneus rolled his eyes, yeah like that wasn’t obvious.

            “Now, what is going on?” Harry demanded to know.

            Finneus kept a watch on the forest. “I see Puellas.” He whispered.

            Harry and Draco shared an uneasy feeling through the bond.

            “Peuras were supposed to be on the outskirts of the island. My mother switched them with the hellhounds. The Peuras normally watch the perimeter and the Puellas keep guard further along.” He explained.

            Harry bit his lip. If Perenelle switched them, then what did that mean for them? Were the Peuras somewhere else? Puellas targeted girls. Why were they hiding then?

            “We are safe against a Puella.” Draco pointed out dryly. He didn’t like being crouched on the forest floor. It was uncomfortable and he didn’t want to stop walking. If they stopped than that gave creatures a bigger chance to get them. Right next to the rock was a tree and he could see little things crawling all over it. He shivered. Draco narrowed his eye when he could make out a bowtruckle. The tree must be of wand quality. He reached out a finger to pat the top of the little thing's head but pulled back immediately when the damn thing bit his finger.

            Harry turned at the flash of pain from Draco but only saw his lover sucking on a finger.

            Finneus sighed. “I know that.” He said with frustration. They were testing his patience. “But without knowing where my mother stationed the Peuras then it is highly probable that they are also around somewhere.”

            Harry bit his lip. He didn’t like the sound of that at all. He turned to Draco. “You were telling me on the boat how to prevent a Peura take over.”

            Draco nodded his head. “Right.” He waved his hand and cast a repelling charm. Peuras were difficult. A normal repelling charm wouldn’t work. You had to infuse the charm with other spells as well.

            “I will have to keep adding the charm to ensure that it will stay. A Peura can attack at the charm and wither it down till they can find a way in.” Draco mused. He turned to Finneus and raised his hand to apply the charm to him too but Finneus shook his head.

            “Don’t bother. I was tired of having to add on charms every time I wanted to come to the island. So I etched runes into my body to ward them off.”

            Draco was impressed, he wouldn’t have thought of using runes to keep them out. That wasn’t something he had ever heard about before. Harry was creeped out.  No one should have to go to measures like that just to visit their parents.

            Harry crawled a little ways towards Finneus and pushed him back so that he could see too. He frowned when all he could see were giant black puffs of mist. It almost looked like smoke. He squinted before his eyes widened. What he had thought was just one puff of air was actually _hundreds_ of them. There were so many of them that they just resembled a giant puff of smoke. He swallowed heavily before leaning back on his legs.

            Draco bit his lip at the worry that he could feel from Harry. This was not looking good and he didn’t even need to see them to know that.

            Finneus looked back over the rock and sighed. It was worrying him that he couldn’t see any Peuras. Where were they?

            Harry wasn’t sure what Finneus was doing but he turned to Draco. “How can you tell the difference between a Peura and a Puella?”

            Draco scrunched up his nose. “I have no idea. Some researchers say there is subtle differences but I think they just look like smoke to me.”

            Finneus tutted as he turned back to them. “There _are_ subtle differences. The shape to a Puella is definitely more feminine.”

            Harry looked at him in bewilderment. There wasn’t anything about them that even remotely looked feminine. How can swirling mist look feminine? Draco could feel the disbelief and he smiled in amusement. That was how he felt about it too.

            Finneus ignored the looks that Potter was sending him. “Let’s go the another way. Normally I would just go straight through them since they can’t harm me but I don’t want to attract any Peuras. Even though you have the charms on, it could still be bad news. Too many Peuras attacking the charms at once could be disastrous. I would like to avoid them at all costs.”

            Draco nodded his head. It made sense. He would also like to avoid Peuras at any cost. Putting Harry in danger was not something that he agreed with.

            “How far in width do the Puellas patrol?” Harry whispered as they began to slowly walk away from the area.

            “Pretty far.” Finneus admitted with a slight frown. He was not used to finding an alternate route. “There is a terrain uphill that they avoid.” He winced slightly at the reason that they avoid it. Perhaps they would get lucky and not have to face off of against it. The last time he went there, he almost didn’t make it out alive.

            Draco narrowed his eyes. He felt like he was missing something but decided to let it drop.

            Harry was concerned about facing off against Peuras. He hoped that they wouldn’t have to come across them. For Finneus to call them an army, that would indicate a lot of them. If there were even half as many Peuras as there were Puellas, then they would be screwed.

            The closer they got to the area that would be free of Puellas, Draco noticed the higher slope. Merlin, he was not one for exercise. This was going to kill him.

            Finneus sneered at the panting Malfoy. They hadn’t even gone very far. Purebloods, he thought with a shake to his head.

            Harry took one look at the trail that Finneus was leading them to and he grumbled. This was going to be killer on his calves. If everything turned out how it was supposed to, tomorrow his legs would be feeling this.

            They had only been on the trail for less than thirty minutes and Finneus was already tired of their panting. “You would think that young fit wizards such as yourselves, would be in top shape.”

            Draco looked to Harry. “Look at that, Finneus thinks we are fit.” He said batting his eye lashes.

            Finneus groaned when Potter laughed. “Right, just ignore the complaint.”

            “We will.” They replied in unison. Finneus rolled his eyes and wished that he was still chained up to the wall with Lucius.  

            Harry looked to Draco. “Perhaps we should consider working out occasionally.” Draco looked so horrified at the idea that Harry couldn’t help but chuckle.   

            “Sweet Salazar, no way. If you want to then go right ah-” Draco stopped talking when a roar reached their ears. Azad jumped in front of them and let out his own answering roar and looked around for the predator. Harry and Draco narrowed their eyes when they noticed that Finneus winced.

            “You know what it is, don’t you?” Harry accused.

            “Why didn’t you tell us that something was over here?” Draco demanded. Sephtis was hissing angrily from his spot on Draco’s neck.

            A tree branch broke up a head and before they could even blink, something was jumping down.

            Draco swore loudly when he realized what was in front of them. He was going to kill Finneus.  Harry sighed. He had been hoping to never come across another one. One had been enough for him.

            Harry saw the familiar shape of the creature and glared at Finneus. The creature had the body of an overly large lion. The brown fur resembling most lions. It had giant clawed paws and a long yellowish tail. That is where the resemblances to a lion vanished. Instead of a main of hair and a lion head, he was looking at the head of a woman. She had long black hair and large almond shaped eyes. There was no warmth to the eyes. She looked mean and cold. This creature was a Sphinx.

_‘You enter this island, you think you can pass. It is my job to stop you and stop you I shall. If cowardice is your way and you choose not to stay, turn around quickly and have a good day. If you want to move forward and walk away with your life, answer my riddle correctly or I will show you my scythe.’_

            Harry sighed loudly. Great. Just great. He glared daggers at Finneus. This was all his fault.

            Draco frowned at the greeting. Most Sphinxes have generic greetings. Unless drafted for a specific reason. It was odd for the Sphinx to talk like that. And what did she mean about a scythe? Sphinx don’t carry those.

            Finneus tilted his head to the side. That wasn’t the same greeting she told him the last time that he had gone through. “It must be a clue by itself.” He said out loud.

            “I personally don’t want to see any scythes. Can’t we find a different way?” Harry asked.

            Finneus sneered at him. “Some Gryffindor you are.” He taunted.

            Harry rolled his eyes. “Half Slytherin. I believe in self-preservation too.” He pointed out.

            Draco smiled warmly. “That’s my baby.” It was Finneus’s turn to roll his eyes.

            “Unless you want to go deal with the chance of the Peura being close to the Puellas than be my guest. Turn around and go the way we came. This is the only other option.” Finneus argued before turning around and looking at the Sphinx.

            Harry patted Azad on the side of his head to stop him from growling at the Sphinx. “Couldn’t we just have Azad attack it?” Harry wondered. He winced when the Sphinx narrowed her eyes at him.

            Finneus shook his head. “No. There is more than one Sphinx on this path. We only have to answer the one riddle and then we can pass safely. If we attack her than the rest will all come out. I don’t think we will make it out of that alive.” He told them honestly. Sphinxes were dangerous and deadly.

            Harry sighed but looked to the Sphinx. “Alright. We will take the riddle.” He told her with a resigned tone.

            The Sphinx sat down on her hind legs and regarded them closely, as if she was detecting a lie.

_‘The answer is simple, it is but a single word. Each clue that I give you, signifies a lone letter. String them together to help you decide, what is the answer to life’s biggest strife?’_

Harry frowned as he listened to her speak. So the answer to the riddle was just one word. But each clue would hint at a letter for the answer. A little different than the last time he faced off against a Sphinx.

_‘If given the chance, we will take what is inside you. But do not fret, we leave behind a parting gift. Such a wonderful, simple, delightful first kiss.’_

_‘A twin to forever, I am what you can never have. Your path will end before you reach me. I am forever there, watching from the sidelines as you disappear.’_

_‘Life is a battle if heaven and hell truly exist. One is redemption and the other a foe. I am but a title to the unknown. Where you end up, no one shall know.’_

_‘Always taken for granted, believed to never cease. But when the cycle ends, is when you shall fear. Because I am what keeps you on schedule each year.’_

_‘A ritual of something that should not exist. We are the keepers of a piece of you that should never leave. The magic has tainted and condemned us. But with it, we cheat the battle and never see the end.’_

_‘Choose your word wisely, the clues are all there. If you followed along, then you should not despair. I ask you again, since the riddle is at the end. What is the answer to life’s biggest strife?’_

            They all stared at each other. Was that supposed to have made any sense?

            “Repeat the first clue.” Draco asked kindly.

_‘If given the chance, we will take what is inside you. But do not fret, we leave behind a parting gift. Such a wonderful, simple, delightful first kiss.’_

Draco hummed in thought. She had said ‘we’. So that meant it wasn’t anything singular. ‘We will take what is inside you.’ He shivered at the creepy sentence. What did that mean? So who or whatever it is takes something from people but leaves behind a gift. A kiss. Who leaves kisses as a gift? Pretty tacky gift. He smacked his forehead when it finally clicked.

            “A Dementor.” Draco whispered.

            “Ahhh.” Harry and Finneus said at the same time. Finneus rolled his eyes. He should have been the one to make the connection. Harry was glad that Draco had figured that out so quickly. He was bummed that he hadn’t thought of that. He had been caught up in the creepy way it had said it takes things from inside people.

            “The second clue.” Finneus said. The Sphinx narrowed her eyes at the rude tone to his voice but opened her mouth anyways.

_‘A twin to forever, I am what you can never have. Your path will end before you reach me. I am forever there, watching from the sidelines as you disappear.’_

            “I am what you can never have.” Harry said out loud. There were plenty of things that he would never be able to have. At this rate, they would be there all day. “Your path will end before you reach me.” He mused. That really didn’t make much sense. If it is something that they can never have than wouldn’t it be obvious that they would never be able to reach it? That seemed a little redundant to him. He frowned when he realized that the clue said forever twice. Maybe that was the key thing to think about. “A twin to forever.”

            Harry looked to Draco. “Do you think it means like a synonym? What is another word for forever?”

            “Always, continually, evermore, perpetually, insistently, repeatedly.” Finneus chimed in. “Those are all synonyms for forever.”

            Harry bit his lip. None of those made sense to him. It was something that you couldn’t have but was also a twin to forever. He sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair.

            Draco sat down on a rock nearby. “This is going to take us an eternity.” He complained. His headache was coming back.

            Harry spun around and looked at Draco with wide eyes. “That’s it!” He said in excitement. Draco leaned away in surprise. “What is it? What did I say?”

            “Eternity.” Harry explained. “The clue meant eternity. It is a twin to forever. No one gets an eternity. I think the path meant life. Your life will end before you reach me. It makes sense.” He said with excitement. Draco beckoned Harry to him and patted his lap.

            Harry eagerly sat down on Draco. This was reward enough for him.

            Finneus tilted his head to the side. He supposed that made sense. He rolled his eyes at their couple moments. Why couldn’t he have just been killed in the torture room?

            Harry looked to the Sphinx. “Can we have the next clue?”

_‘Life is a battle if heaven and hell truly exist. One is redemption and the other a foe. I am but a title to the unknown. Where you end up, no one shall know.’_

            Finneus glared at the ground as the words played in his head. ‘One is redemption and the other a foe.’ If he went along with the first sentence than that would indicate that heaven and hell is what they were describing. It was obvious which one was supposed to be which. Hell could never be seen as redemption. So that only left foe. ‘I am but a title to the unknown.’ That wasn’t a whole lot of help there. ‘Where you end up, no one shall know.’ If it tied back into heaven and hell than the last sentence would make sense. No one could ever truly know if they were going to end up in heaven or hell. But the prior statement is what mattered the most. That was the one that indicated what the clue really was about. ‘I am but a title to the unknown.’ But what was the unknown. Death is an unknown but that just didn’t seem to fit. He supposed death really couldn’t be considered an unknown. Perhaps it went past death. But what was past death besides the afterlife? The afterlife itself was neither hell nor heaven since on one knows where you go. His eyes widened.

            “The afterlife. It means the afterlife.” Finneus breathed. He was a little proud of himself for figuring that one out.

            Harry hummed in thought. Well that one had stumped him. He thought it over and figured that it was the best option that they had for the clue. Well the only option.

            Draco turned to the Sphinx to ask her to continue but she was already opening her mouth.

_‘Always taken for granted, believed to never cease. But when the cycle ends, is when you shall fear. Because I am what keeps you on schedule each year.’_

            Draco’s first guess was to say calendar but he highly doubted that was it. But what else keeps track of a schedule each year? He sighed. Perhaps he was taking it too literal. Maybe it was just saying that it keeps track of one’s schedule. But a day planner would cover that. Something was telling him it wasn’t that either. What do people take for granted that could help someone keep a schedule? He wanted to pull out his hair. This was so Finneus’s fault that they had even gone this route. ‘But when the cycle ends, is when you shall fear.’ That to him sounded like life in a way. If that was true, then what can you take for granted in life that keeps track of your schedule? ‘Believed to never cease.’ What is it that people believe to never cease?

            “We don’t have time for this.” Harry grumbled moodily from his spot on Draco’s lap.

            Draco nearly sprang off the rock. Harry wildly grabbed hold of Draco’s neck to keep him sitting. Unfortunately, he grabbed too hard on Sephtis.

            _‘Unhand me speaker. Do not make me bite you.’_

_**‘Sorry! I didn’t mean to.’**_ Harry assured him.

            “It’s time. That is the clue.” Draco said. He rubbed Harry’s back in a silent apology for nearly depositing him on the ground. It made sense to him. People do think that they will always have time to do things later. Never thinking that it could end. Time is what is in charge of schedules. It made more sense than a calendar.

            Harry smiled at Draco and kissed his cheek. Sephtis was still hissing at him but he ignored him.

            The Sphinx continued on whether they agreed or not.

_‘A ritual of something that should not exist. We are the keepers of a piece of you that should never leave. The magic has tainted and condemned us. But with it, we cheat the battle and never see the end.’_

            Harry frowned. There were plenty of rituals that should not exist. Like the Sorcerer’s stone for one. He supposed it would depend on who you ask. ‘We are the keepers of a piece of you that should never leave.’ He cringed at the thought. That sounded like pieces of skin or body parts being kept somewhere. Gross. ‘The magic has tainted and condemned us.’ To him that sounded like any dark ritual. So he let his mind wander away from light rituals, not that he knew many of either. ‘But with it, we cheat the battle and never see the end.’ He frowned. Battle. What battle? It couldn’t be talking about the war that they had. The island was too sheltered for that. So it must be a metaphor of some kind. The word cheat was sticking out in his mind. Whatever the clue is, it uses tainted magic to cheat at something so that they never see the end. That sounded like cheating death. Could it really be the Sorcerer’s stone? 'We are the keepers of a piece of you that should never leave.' That didn’t fit with the stone. That implied more than one. What other ways is there to cheat death? Vampires do it all the time but that wasn’t it. He half gasped and groaned at his own stupidity.

            “Horcrux. It is talking about a Horcrux.” Harry nearly shouted.

            Finneus dropped his mouth open in surprise. How in the world had the champion of the light come to that conclusion? Who even knew that the light knew of such things like that?

            “How do you know what a Horcrux is?” Finneus wanted to know.

            “Later.” Harry and Draco said at the same time.

_‘Choose your word wisely, the clues are all there. If you followed along, then you should not despair. I ask you again, since the riddle is at the end. What is the answer to life’s biggest strife?’_ The Sphinx finished the last of her riddle.

            “Okay.” Harry began. “We have Dementors.” He started ticking off fingers. “Eternity. Afterlife. Time. And Horcruxes.”

            “It spells death.” Draco pointed out. “She said string them together. The first letter of each of those spells death. ‘What is the answer to life’s biggest strife?’ Death could explain that.”

            Harry bit his lip as he thought it over. If one looked at all of the clues. They all were related to death in a way. He thought back to the beginning when she had said scythe. Was that just a clue for death as well?

            Harry looked to the Sphinx. “Our answer is death.”

            Finneus groaned internally. That was all the time they were going to think about this? If they were wrong then they were going to be attacked. It would have been nice if they had consulted him before just answering for all of them.

            There was a silence in the air as they waited with baited breath to see what the Sphinx was going to do. She quickly stood up and growled deep in her throat before jumping. Finneus closed his eyes just in case that was the last thing he was going to see.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, let me know what you thought of this chapter. 
> 
> You guys can't tell me that no one saw Harry wanting to keep Azad. I think it is an odd but wonderful choice for a pet. I mean, who doesn't want a hellhound? I can't stop picturing what the rest of the family will say. The quartet will no doubt love it. I bet Narcissa will faint. I probably would too. Lol. 
> 
> I just adored Sephtis. I think he is a sassy snake. He reminds me a lot of Draco. Which might be why he likes Draco. Hopefully they stop bringing strays along with them on the journey. 
> 
> Now for the Sphinx. *Sigh* It literally took me hours on that stupid thing. It probably could have rhymed more but I just said fuck it. Lol. I really hope it wasn't too hard. I didn't want to make it too easy either. I also hope it made sense. I love riddles and anytime there is one in a story, I just get excited. There was a blend of magic in it and just normal words as well. Riddles are not my thing. Have I said that already? Haha. I guess it was something to get the creative juices flowing. Let me know what you thought of the riddle. 
> 
> I have not forgotten the rest of the family. Lol. No worries. :)
> 
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	80. Buttons and Veelas

            Lucius stared at the pile of ash that was once a broom in horror. That could have been Pansy. The ash could have been family. He couldn’t believe it. One simple touch and a person could be wiped out completely. He could hear the whizzing of air which signified that the Veela were still flying around them. He could make out at least three blurs but he wasn’t entirely sure. If they didn’t think of something fast then they were going to be a pile of ash next.

            Narcissa’s heart was beating out of her chest rapidly. The zing of the wind sounded so close to her ears. The Veela were too fast, she couldn’t really make out anything. If Lucius said they were ancient Veela than she believed him but she herself hadn’t seen anything of the sort.

            George was pissed off. If he hadn’t reacted so quickly then his girlfriend would be dead right now. He felt like he needed to stop for a moment and take all of this in. He felt like his mind needed to mourn the possibilities but there was no time. He couldn’t stop for a single moment or else he could get them both killed. He was so angry at the stupid Veelas. He was so angry at the Flamels for even doing something like this in the first place. He was also angry at Harry and Draco for taking off with Finneus and the darkness.

            Pansy was numb. Utterly numb. Not just her mind but her whole body. Had she really almost just died? She had been seconds away from being a pile of ash too. The whole prospect was chilling. She couldn’t believe that her life could have been snuffed out just like that. She wanted to leave. She wanted to get out of here. She scrambled for her wand and attempted to apparate but nothing happened. That had been a long shot anyways.

            “Don’t try apparating. It won’t work.” Pansy yelled.

            If things hadn’t been so chaotic, Lucius might have scoffed at her. Of course they wouldn’t be able to apparate out. He highly doubted the Flamels would have made a mistake like that. Lucius wanted to be able to get a good shot at the creatures but they were so wickedly fast that he knew that it would do no good. He might miss and hit one of the others.

            Narcissa felt two whooshes of wind fly right past her in different directions before she was knocked forcefully into something hard. She had a split second to realize that the tail end of the broom had just knocked into the side of the cage. She let out a piercing scream.

            Lucius whipped around at the sound of his wife but froze when he saw her just immobile. “What’s wrong?” He demanded to know. He had been prepared to lunge at her or something but he had not expected her to just be screaming. He couldn’t even see anything wrong.

            Narcissa stopped screaming and looked around. Huh. She thought for sure that the broom would have incinerated by now. Now she felt rather embarrassed for yelling. “My broom is touching the cage.” She explained.

            Lucius widened his eyes and rose a little higher to throw off the Veela. He wondered why the one spot by his wife was not activated like the rest of the cage. It was difficult because he couldn’t see the cage. The fucking Flamels were too smart.

            Narcissa opened her mouth to say something but there was a small click and where the side of the cage was that her broom was up against, suddenly vanished. Her eyes widened when she was sucked backwards by a gust of wind.

            “Narcissa!” Lucius yelled. He was aimed to grab her but he was cut off by a passing Veela. By the time he was able to right himself, Narcissa was already gone. His heart sank. There hadn’t been any ash, nor did she hit the side of the cage on her way out. So he hoped that she was okay. He didn’t like the fact that he couldn’t see her. He refused to think that she hadn’t made it.

            George swore and almost smacked himself in the face when he realized that he had something that could help. “Pansy reach into the front pocket and pull out the immobilizer.”

            Pansy furrowed her brows. Why did George have an immobilizer? That product was still in its testing stages. As far as she knew, it wasn’t even close to being finished. She quickly reached into his pockets. She almost just ripped off his pants and trousers in the process. Muggle trousers were seriously odd.

            “Grab hold of me when you use it. Press the red button in the center.” George yelled as he dived slightly when he could feel air whiz by.

            Pansy frowned at the immobilizer. This was an entirely different design as well. This was a square black box with a giant red button in the center. What had George been doing? She grabbed hold of his arm and then pressed the button. There was a loud noise that made everyone wince and want to cover their ears.

            George breathed a sigh of relief when it worked like it was supposed to. Everyone but him and Pansy were frozen. He had no idea where Narcissa was but Lucius and the Veela were all frozen in midair. Which had been good timing because all three Veela had been circling Lucius. Now that he could actually see the Veela without fear of getting hurt, he was impressed that Lucius had been able to spot them. They were definitely ancient Veela. He had seen photos during an assignment for school and they had always stuck out to him. He couldn’t believe that he was actually witnessing one.

            Pansy quickly bound the Veela as a precaution but also shot stunners at them in case the immobilizing charm wore off. George sighed again in relief. He felt the tension leave his shoulders. He flew them close to Lucius and unfroze him.

            Lucius jerked on the broom and looked around wildly. He leaned back in surprise when he realized how close George and Pansy were to him. Didn’t they realize how impolite it was to invade someone’s space like that? He suddenly looked around again when he realized that he had been diving to avoid one or more of the Veelas. His eyes widened when he saw that they were frozen and roped. What the hell? Had something happened to him? Surely he would have seen them binding the Veela. How in the world had they done that anyways?

            Narcissa stopped her broom the second the wind stopped sucking her out. She looked around quickly and realized that she couldn’t see them anymore. She wanted to fly down close to sea level but she was worried that she had just been sucked into another cage. She quickly ripped off a button and duplicated it many times. Narcissa dropped one and watched as it fell steadily before there was a plop that indicated it hit the ocean. She bit her lip as she threw one above her and on both sides. Only one button hit something and she knew that it was the cage. She had somehow managed to get on the outside of the cage. She threw the last button in a diagonal direction, she hadn’t been paying attention to where it landed, since she was debating about going low.

            Fred had managed to get Severus to stop the boat. They were all wary about leaving when they couldn’t see the rest of the group. He had heard Pansy scream and he feared that something was wrong. He held out his hand for Blaise to hold on to. He knew that his lover was probably terrified. Fred looked up wishing that he could see what was happening to them. He was about to sit down when something smacked him in the forehead.

            “Ow. That fucking hurt.” Fred half yelled. He grabbed the offending object and realized that it was a button.

            Remus and Severus turned immediately when they heard Fred yell. They had expected to see something. They just didn’t think it would be a button. “Why did you yell?” Severus asked with an arched brow.

            Fred glared at the man, his tone was not very friendly. “This button just fell out of the sky and hit me.” Fred shoved the button into his hands.

            Severus lifted it up to inspect it. It really was just a plain old button. “Are you trying to pull some prank?”

            Fred sighed heavily. “No. I am not. Would I joke at a time like this?”

            Remus and Severus shared skeptical looks. Yes, he probably would joke at a time like this.

            Fred held a hand up to his chest. “That hurts. I can’t believe you have such a low opinion of me.”

            Blaise rolled his eyes at his boyfriend’s dramatics. “He is telling the truth. I watched it hit him.” Fred smiled in gratitude.

            After Narcissa dropped the last button, she heard something. It was faint but it was definitely a person. She gingerly lowered her broom and pushed through a misty cloud. She sighed in relief when she spotted the boat. She probably should have slowly made her way to them but she didn’t. She just booked it straight at them.

            Severus raised his brows at how quickly she was coming over. It was like she was being chased. He tried looking past her to see if there was something after her but he couldn’t see anything.

            Fred and Blaise looked up and frowned when they realized that no one else was with her. Where was everyone else? Was everything alright?

            As soon as Narcissa touched the boat she was half tempted to get on her knees and kiss it. She hated flying with a passion.

            “What is going on?” Severus asked when she straightened up. He frowned at the terror that was on her face.

            “We were flying like normal when George saw that something was wrong with Fred. He was about to come down and investigate but Lucius saw something.” She paused to shake her head.

            “He threw a button at it and it instantly disintegrated.” Fred and Blaise gasped while Severus and Remus looked horrified.

            “If George had gone any lower than he would have had the same fate as the button.” Fred winced. “George threw his own buttons around us and we realized that we were in some kind of cage. Only it is invisible.” She shuddered.

            Severus furrowed his brows. That was unusual. A cage charmed to be invisible _and_ to be cursed at the same time? The sheer magic it would take to make a large cage invisible would be ginormous. Invisibility is hard. Which is why invisibility cloaks lose their magic over time. Even faulty invisibility charms are worth a lot of money. Because of the type of power that it takes to create one. Not just any normal wizard has the magical strength to pull one off. The larger the item in question, the harder it is to make invisible. Something that was big enough to house all four of them would have taken some serious skill. He was worried about that. If the Flamels had been the one to pull it off, then they were in for a serious fight once they found them.

            But what really impressed him was the fact that they were able to maintain an invisibility charm on top of an already cursed item. Something that disintegrates on touch could only be a cursed object. Something that has gone through a dark ritual. The type of power that would have taken, would have made making the cage invisible nearly impossible. He wasn’t even sure how they had managed that. Cursed items by nature are meant to be found. Especially one that requires touch. It would have been two warring spells. To make something that needs to be touched, invisible, would have been like trying to make a blind person see colors. You can’t touch something you can’t see. The invisibility spell should have countered against the cursed cage. It should have rendered one of them inert. It should have either been an invisible cage with no ramifications if touched. Or, it should have been a visible cage that you can’t touch. He hated the fact that he couldn’t figure out how they had accomplished it. He also hated that he was impressed with them. It just irked his soul.

            “Why did Pansy scream? Is she okay?” Blaise asked in worry. He was panicking on the inside. His best friend could be hurt. He wanted to go investigate and bring her back down.

            Narcissa turned to Blaise. “We were attacked. She was knocked off her broom and the broom went to ash at the bottom of the cage.” Everyone let out horrified noises. “George saved her in time.” Blaise let out a relieved sigh.

            “What attacked you?” Severus asked. Now he was even more impressed, because the cage had to be even bigger to house whatever attacked them too. Which just pissed him off.

            “I didn’t see them but Lucius did. He said they were ancient Veelas.”

            They gaped at her in shock. Fred and Blaise let out low whistles. He would wonder how in the world they had managed to do that but after the Merrow incident, nothing would surprise them.

            Remus was itching to go see them. Ancient Veelas? He had read up on them and even seen photos but he thought they were all extinct. Naturally, Veelas don’t disclose that type of thing to the wizard population. But he had to wonder if they even knew that some of their kind were being held captive.

            Severus was worried about the remaining members of the family. Ancient Veela were vicious. They were considered warriors in the Veela culture. Their anger never went away. Anger is what fuels a Veela. Veelas in the current time only have partial abilities to change from and it is always during anger. An angry Veela was a deadly Veela. He couldn’t even begin to imagine what it would be like up there with only an angry Veela.

            “How did you get out?” Remus asked curiously.

            Narcissa shook her head in frustration. “One of the Veelas knocked into me and I hit the side of the cage.” Fred covered his mouth in horror. “But for some reason that section of the cage didn’t have the curse on it. After a moment, I heard a click and I was sucked out of the cage.”

            Severus and Remus shared a look. That was odd. Why would there be a section in the cage that made it possible to escape? That would be redundant if the Flamels were keeping the Veela captive as well. After all of these years, the Veela would be able to escape. Severus narrowed his eyes. Unless… the Veela didn’t want to escape. There would be no way that they wouldn’t have known about the opening to the cage. Veela weren’t stupid.

            Remus tilted his head to the side as he tried to make sense of this. It just didn’t make sense to him to have an opening in the cage. An opening that just opened on its own? Wouldn’t that defeat the purpose of the cage to begin with? It all seemed redundant to him. The only thing a trap like that would accomplish would be to catch people unaware. Wizards don’t just fly over the Atlantic Ocean for the fun of it. He knew that the trap was intended for planes. But what good would the cage do if it just disintegrated planes on touch? That would instantly kill the people. If the Flamels wanted victims to mess with, this wouldn’t be the way to go about doing it. Plus, if they didn’t want to attract attention, it would have to appear like a normal crash. A couple missing planes aren’t going to raise too much alarm but actual proof of a crash would go a long way in appearing as if it was an accident.

            Remus furrowed his brows the more he thought about it. How would they appear to make it look like an accident? Plus, if the cage was as big as he was beginning to think it was, then depending on the size of the plane, someone could potentially never even touch the cage. Unless that was the whole reason for the ancient Veela. Maybe they were there to knock the planes into the cage. That would explain why they hadn’t used their beaks to attack. If all they did was push Pansy and Narcissa, then that could be an explanation. So if the Veela really were up there to push anything aerial that comes around, then that would also explain why there would be gaps in the cage. The pieces of plane that didn’t touch the side of the cage would break off into the water. He would bet a lot of galleons that he didn’t have, that there was more than just the one gap that Narcissa found. He would even bet that there were some holes that didn’t require touch to activate. It was the only thing that made sense. Some planes were big enough to house hundreds of people. There would be no point in having the cursed cage kill all of them if the Flamels needed people. They would need an escape route for the pieces of the plane to go through. That way they would have a way to get to the survivors.

            Remus looked to Severus. “I think that there are probably a lot more holes in the cage. I think that the holes serve as a way for survivors of planes that make contact with the cage to live.”

            Severus tilted his head as he considered this. It wasn’t a bad line of thinking. He was actually a little impressed. He wasn’t sure about the one that Narcissa went through. That one seemed a little different, if he was to take Remus’s opinion into effect. It wouldn’t do any help if it had to be touched to get out of. A crash happens way to quickly to pull that off. The one she went through might be a maintenance route. Or a way for the Flamels to get in and out of the cage safely.

            Narcissa frowned. It could be possible. The only problem, finding a hole was rather difficult when you couldn’t even see the cage. She bit her lip as she worried about her husband and the others. Were they okay? Did they need help? She wasn’t sure if she should try and go back up there. She wasn’t even sure if she could find the piece that she had touched.

            Lucius looked at the pleased faces on Pansy and George and he smiled slightly. “What just happened?”

            Pansy looked to George to explain this one. It was his product in his trousers.

            “I had an immobilizer on me.” At the confused expression Lucius was giving off he quickly explained. “It is a product for the shop that we have been working on. I stayed up all last night working on it.”

            Lucius was about to ask a question but Pansy interrupted.

            “Why did you do that?” She asked with a frown. “I wondered where you had gone off to. I just thought you were with Fred and Blaise.” She had gone to bed early and couldn’t remember George coming back in at all. “The immobilizers aren’t even a top priority. The sales pitch isn’t even for a couple months.”

            George looked embarrassed all of a sudden, which really intrigued Lucius. It wasn’t often that he got to witness an embarrassed Weasley twin.

            George was kind of hoping that Pansy hadn’t asked any of that. He hadn’t gotten around to telling them anything. He sighed in resignation. “I was perfecting it as a precaution or rather a protection.” He said vaguely. When Pansy made a frustrated noise, he sighed again and gave up. “Oh alright. It was my protection against Severus.” Lucius snorted in mirth. “After he found out about Operation: Get Severus a Man, I was worried about retaliation.”

            Pansy wasn’t sure if she should laugh or be impressed. “Hey, he is a world class potions master. I think it is smart to be wary of that. If he really wanted to get us back it would be child’s play. So I wanted something that could stop him long enough for us to retreat.” George explained.

            Lucius was positive that this was the highlight of his day. He couldn’t wait to tell Severus that he had frightened the poor boy so much that he had to make a fallback plan to protect himself.

            Pansy was glad that George couldn’t see the grin on her face. “And if he just poisoned us?” She wondered.

            George shook a finger. “Ahh. I already thought of that. I haven’t eaten anything that I see him touch. I even brought my own drink to the manner earlier. He won’t be outsmarting me.”

            Lucius snickered. “You are absolutely paranoid.” He told George. This was just getting better and better. Before George could complain, he moved on. “Now that they are taken care of.” He pointed to the Veela. “We need to find a way to get out of here.”

            Lucius pulled off his last button and duplicated it. He handed them each one button and they could duplicate them too.

            George nodded and duplicated both his and Pansy’s. He turned the broom around and started tossing out buttons at random. “Pansy, throw yours the opposite way of mine.”

            Pansy rolled her eyes. “Obviously.” George didn’t rise to the bait. He just shook his head and continued tossing out buttons.

            Lucius turned to begin throwing his own buttons out and paused to take a look at the Veela. He really did think they were gorgeous. Sort of. Even in their frozen state, they were angry. The anger in their eyes was clearly visible. The wings though, they were a sight to see. They were huge and scaly. Most people would find them a little scary. Which was probably true. But Lucius found beauty in deadly things. He had always been attracted to power. This wasn’t any different. The wings were dark, like the midnight hour. There was a reflective light to the wings. With each tilt to his head, Lucius could see new dimensions to the wings. They were breathtaking. There was definitely a sharpness to the wings as well. He had no doubt that some of the scales could cut into the human skin. He was positive that they even used that as on offensive tactic.

            He had to wonder why they didn’t use their claws or their wings to harm them. Why had they only attempted to knock them into the cages? Was that their purpose? Were they just here to make sure that the EroPlains didn’t make it? He was curious about what their purpose was for. He shook his head and slowly began flying around and tossing buttons around.

            George growled after the third pile of buttons he had to duplicate for himself. This was taking _way_ to long. This was so tiresome. He had no idea how many he had thrown out but his arm was getting tired. He kept one button in his hand but threw the rest of them behind him in frustration.

            Pansy had to duck to avoid all the buttons. She was about to bitch to him but she heard a clunk. George whirled the broom around so quickly that she had to clutch to him to make sure she stayed upright.

            “Sorry babe.” George told her when she started grumbling. “Did you see where the button made contact?”

            Lucius zoomed over to them when he heard that. “One of you buttons made contact?”

            Pansy bit her lip to focus and just threw all her buttons in the direction that she hoped was where George had tossed them. None of them stuck. They all burst into flame before turning into ash. 

            Lucius looked at her in bewilderment. What a waste of buttons. That could have been spent much more wisely.

            Pansy saw the look at stuck her tongue out at him. “That is what George did when one of the buttons made it.” She told him a little defensively. Lucius rolled his eyes but shrugged his shoulders and threw a handful of buttons a little bit away from where Pansy did.

            They all watched in amazement when none of the buttons hit anything. Nor did they disintegrate. They just kept going until they were out of sight. Like there was an invisible wall that they passed through.

            “What do you think that was?” George whispered. “Think it is a way out? That wasn’t what my button hit. My button hit something solid. That didn’t even make a noise.”

            Lucius narrowed his eyes and transfigured one of his buttons into a _long_ stick. It was at least ten foot long.  

            “What the hell are you going to do with that?” Pansy asked with an odd look on her face.

            Lucius leveled her with an unimpressed glare. “I am going to shove it up my arse, what do you think I am going to do with it?” He said with biting sarcasm.

            George let out a surprised laugh. “I would pay money to see that.”

            Lucius paused slightly and found himself very disturbed at the thought. “You could never afford me Weasley.”

            Pansy let out peals of laughter when George shuddered. “I think I am going to be sick.” George muttered in horror.

            Lucius ignored that and put the stick in the space that the buttons had disappeared. When he was able to push the whole thing though he narrowed his eyes in thought. Lucius threw the stick and dropped it. He couldn’t hear any noise but he was pretty sure it was a way out. He turned to Pansy and George.

            “I can’t be sure but I do believe it is a hole. I think it is a way out of here. You can go first.” He said with a sly smirk.

            George choked. “You want us to go first on a maybe? We have no idea if that stick made it out safely. You go first. You have already lived a decent life. I have my whole life to live.”

            Pansy snorted but tried to cover it up as a cough. Lucius huffed. “I am older. You are supposed to respect your elder’s wishes.”

            George scoffed. “I _respectfully_ decline your generous offer. Since _you_ are older than _you_ should be the one to go through.”

            Pansy heard a rustling behind her. She turned her head as the two idiots continued to argue. Her eyes widened at she began hitting George on the shoulder.

            “Hey.” She interrupted. George stilled her hand. “Pansy is right. That was uncalled for. I am not expendable.” He said as he lifted his nose in the air.

            Lucius rolled his eyes. They would be here all day if this continued.

            “George go through.” Pansy said urgently.

            Finally, the tone of her voice made them quit bickering. They looked at her in confusion. She pointed a thumb behind her. The two of them looked where she had pointed and their eyes widened.

            Two of the Veelas were awake and chewing at their ropes. The third was still frozen but that wasn’t much comfort. One of them broke free and shot them a look before it spread its wings, preparing to take off.

            George didn’t even think about it. He just leaned forward and shot into the space that the stick had gone through. They both closed their eyes as they feared what could be on the other side.

            When they didn’t hit anything, they opened their eyes and sighed in relief when they didn’t see anything. They looked behind them and could see Lucius’s head sticking out as he too left through the hole. It was an odd sight to see, because it looked like Lucius was coming out of nothing. The cage was still invisible.

            Lucius made it out safely. He turned around rapidly to make sure that the Veela hadn’t left with him. He frowned when there was nothing. The Veela could have followed him if it had wanted to. Which must mean that they stayed up there because they liked it. Why would they like it? Why wouldn’t they escape when they had a perfect opportunity?

            “Hey look!” Pansy yelled. They looked down and could see the stick floating on the surface of the ocean. “That means that we can go down without fear of the cage.”

            Lucius nodded his agreement and they slowly descended. He still feared that they would find another trap below the cage. But once they got closer to the stick, they could hear voices. He looked over and could see the rest of the group waving frantically at them. He nearly wept when he saw Narcissa safe among them. He could feel the tension leave his shoulders. His wife was fine. If only he could say that about his sons too.

            They all flew over to the boat. Lucius sneered at the muggle transportation before stepping into it. He did not like this at all. But he would rather be on it than have to face another air trap again.

            He quickly told them how they had escaped. He could tell by Severus’s face that he was intrigued with the Veela.

            “Why did you have an immobilizer on you?” Fred asked curiously. He was grateful that his brother did, he worried what would’ve happened otherwise.

            Pansy and Lucius snorted openly and George shot them a glare. “It doesn’t matter.” He told his brother.

            Fred and Blaise shared a suspicious look before frowning at George. “Later.” George told them when he realized that they were not going to let this go.

            Lucius looked at Severus with a wide smirk. “Yes, later.” He agreed. Severus was curious about what this was all about. Even more so when George groaned. He was positive that it was an embarrassing story. He would have to ask Lucius about it after this was all done with.

            Pansy looked to the others. “So did we miss anything?”

            Remus, Severus, Fred and Blaise groaned in unison.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that I left off yesterday's chapter in a cliff hanger and am now making you all wait with a chapter that wasn't even about them. I am mean. We all knew this. That aside, what did you think of this chapter?
> 
> Narcissa screaming when nothing is wrong, is sooo me. Lol I could already picture that happening. 
> 
> Remus was correct in his line of thinking. There are holes along the cage. So that pieces of planes and people can go through them. This was a way to explain why a plane might just crash. It isn't faulty engineering. It was the Flamels and their traps. lol. 
> 
> George just kills me. He was so paranoid that he had to come up with a plan to protect himself if Severus decided to go for revenge. 
> 
> The banter between George and Lucius made this chapter, I think. I just love Lucius. 
> 
> So even though Pansy shot stunners at them, the Veela were able to shake them off after a time. I wanted to explain that. Not all magical creatures will be susceptible to magic. 
> 
> So what did you think?
> 
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	81. Questions and Answers

           Harry grew nervous when it looked like the lion was going to attack. The growl sounded all around them. Which seemed impossible since they were out in the open.

            Draco worried for a moment that they got the answer wrong. Sphinxes usually only get violent when you answer incorrectly. He felt Sephtis slither down off his neck and past his arm. He tilted his head down to watch the snake. Sephtis immediately wound himself up on top of Azad.

            _‘He can’t die. My safety comes before humans. I will trust the hound to save me.’_

Harry rolled his eyes but didn’t say anything. He was too focused on the Sphinx.

            Finneus opened his eyes when he didn’t feel any pain. He watched as the Sphinx jumped up over them. He craned his neck to the side to watch her land on a tree. He breathed a sigh of relief. That was good news. If they had answered wrong then she would have just attacked. She wouldn’t have gone past them.

            He looked to the others and nodded his head. It was safe to continue onward.

            Draco looked to Harry. “Why did Sephtis go to Azad?” Harry snorted. “Because he is a coward and figured that Azad would protect him better.” Draco huffed in annoyance.

            _‘I am no coward. Do not make me bite you speaker.’_

_**‘Oh yeah? Don’t make me sick Azad on you.’**_ When Sephtis didn’t respond, Harry grinned smugly at the snake. Draco shook his head, he may not know what they were saying but he would bet a lot of money that Harry was antagonizing the snake.

            “Well that wasn’t too bad.” Draco mused out loud. He watched the forest was they continued up the trail. He could make out more Sphinxes at the top of the trees. They were being watched. He was a little creeped out about it. He worried that more of them would demand riddles. Once had been bad enough. But he trusted that Finneus knew what he was talking about.

            Harry shrugged his shoulders. “This time I had people to help me. The only other time I faced off against a Sphinx was during the Triwizard Tournament. I was alone then.”

            Draco frowned slightly. He didn’t like the idea that Harry had to go through that. As his soulmate, he should have been there with him. He should have been protecting his lover through any hardship. It was his responsibility to look after Harry. Just as it was Harry’s job to look after him. They were a team. Reminders of a time when they weren’t together upset him.

            Harry wrapped his arm around Draco’s waist and pulled him close as they continued to walk. It was a nonverbal way to remind him that he was safe and he wasn’t going anywhere.

            Finneus looked to Harry in surprise. “They had Sphinxes at the Tournament? I would have wanted to see that. I am surprised that Dumbledore let you even enter.”

            Harry scoffed. “You say that like I wanted to join. Voldemort found a way to have one of his followers enter me into the tournament.”

            Finneus hummed in thought. “I am impressed.” He admitted.

            Harry shrugged. “I got out of it fine.” He played it off like it wasn’t a big deal.

            Finneus frowned. “Not with you.” He scoffed. “I meant with Voldemort. I am impressed with him.”

            Harry gaped at him for a moment before harrumphing and looking away. Finneus chuckled. “After witnessing all of the things with you, I have no doubt that you managed just fine. But I _am_ impressed with Voldemort. He managed to have a follower get you into the Triwizard Tournament right under Dumbledore’s nose. Man, that is golden.” He let out a little sigh.

            Harry chose to ignore this. Of course a dark wizard would appreciate another dark wizard’s deeds. “Speaking of Dumbledore.” Harry said slowly. “I have been wondering why he would work with your parents. There were several articles that said that he was your father’s partner in alchemy.” Harry had been wondering about this for a long time.

            Finneus scrunched up his nose. “Dumbledore was the type of person to believe in the ends justify the means. It always surprised me that the light chose him as their figurehead. He would have done _anything_ to see Grindewald and Voldemort go down. I suppose some would argue that since he was trying to find a way to bring down a Dark Lord that it just didn’t matter how he did it, as long as he did it. But there comes a fine line where you have to stop and consider if causing violence in the name of peace will really result in said peace.” He paused to consider the last line.

            “I don’t think so. I think if you truly want peace, there can be no violence. Now, I myself never have cared about peace, so there isn’t much of an opinion there.” He grinned wolfishly. “As I was saying, when does it stop being for the good of the world and it start being for the good of himself? That is what I want to know.”

            It was really surprising to Harry how much depth that Finneus could go when he thinks. This was a moment where he could really see that Finneus was close to 700 years old. There were times where the man spoke with such clarity and deepness.

            “Dumbledore had approached my parents during the height of Grindewald’s reign. He wanted an unusual edge to the good vs evil battle. Grindewald knew Dumbledore on a personal level.” He waggled his brows suggestively. “If you know what I mean.” Draco curled his lip. Ew. That had been _way_ too much information.

            “Which meant that Grindewald would also know how Dumbledore fought. He wanted a way to fight against Grindewald in such a manner that the man wouldn’t see it coming. It was rather brilliant of him to think of alchemy. It is not something that is practiced anymore. So the chances of Grindewald expecting Dumbledore to know it, was rather slim.”

            Harry was intrigued in the story. It made the trek up the hill go by much quicker. He was barely paying the terrain any mind.

            “Dumbledore knew that my parents were dark wizards. You would have to be a moron not to know that. They have always been dark wizards. Even when they were just regular mortals. But like I said earlier, he believed in whatever means necessary. He just wanted a way to get rid of Grindewald and then later on Voldemort. My father had been giving a guest lecture at an alternative magical theory seminar under a false name. Dumbledore had found out who he was and they set up a deal. Dumbledore would learn alchemy and in return he would find a way for a positive spin on the Sorcerer’s Stone to get out. Which is why the history books don’t mention that it was a dark ritual to begin with. Any public knowledge on the stone is going to show it in a positive light.”

            Harry furrowed his brows. That was an omission. Technically not a lie but still. Was Dumbledore that desperate that he fudged the truth into text books, just so that he could lean alchemy?

            “But alchemy is a subtle science. It takes patience and skill that is taught over _many_ years. The temperament that it takes to learn alchemy is not something that modern day wizards can appreciate. It is hard. There is no simple way around that. There are no short cuts. No tricks. No effortless way to succeed. It takes dedication. Alchemy is not something to learn in your spare time or even as a hobby. You either commit one hundred percent or not at all.” Harry and Draco shared a look. This much they knew. Which is why neither of them had ever had the patience in their past life to be able to perform alchemy.

            “Dumbledore was in the middle of looking for Grindewald. He was at the height of attempting to bring the man down. He didn’t have the time to learn alchemy. He wanted quick answers but didn’t want to dedicate the time to get them. Which really isn’t a surprise. That is the downfall of today’s society, really. So he began just learning in his spare time. So it came as no shock when he started having issues understanding it. My father was as straight forward as possible. If Dumbledore had just buckled down and focused than he probably could have become a master at it. The lessons expanded over many decades. After Grindewald had been taken care of sans any alchemy, the lessons slowed. They were almost nonexistent up until Voldemort.”

            Harry squinted as he thought about all of this. He could understand wanting to learn new and better ways to take down both of the dark wizards. But he couldn’t really wrap his mind around being okay with learning it from such insane people like the Flamels. If Dumbledore knew what it had taken to create the Sorcerer’s Stone but _still_ wanted to learn from them, then that just didn’t sit well with him.

            “When Voldemort started gathering followers, Dumbledore resumed the lessons. I don’t know if he ever asked my parents to get involved. If he did it was pointless. They never would have meddled into today’s society. They don’t really consider themselves as a part of this world. We have all walked the earth too long to really care what happens to it.” Draco found the last sentence odd. One would think that being on the earth for so long would make them care.

            “My mother told me that Dumbledore might be really serious the next time around. He took his lessons carefully and deliberately. But then again, murders and disappearances started happening and the wizarding world began crying out for someone to save them. He was once again considered a figurehead for the light. Which I still find funny. If only they knew that he was the students of the darkest wizards to ever walk the earth.” Finneus shook his head at the irony to it all.

            “If I had to rate him at his skill level, he probably would have been a novice alchemist. I was better than that by fifteen. But I grew up with it in an entirely different world.” He shrugged. “The lessons stopped after Voldemort ‘disappeared’ when he came after you.” He looked to Potter. “He never did start them back up again. I think that was because he found a new and different way to destroy him.” He looked pointedly at him.

            “Me?” Harry asked uncomfortably. He frowned. This wasn’t really news to him. But to hear Finneus so calmly see what he had been blind to for the past seven years, it hit him pretty hard.

            Finneus nodded. “Yes, it was obvious that he was going to use you. A baby who had practically fallen into his lap. It was something that he didn’t have to work for. Something he didn’t have to give up his time to perfect. He was able to put the responsibility on your shoulders and watch from the sidelines. I am sure he had to put in effort but not nearly as much as you. Not nearly enough to actually matter. You were his alternative magical answer. You were a solution that guaranteed that he didn’t have to work too hard. Something that he could put on the back burner for years and only stir the pot when things came to a boil.”

            The brutal honesty made the truth of the whole thing hurt a little less. But it was still something that didn’t sit well with him. Harry didn’t like this at all. He knew the whole situation was more than just what he himself saw and what Finneus was saying. Dumbledore wasn’t the wonderful grandfather role that Harry had seen him as. Nor was he just the dark wizard in disguise that Finneus saw him as. There was probably a lot of both that was involved. A combination of both points of view. Harry had no idea who Dumbledore really was. He had no idea what Dumbledore actually saw of it all, or what the man really believed in. He wondered if Dumbledore really only saw him as a means to an end. He wanted to believe that somewhere inside of the man that he cared about him. Was that too much to hope for? Was that too much to ask for?

            Draco didn’t like the turn of events that the conversation had gone under. He also didn’t like the feelings he was getting through the bond. He wasn’t sure how to make Harry feel better. He didn’t understand Dumbledore any better than anyone else. Draco wasn’t going to offer false reassurances. That was not something Harry would appreciate. So he just pulled Harry even closer to him and offered his silent support.

            Harry smiled slightly at Draco. What did it matter in the end what Dumbledore did? The man was dead. The war was over. Voldemort was gone. Did it really matter why Dumbledore had done the things that he had? Harry had moved on from all of this. He had a new life and a family that cared about him. If Finneus was right and Dumbledore really had thought of him like that, then it was rather unfortunate but he was not going to let it get to him. Allowing this to bother him would be going at least three steps backwards on the road of his new life. He couldn’t dwell on the past. There was no point. Worrying and being upset over something he couldn’t fix or change was just silly. It would be a pointless headache. 

            Finneus wasn’t really paying attention to Harry or Draco. So he just kept on talking. “When word got out about Voldemort wanting the Sorcerer’s Stone, Dumbledore came knocking. It was hilarious really. He thought that he could protect the stone better than we could? Please. Take a look at this fucking island. No one even knows that it exists. Not even Dumbledore knew. My father used a vacation home to hold his meeting with the man. Voldemort would _never_ have found this place. And if by some miracle that he did, he would have been no match against my parents. None. They would have wiped the floor with him. Especially since Dumbledore said he didn’t even have a body.” Finneus shook his head at the whole incredulous situation.

            “You should have seen my mother’s face when Dumbledore said that he could protect the stone much better than we could. I knew that she wanted to murder him for such a blasphemous thing to say. The stone had been protected just fine for nearly 700 years. What could possibly delude the man enough to think that he could protect it better than the creators? Incredibly dark wizards in their own right. I sometimes wonder if Dumbledore had to put up a blanket wall of denial to work with my parents. I mean it had to have gone up against all of his ‘good guy’ vibes to even take lessons from them. So perhaps that is why he thought that he could offer his assistance. My father had to intervene before there was bloodshed. My mother is... well she isn’t exactly nice.”

            “Oh we know.” Harry and Draco said at the same time. Perenelle Flamel was a cold-hearted bitch. Harry would have paid money to see what Perenelle’s face had been like when Dumbledore offered his assistance.

            Finneus conceded this fact. They would know from firsthand experience about his mother. “They ended up just giving him a false stone. My mother never would have given up the stone. The stone is kept guarded where she can see it all times. The stone is their entire life’s work. Dumbledore was stupid for thinking that they would have actually given him the stone.” Finneus rolled his eyes.

            “But you know, I think that it was his plan. Not the false stone. I mean I don’t think he intended for the stone to make it past that year. The stone is an evil thing. I won’t lie and say otherwise.” Harry was surprised that Finneus could own up to that.

            “Perhaps Dumbledore saw this as getting rid of two birds with one stone. Ha! Literally.” Harry and Draco groaned at the horrible pun.

            Finneus sighed. They couldn’t see good humor when it was right in front of their faces. “What I mean is, him taking the stone into his protection made it possible to keep an eye on what Voldemort was doing. And it created a way for him to try and get rid of the stone. I don’t think that he wanted the stone in existence. This way, he is the only one left standing. He gets to live, have control over Voldemort and makes sure that two dark wizards will eventually die. If the man hadn’t been a complete idiot, I probably would be impressed.”

            Draco was grudgingly a little impressed. It really would have been like he was the last one standing. Perhaps Dumbledore hadn’t really wanted to work with the Flamels that much. It would be two warring instincts. On the one hand, he would be learning alchemy. But on the other hand, he would be having to put up with dark wizards. Ones that murdered a lot of people. Dumbledore probably hated that he had to make a deal with them to even take lessons. So this _was_ probably a way for the man to get rid of the Flamels and Voldemort.

            “Dumbledore hadn’t been very good at alchemy so it was child’s play to pass off a false stone as a real one. When my father asked how he was going to protect it and Dumbledore said it was going to be placed in Hogwarts, oh man, the silence had been extraordinary. My parents may be a lot of things but they never would have risked the next generation of British wizards by placing the stone in a fucking school. I still can’t really wrap my head around it. Dumbledore would have _known_ that wherever he placed the stone, that surely Voldemort would follow. Why would he want to lead Voldemort to a school full of innocent children? Even if Voldemort didn’t have a body, that didn’t mean the man wasn’t dangerous. What arrogance.” Finneus curled his lip.

            “Such arrogance to think that he could handle Voldemort. Or perhaps it was just stupidity to place stopping Voldemort over the lives of the children. He could have just set up a safe place for the stone somewhere else. Hell, even overseas would have been preferable. It just seems obvious to keep the stone near him. Wouldn’t Voldemort have just assumed that Dumbledore would keep it with him? If that was the case than it would make sense to place it somewhere else. I will never be able to understand the motives of the light. They just don’t make sense.” Finneus said with a wrinkled forehead.

            Harry bit his lip as he thought about what Finneus was saying. He himself had already wondered all of this. It seemed like a dangerous risk to place the stone in a school full of children. The enchantments that the teachers had placed were not even that difficult. Three first years had found their way to the stone. If the whole school had known about the stone than he had no doubt that other smarter children could have done it as well. Dumbledore had risked a lot by doing that. It made no sense to him either. But he had long ago given up even trying to make sense of the things that Dumbledore did.

            Draco had never liked Dumbledore. Probably a byproduct of being raised by his father. But even if he had been neutral to the whole thing, he doubted that he still would’ve been able to understand the man. He hated to admit it but he was in agreement with what Finneus was saying. If the old man was still alive he would give the man a stern talking to, one that would probably result in painful curses and jinxes. He hated everything that man had put Harry through. Hated everything that his lover had to endure just because he was ‘the chosen one’. It was all utter bullshit. Dumbledore used Harry however he saw fit, just to end a war. A war that had no business being thrusted up on a child. Who in their right mind says, ‘we are going to make a teenager lead us into war.’ Dumbledore had decades of magical experience. Decades. There were thousands of things that could have gone differently. It didn’t _have_ to end in Harry being the savior.

            Finneus shrugged and looked to the other two. “Anyways, that is the extent to what Dumbledore went through in learning from my parents.”

            Harry huffed at the simple tone to the man’s voice. Like he hadn’t just shattered Harry’s entire line of thinking.

            _‘Sounds like someone I would not mind biting.’_ Sephtis hissed.

            Harry laughed in surprise. **_‘You know, if he was still alive, I think I would let you.’_**  

            Sephtis stuck his tongue out in the air and hissed. _‘Your mate is calling you again. Is he in heat? I was not aware that humans a had a heat cycle. You need to mate with him. It is not nice to leave a mate in heat with no relief. Someone else might come along and relieve him.’_

Harry stopped moving and growled at the thought of someone else touching Draco. He shook his head to calm down. He turned his head into Draco’s neck and just stayed there until Draco wrapped his arms around him.

            Draco frowned at the growl. There was a possessive nature to the bond and he wasn’t sure what had brought that around.

            “Mine.” Harry said forcefully before closing his eyes. Draco tilted Harry’s head backward gently, so that he could look into his eyes. “Yours.” He conceded softly. “I am yours. Always.”

            Harry nodded his head and went back to burying it in Draco’s neck. **_‘He is not in heat. He just likes it when I speak your language.’_**

            _‘It is a good language. More humans should learn it. Teach them.’_ Sephtis demanded.

            Harry rolled his eyes but didn’t respond. He sighed in delight when Draco’s hand ran through his hair. “Angel, what was that about?”

            Harry bit his lip in embarrassment. “Sephtis could smell you and he thought that meant you were in heat. He was suggesting that I was not a very good mate by not relieving you, he said that someone else might come along and relieve you instead.”

            Finneus threw his head back and laughed. Oh this was just too good.

            Draco shot Finneus a dark glare before looking to Sephtis. “I am not in heat. Harry is the best mate that I could ever ask for. I would never want another. I am his just as he is mine.”

            Harry squeezed Draco tightly and kissed the pulse point under his neck. “If Finneus wasn’t here, I might just ask you to relieve me.” Draco said waggling his eyebrows.

            “That is gross. In the wild? Really? With who knows what animals are watching. Kinky buggers.” Finneus grumbled and turned away from them. He froze instantly in horror.

            Harry chuckled. “I think I would like that. Such a shame.”

            Finneus let out a noise but no one paid him any mind.

            _‘I would like to watch that.'_  Sephtis hissed.

            Finneus whimpered, he tried to get their attention but he was frozen to the spot.

            Harry scoffed, with his face still hidden in Draco’s neck. “You are not watching us have sex.” Harry repeated in English and in parseltongue for Draco’s benefit.

            “Guys.” Finneus whispered.

            Draco cracked up. “Kinky little snake.” He told Sephtis.

            “Hey!” Finneus whispered louder. They still continued to ignore him.

            _‘I will never understand humans. I have seen all kinds of mating rituals. Hundreds even. I am an expert on the subject. I am sure my advice could be of some use.’_

Harry choked on his tongue. “He just offered to give us sex advice.” Harry whispered in half humor and half horror. This was getting out of hand. Draco chuckled and then cringed.

            “You are not watching us have sex.” Draco told Sephtis sternly.

            _‘Fine. But then I will be watching other humans mate.’_ He warned.

            Harry grinned mischievously. **_‘I have some friends of mine that I am sure wouldn’t mind. Severus and Remus. I will introduce you to them sometime.’_**

Draco was curious as to what Harry was planning. It was never a good thing when his lover got into one of these moods.

            “Am I speaking another language? Earth to Potter and Malfoy!” Finneus exclaimed.

            Draco waved his hand in the air dismissing the man.

            _‘More humans? I would like that.’_ He said as he lifted his head off of Azad.

            “Hello?!” Finneus exploded finally losing his patience.

            Harry and Draco spun around. “What the hell is your prob-” They both stopped mid-sentence and their eyes widened.

            “Looks like we found the Peuras.” Harry whispered. Not even three feet away was a swirl of black smoke. Harry couldn’t really see a difference between the two but he just had a feeling that this was a Peura and not Puella.

            “Why didn’t you say something?” Draco asked Finneus angrily.

            Finneus threw his hands up in the air. “I hate you. I literally fucking hate you.”

            Azad growled at Finneus while Sephtis hissed angrily. “Great. It is four against one.” Finneus huffed.

            Harry tilted his head. “Why isn’t it doing anything?” Harry wondered. He had been so scared of them but now that he was face to face with one, it was just floating there. Doing nothing.

            Finneus hummed. “One Peura is not a threat. This one is by itself. Which is rather odd. They always stick together, there is a power and safety in numbers. They usually don’t single any out unless they are setting up a trap…” He spun around wildly when he realized that was probably exactly what was happening.

            Sure enough, they were entirely surrounded by Peura. Harry and Draco looked around wildly. There wasn’t an open gap anywhere. He had a flashback to the dream he had with the darkness. There was just black smoke all around them. He looked up when it got dark and he whimpered when he realized that they were hovering above them as well. He had no idea how many of them there were. Unlike with the Puellas, the Peura were a solid mass of smoke. There was no way to tell how many made up the whole collective.

            The feeling of claustrophobia began. There was no light. No sounds other than Azad growling. All around them was just pitch black of the Peura. If Draco hadn’t been touching him, Harry would have feared that he had lost him. He couldn’t see anything. Not even his own hand. They were royally fucked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know. I am mean. We already knew this. Sorry! 
> 
> I know this chapter was filled with a lot of talking but it does clear up a lot questions that you guys have been wondering. This was a loose end that needed to be tied up. 
> 
> What are your thoughts on the whole Dumbledore issue. Do you think that it was okay of him to make the deal with the Flamels? False evidence in text books. Omissions. Was it okay for Dumbledore to turn a blind eye to who the Flamels really are just to learn alchemy? Do the ends really justify the means? Can you have peace while advocating for violence?
> 
> Thoughts on Dumbledore taking the stone to Hogwarts? Do you think that he really wanted to get rid of two birds with one stone? Do you think he wanted to find a way to destroy it and keep it out of Voldemort's hands?
> 
> The awkward moment when not even the Flamels would have put the stone inside of a school...
> 
> Sephtis is an expert and mating rituals... awkward. Lol. I don't even want to know how many times he has watched other species have sex. So... what do you think Severus will do to Harry once he finds out that Harry offered to let Sephtis watch Severus and Remus have sex? Harry might need his own immobilizer in protection. Haha. 
> 
> And the cliff hanger. You should all expect that it was going to happen. But I would love to hear how you think that they are going to get out of this one. :)
> 
> -XxTheDarkLordxX
> 
> What about when it comes to Harry. Do you think that Harry is right? That it is a combination of the two sides?


	82. Shaytan

            “So you are telling me, that a Merrow fell in love with your vomit and therefore by extension, you as well?” Lucius deadpanned with an air of calm that his expressions didn’t quite match.

            Fred groaned and covered his face while everyone else snickered. Well everyone but Blaise, who put a possessive arm around Fred.

            “Yes but when you say it like that, it sounds so gross.” Fred complained.

            Pansy scrunched up her face. “No matter how it is put, it is gross.” She pointed out.

            George was just happy to know that his brother was okay. He had been so worried when he saw Fred leaning over the side of the boat. He had worried that something was wrong. To hear that he almost lost him to a Merrow was frightening. He had the urge to hold onto him and never let go.

            Fred looked up and caught his brother’s eye. He smiled slightly and pulled him into a hug. His brother may not be vocal about his needs but Fred always had been able to read him. “I am alright.” He promised him. George hugged his brother tightly. “I know. It’s just…” He trailed off, not sure how to put his fears into words.

            Fred pulled back from the hug. “I know. I would have felt the same way.” He assured him before stepping into Blaise’s arms.

            Pansy wrapped her arms around George’s waist and leaned in to offer her support. She understood what George was going through. She didn’t like the idea of Blaise in any trouble either.

            Lucius pretended to look elsewhere. He would have loved to offer them privacy but that was not a luxury that they could afford at the moment. “This boat looks so much smaller with all of us on it.” He said with a frown. It was a good thing that he had charmed the teenager into getting them a bigger boat. Or else they would have had to remain on their brooms. As it was, the boat was a tight fit for all of them. He hated the hum of the boat as they trekked through the water. It made him realize that he was relying on the mentality of muggle technology to keep him safe. He hated that. Muggles didn't have good enough technology for the importance of maintaining his life.

            Severus’s mouth twitched. “Yes, I would imagine so.” Honestly, it was interesting to see his friend so out of his element. Lucius was usually so poised and in control. To see him unsure of things and wary, was a new experience for him.

            Lucius glared at the back of Severus’s head. He could tell that his friend was taking great pleasure in his unease. It was just like the man to not have any decency about this. The least he could do was pretend. That would have been the noble thing to do.

            “Here I was about to tell you about George’s paranoia. But now I don’t think I will.” Lucius turned his nose up in the air and glared at his friend again.

            George whipped his head up when he heard his name mentioned. “Please don’t.” He begged.

            Severus was intrigued. Damn Lucius for making him interested. That left the ball in the man’s court. He weighed his options. He could pretend to not be interested and let the conversation drop. Or he could bite the bullet and suck up to the man to find out why George was so insistent. He always did take pleasure in embarrassing others. Seeing George embarrassed would make his day much better.

            Fred and Blaise looked to George with arched brows. George was not one for begging. He always said that begging was beneath him, he said that pranks worked as an intimidation tactic just fine. Fred looked to Pansy for an explanation but she was covering her mouth with her hands while her body was shaking from silent laughter.

            Lucius knew that he was in a prime position. Either he got what he wanted and Severus back pedaled or he would weasel something out of George that would make his silence worth it.

            “It is definitely worth your time.” Lucius taunted slightly before turning to George. “My silence would cost you.” He warned.

            George huffed before pouting. “I really hate Slytherins.” He mused out loud.

            Lucius arched a brow. “I don’t think it would be wise to insult me.” Narcissa shook her head at her husband’s antics. It was just like him to find pleasure in torturing young adults. Couldn’t he just stick to torturing killers?      

            George winced. “I am sorry, I didn’t mean it.” Fred was staring at his brother in surprise. What in the world did Lucius have on him to make him act like that?

            Severus cursed inwardly. “You have my sincerest apologies Lucius. It was never my intention to come off the way that I did.”

            Lucius smirked at George. “That was an apology.” George slumped his shoulders in defeat.

            Remus watched the interactions with amusement. He wouldn’t say it out loud but he was curious. He wondered why Lucius hinted that Severus would be interested in why George is paranoid. Did it have something to do with his lover?

            Lucius smirked again. “Let this be a lesson to you. If you want something from me, it does not do good to insult me. Also, flattery would have won you the round. So next time, the quicker you act, the better.”          

            George narrowed his eyes. He would have just scoffed at the man but he decided to take the advice. There would probably come a time when he would need to suck up to the man.

            Lucius turned to Severus. “He had the immobilizer on him because he feared retribution from you.”

            There was a silence that followed that statement before everyone started laughing loudly.

            George huffed before crossing his arms across his chest. They were all just jerks. That was it. He glared at his laughing girlfriend. Some loyalty she had.

            Severus couldn’t stop chuckling. It looked like his threat to them in the Black room had been effective. He had no idea it would have caused George to fear for his safety. Apologizing had been worth it. He had been right, this definitely made his day.

            Remus shook his head. He wondered what that said about himself that he was loving the fact that Severus could scare people like that. He should probably scold him but he was just too amused.

            Fred was never going to let this one go. He himself had been concerned over what Severus could do but he hadn’t gone out and prepared for it. This was just too good.

            “Also…” Lucius began with a smirk. His smirk widened when George groaned. He was having way too much fun with this.

            “He brought his own drinks to the Manor because he wasn’t taking the chances of you poisoning them.” Lucius finished with a smile.

            Severus had to force his eyes open as his laughter over took him. What made the whole thing even more hilarious was that he had even mentioned poisoning them to Remus.

            Remus had to hold onto his side to stop a stitch from forming. It was just ironic. He looked to George’s red face but he couldn’t stop himself from finding it funny.

            Blaise chuckled into Fred’s neck as his arms were around him. He couldn’t believe that George had been that scared of retribution. It was just too much for him.  

            George groaned again. He hated the lot of them. So rude. He was already planning a million different pranks that he would use. They were going to regret this.

            Narcissa bit her lip to hide her smile. “I think it was rather smart of him.” She said loud enough that everyone could hear her. George turned to her with hope in his eyes. “If he had not been paranoid then he would not have had the immobilizer on him in the first place. So his paranoia saved them all.” She said with a smile.

            George was pretty sure Narcissa had hung the moon. “I love you.” He said with feeling. Pansy and Lucius snorted in mirth.

            Severus shook his head. “If that is the case, then really it goes back to me. I am the one who scared him enough to warrant protection. So really you should be thanking me.” He was thankful that they couldn’t see him or his stoic face would have fallen. As it was, his mouth was twitching.

            George gaped for a moment. “That is _not_ happening.” He said firmly while everyone laughed.

            They traveled for a while in good spirits. George even forgave Lucius enough to talk to him. He was still a little disgruntled but he talked with him anyways. He was leaning up against Pansy as he grew bored. There were leaves in the water from trees but what kept drawing his attention was a rock. It was a giant rock. By itself it was already a little odd but they had passed that rock at least half an hour ago. But here it was again. He knew it was the same rock because the tip of it reminded him of a penis. That was a pretty glaring feature that was hard to miss. He frowned as he looked around to see if they had somehow back tracked or gone in a circle.

            “Hey, what’s that word when you are pretty sure you are experiencing the same thing twice? It is a muggle thing.” George wondered. He startled when Remus and Lucius whirled around quickly at him.

            “What did you just say?” Lucius asked with growing concern.

            Everyone shared concerned looks. “I keep seeing the same rock again and I was just wondering what that word was called that would explain it.” George said quietly.

            Remus shared a look with Lucius. “Are you sure it is the same rock?”

            George nodded. “Positive. There aren’t too many penis rocks out there, you know?” Fred and Blaise snorted while Pansy looked a little grossed out.

            “Severus stop the boat.” Remus said in a panic. Severus startled a little at that. Stopping the boat would make them sitting ducks for whatever is out there.

            “Why? We need to keep going.” Severus was confused. Lucius shook his head. “Stop the boat. We are already in a trap.”

            Everyone panicked and immediately sprang up.

            “What kind of trap?” Narcissa asked as she bit her lip.

            “What?!” Fred and Blaise said at the same time.

            “How do you know?” Severus wondered as he stilled the boat.

            “Is it bad?” George whispered.

            “We are going to die, aren’t we?” Pansy nearly yelled.

            “Be quiet!” Lucius snapped angrily. He could not take all of the talking at once. He wasn’t even sure what everyone had even said.

            Remus looked to George. “The word you were looking for is Déjà vu.” George snapped his fingers. Ah! That had been what he was looking for.

            “But no such thing exists in our world.” Lucius piped up. He could see the confusion on Fred and George’s faces and he had to marvel over the fact that they didn’t know this.

            “Déjà vu is not a good thing to experience. Whether you are in the muggle world or not. Déjà vu is a side effect of a Jinn.”

            Blaise, Severus and Pansy covered their mouths in horror. Fred and George shared a confused look. “But we were told that there were no such things as Jinns.” Fred replied slowly.

            Lucius scoffed. “That isn’t too surprising. Jinn come from _very_ dark rituals.” Remus frowned. “Not all the time.” He argued.

            Lucius was intrigued that Remus even knew about them. If the light side wasn’t believing in them then he wondered what had made Remus so sure.

            “They are the only proof of the existence of hell. Sometimes Shaytans don’t even need a ritual to come out. As long as the Fiendfyre was produced with enough power and enough oxygen in the room.” Remus told him. “But that is pretty rare.” He conceded.

            Lucius was impressed with his knowledge. “Where did you learn about them?” He was intrigued. Jinns weren’t something that many people even wanted to believe in let alone talk about.

            Remus grimaced. “Dumbledore used to send me many places for the Order. He wanted to recruit foreign werewolves too. I made it deep into several Islamic countries. Wizards in their villages believe heavily in the existence. So much so, that you can even find Shaytans and Iblis in the muggle religions of those areas.”

            Severus didn’t like that Remus had to be the one to go recruit werewolves. Dumbledore knew how dangerous it was for other cultures to willingly talk to foreign werewolves.

            George frowned. “Can you explain from the beginning. Because I am not sure what is made up and what isn’t when it comes to Jinn.” His parents hadn't talked much about them at all.

            Lucius sighed. This could take time and time was not something that they could afford if they were really dealing with a Jinn.

            “Jinn are beings that are created from smokeless and scorching fire. It is usually a _very_ dark ritual that brings one forward. Fiendfyre is the essential requirement. Which is a scorching and smokeless fire by definition. Fiendfyre is outlawed because its first intention was to bring forth the Jinn. Most people assume it is outlawed because it can’t be put out once it has been summoned. That is partly true but not the main reason. Jinn are beings brought forth from hell using the fire.” Remus said slowly. He didn’t like the horror on everyone’s faces. He knew that his own was showing the same thing.

            “Necromancy?” Fred asked horrified.

            Lucius shook his head. “No. It is not technically necromancy. The ritual is dark enough to be one. But the beings are not brought back from the dead. They are given a pass from hell. They are reborn into the Fiendfyre and given a new shape. They have a humanoid shape but they are _not_ what they used to be when they were once alive. I know that it sounds bad but all Jinn have free will. Just like humans do.” He could see the disbelief and he had to smile at that.

            Remus nodded in agreement. “Because they have free will, not all of them are bad. Which is another reason why it isn’t really necromancy. Products of necromancy are forced to do the wishes of their creator. Well mostly.” He thought of dementors, who don’t listen to anyone. “Jinn could care less about the person who brought them from hell. They would sooner kill the person than thank them.” Remus told them.

            “There are three types of Jinn. The lowest form, the Djinn. By low, I mean tame. They are the ones that will usually do good. The free will in them is the strongest. They are still dangerous, don’t mistake me on that.” Lucius warned them.

            “Next is Iblis. They are more dangerous than Djinn but there are some who do alright in society. Iblis are more inclined for violence and taking victims but they still have a conscious. They still have a piece of humanity to them.” Remus said with a slight shudder.

            “But a Shaytan.” Lucius shivered. “They are the deadliest. They have no conscious. They don’t care who or what they kill. They go on rampages. Shaytan are the ones that Remus told you don’t need a ritual. That is true. Just causing a Fiendfyre at all is enough to bring one forth. It has to be a strong Jinn but it can be done. That is why the Ministry has made the Fiendfyre an illegal spell. Because it can bring out a Shaytan.”

            Remus bit his lip. “Some researchers say that this isn’t proof that the Jinn come from hell. They argue that the fire itself is what is creating them along with the ritual. So I suppose it is up to you what you believe.” Remus wasn’t sure exactly where his thoughts leaned to on the subject. If they really were creating a new being with the fire than that just seemed too much for him. It didn’t make sense. The Jinn had to come from somewhere more than the fire. He believed that the fire was a passage. A way for the Jinn to enter into the world. If it wasn’t from hell than it was from some type of realm. Like the Fairy and the Elven realms. Perhaps there is a Jinn realm. He wasn’t really sure.

            Fred sighed heavily. He was freaked out. He had heard growing up that Jinn would take children who didn’t behave but he just thought that it was his mother’s way of trying to teach them to listen. His parents never even hinted at the fact that they could be real. He wasn’t sure what to think.

            “What makes you think that the rock means we are dealing with a Jinn?” George asked, as he bit his lip.

            Remus narrowed his eyes in thought. “I know this isn’t going to make sense but in the muggle world they are considered Genies. The muggles believe that the Jinn will grant them three wishes when they stumble across a Jinn. But that is just silly. Jinn don’t actually have any powers to create wishes. They deal in illusions. They make the muggle _think_ that their wish is coming true, but in all reality, it is just an illusion of their wish. While the muggle is inside the illusion, the Jinn is taking their life essence. It was what they feed off of. They feed off of the wants and desires of people. That is why they make the muggles think that their wishes are being granted.”

            Pansy whimpered. “You think we are in an illusion? That is why George saw the rock multiple times.”

            Lucius nodded gravely. “Déjà vu is a side effect of the Jinn’s powers. It is a fault of theirs. It means that they aren’t perfect. They couldn’t get the entire illusion correctly. To them Déjà vu is a bad thing. It shows them their mistakes. But to us, it lets us aware that something bad is going on. It lets us know that we have been caught. It is a warning.”

            “How do we know which type of Jinn has caught us?” Fred asked with a frown.

            Lucius laughed darkly. “You don’t. Once a Jinn has caught you it is up to them what they do with you. The free will aspect. A Djinn is more likely to let you go. Iblis is like a galleon toss. It is pure chance that you might have a decent Iblis. But a Shaytan… Shaytan toy with the people that they catch. I have never heard of a Shaytan letting anyone live.” He turned to Remus to see his opinion.

            Remus shook his head. “Neither have I. But to be fair, people don’t really like to talk about Jinn. It is a bad omen.”

            Severus glared into the water. He had heard about the ritual to bring forth a Jinn during his deatheater days but he hadn’t really considered the beings themselves. The Dark Lord wouldn’t have wanted anything that had ‘free will’. The Dark Lord would only have wanted them if they could be tamed or controlled. So Severus hadn’t really given them much thought. He was regretting that right now. He wished he had studied them more in depth. It wasn’t like the creatures were ever taught about during school. Which irked him. Hogwarts really needed to up their teaching game.

            “How do we get out of the illusion?” Severus asked.

            “You break the illusion.” Lucius and Remus said at the same time. Narcissa closed her eyes. She really hated the Flamels. What didn’t they have at their disposal? Merrows, ancient Veela, Seekers, Lactera and now Jinn? She couldn’t even begin to think what The Dark Lord would have been able to accomplish if he had half the resources that the Flamels did.

            “You look for something that doesn’t belong.” Remus explained to the confused faces. “You mentioned the rock?”

            George nodded his head quickly as he looked around. “I don’t see it right now. I usually see it while we are moving.”

            Severus quickly started the boat back up and they all looked around nervously as they continued onward.

            “There it is!” Pansy yelled when she spotted it.

            Lucius blinked a couple times. “It does rather look like genitalia.” He said in surprise.

            The quartet snorted in amusement at the statement. Severus shook his head and turned the boat till they were heading for the rock. As soon as they were close enough, Lucius took out his wand and shot a bombarda straight at the rock.    

            The spell worked and the rock broke into tiny little pieces but that was all that had happened.  

            “Well that was a let down.” Severus drawled. Remus shot him a look but he had to agree with the man.

            Blaise frowned. “You said to look for something that doesn’t belong.” He pointed out. “Maybe it wasn’t the rock. Maybe it is something else.”

            George thought back to before he realized that something weird was going on and he could remember seeing leaves floating by. Only… where had they come from? There are no trees in the middle of the ocean, with no land for them to grow off of. He looked into the water and saw a leaf. He quickly picked it up and crushed it between his fingers.

            Pansy let out a scream when the illusion faded and they were face to face with a Jinn.

            George whimpered at the creature that was inches from his own face. It was dark blue, so dark that it was almost black. He could see the blue hues as the sun reflected off of its face. The eyes were a startling white. So bright that he wanted to look away. But he was compelled to stay watching. The Jinn didn’t have any hair but there was an odd beauty to the creature. There was also danger, a lot of danger. He couldn’t detect much from the creature but he instantly knew that this wasn’t a Djinn.

            Narcissa froze when she realized how close the creature was to George. She wanted to rush over and help him but if the Jinn wanted to kill him then it could do so before she even made it. It was better to remain silent.

            _‘I am impressed.’_ The Jinn’s voice was so raspy. Almost like it hadn’t talked in a really long time. _‘You detected the trap almost instantly. I have not had the pleasure of trapping a wizard before.’_

Lucius braced himself. “Why is that?” He knew that the more he could get the creature talking, the better their chances were. He was surprised that none of them had already been damaged. The Jinn could have feasted on any one of them while they had been in the trap. It made him suspect that they were dealing with a Djinn.

            The Jinn backed away slightly and that is when everyone noticed that the bottom half of its body was smoke. _‘Wizards do not come this far out. I have only had the pleasure of meeting the ones who summoned me.’_

Remus’s heart sank. That meant that Harry and Draco hadn’t come this direction. He wanted to cry at that but he had to remind himself that there were several different directions the boys could have gone.

            Severus narrowed his eyes. He may not know much about Jinn but he was pretty sure that they should be under attack right now. “Can I ask what kind of Jinn you are?”

            Lucius and Remus wanted to groan. That was such a rude question. It implied that they couldn’t tell already. Even though that was true, it made Jinn angry. To a Jinn it is obvious what kind they are. So humans asking, tend to anger them. They were both surprised when the Jinn grinned.

            The quartet shivered at the grin. It was feral and dangerous. The Jinn’s teeth were pointed and sharp. So sharp it was a surprise that the Jinn could speak without cutting its own tongue.

            _‘I am a Shaytan.’_ It rasped out in pleasure.

            Severus looked up to the sky. Of course it was. They just had the worst luck in existence. Of course they had to find a Shaytan. He was going to murder Harry and Draco if he made it out of this alive.

            A couple people winced, others just stared on in horror. The Jinn seemed amused by their reactions, because it just grinned wider.

            Lucius took a deep breath. “I don’t mean any disrespect.” He assured him. “But why is that you didn’t kill us immediately?”

            The quartet looked at Lucius like he had lost his mind. Why would you ask something like that?

            The Shaytan chuckled. _‘I debated it. You all have a lot of delicious desires.’_ There was a leer from the creature. _‘I could have taken all that I wanted from you and been satisfied for a long long time. But I want more than that. I want freedom.’_

            Severus frowned at the demand. Freedom? It wasn’t free? Remus and Lucius shared a look. That didn’t make any sense. Jinn _were_ free creatures. It was impossible to tame one or to trap one. Their smoky being made that impossible.

            The Shaytan sighed when no one responded. It pointed to its neck. Remus leaned forward and almost gasped in surprise. On the Shaytan’s neck was a collar. One that had runes and spells binding the Shaytan’s powers.

            “How did they manage that?” Lucius asked a little awed. He couldn’t believe that the Flamels had managed to find a way to capture a Jinn. Let alone a Shaytan. His mind was almost mush at the prospect. He wished they weren’t so evil, he might have liked them otherwise.

            _‘They trapped me in their own illusion as I was being born in the fire. I do not like to admit to being tricked at my own game.’_ The Shaytan growled a sound that sent everyone leaning away. _‘Before I was even aware at what had happened, it was too late.’_

            Remus would have let out a whistle but he figured that was probably rude. He thought it was utterly brilliant. To think that the illusion had worked was a miracle. Jinn were experts at illusions. But it was incredibly smart to have the illusion going while the creature was still in the fire. That made sense. The Jinn wouldn’t have been aware that anything was amiss. Brilliant.

            _‘I have been stuck out here for centuries. I wish to be set free. You do that and I won’t kill you.’_

Remus didn’t really like this bargain. If they let the Shaytan go then it would just be out on its own murdering people. Lucius caught his hesitance and he let out a noise of disbelief.

            “Remus who cares who it kills as long as it isn’t us?” Lucius asked a little hysterically.

            Remus sighed at such a Slytherin statement. He looked to Severus but saw that his lover was of the same mind as Lucius. He knew that he was outnumbered on this. “Alright.” He conceded. He saw the Shaytan smirk and his stomach twisted. He couldn’t believe that they were going to just allow the Shaytan to go kill people. “But we want your magical word.” Remus demanded. There was no way they were going to allow the Shaytan to go free and it not provide proof its deal.

            The Shaytan let out a disappointed sigh. _‘You have my word that I will not harm you.’_

Lucius was satisfied with this as he could feel the binding of the magic around them. He stepped forward to investigate the collar. He reached out a hand but was immediately pulled back. He looked to Remus with a frown.

            “Don’t touch the collar!” Remus said suddenly. “Can’t you see the warnings in the runes?”

            Lucius, who was not a runes expert did not see any warnings. He shrugged a little sheepishly and stepped back. Narcissa scowled at her husband. She knew that he knew better than to just touch things like that. Severus shook his head at his friend’s lack of judgement.

            Remus frowned as he looked over the collar. He asked the Shaytan to turn slightly so that he could read all of the runes that extended into the back as well. “Severus, will you look at this one?” He asked before stepping to the side to allow his lover some room.

            Severus leaned in and immediately understood why Remus was asking for help. There were three contradictory runes all regarding magic. One was implying that only dark spells could be used. One was implying that that no spells could be used. One was implying that only runes could be used. But what really caught his attention was the dampener. There was no need for the dampener with all of the other runes that were designed to keep the Shaytan in place.

            Severus stepped back and shook his head in surprise. “No magic can be used on it. The dampening rune isn’t for the Shaytan, it is for anyone that attempts to use magic on the collar.”

            Remus grinned and kissed Severus in gratitude. It paid to have a knowledgeable partner. Even though he was the one who knew runes a little better, it was always smart to have Severus look over things. His key mind was a great asset.

            Severus grinned into the kiss but broke it off before it could grow heated. Now was not the time. He pulled away and transfigured a piece of the broken rock into a muggle bolt cutter. He ignored the curious looks of the purebloods and quickly snapped the collar right off of the Shaytan.

            A huge gust of wind nearly knocked them all into the water as the boat tipped dangerously. They all ended up in a pile of limbs inside the boat. It was a mess trying to right themselves.

            _‘Ahh yessssss.’_ The Shaytan said in a lustful tone that made everyone wince. _‘It has been so long since I have felt myself at full power.’_ The creature laughed darkly and dangerously.

            _‘So much power. So much potential. And it is all mine.’_ The Shaytan breathed deeply. _‘I can finally wreak havoc on the world. I can finally bend people to my will. I will be powerful once more.’_ The Shaytan promised them before it was suddenly gone in a wisp of smoke.

            There was an awkward silence that filled the boat as they all sat there. Some still in a heap. Some trying to stand up. “Hopefully Harry and Draco are faring off better than we are.” Narcissa said weakly. Everyone just grumbled in reply.

 

~……….~………~………~………~………~………~………~………~

 

            Finneus tried not to panic. He knew that the runes etched into his skin would hold up. He knew that he should be fine. The runes weren’t like a spell. The Peuras are used to spells keeping them out not runes. They would have to target his body and it would take them years to be able to break the skin down enough to change the runes. He knew he was safe but that didn’t stop the fear of so many Peuras around him. He was also worried for Potter and Malfoy. They wouldn’t hold out long against this many of them.

            Draco just wanted to run away. He just wanted to get the hell out of there and never come back. He hated the Flamels so much in this moment. He gripped tighter to Harry. There was no way that he was going to let go of him. He couldn’t see for shit, so losing his lover was not an option. He could hear Azad growling next to him and that was a small comfort. He knew that Peuras don’t take over animals. So Azad and Sephtis were safe. If only he could say the same thing for themselves.

            Harry was frightened. This couldn’t be his last moments on earth. Cowering and hoping that the spell would stay up. He needed to finish off the Flamels. He needed to get the darkness to them so that he could finally have control over his own body. This was not how he was going to die. It just couldn’t happen like this.

            Finneus swallowed before he calmed down. “Run guys. Just run forward. We can try and find shelter or another way to amplify your spells. But don’t just stand there and let them take down your charm.” Finneus yelled.

            Draco squeezed Harry impossibly tighter. “We can do this. Just run. Yeah, that is… probable. Let’s do it.” He assured them both.  

            Finneus ran out of the swirling black mist of the Peuras and didn’t stop till he was at least a hundred feet away. He wasn’t surprised that none of the Peura had followed him. They wouldn’t have gained anything from him so they considered him a lost cause.

            “On the count of three, let’s go guys.” Draco yelled to Harry and the animals. “3…” He had barely even reached two and Azad and Sephtis had already left. Well screw them too. “1.” Draco said before he let out a yell and him and Harry were running off in the direction they hoped was forward.

            Finneus watched open mouthed when the Peuras stayed exactly where they were and didn’t move to follow.

            Draco was still yelling by the time he reached Finneus but tapered off in confusion when he realized there was no need for it. He looked around at the Peuras in surprise. “Well that was anticlimactic.” He mused, while Finneus let out a snort.

            Harry scratched his head in thought. He had been so scared of them for a while now and yet they didn’t even do anything. _‘Creatures cannot enter host while we are inside you.’_ The darkness whispered into his mind. _‘We extended ourselves into the bond and saved host’s life mate as well.’_

            Draco let out a surprised puff of air. In a way it did make sense. Peuras enter the body and become the main host but if there was already something inside of them than they wouldn’t be able to do that.  

            Harry looked to Finneus as they started hastily putting more distance between them and the Peuras. “The Darkness said that it wasn’t possible for them to enter us if it was already inside of us.”

            Finneus raised his brows. “Well isn’t that just handy.” He said in sarcasm. It was an intriguing thought. He knew that if things were different, he probably would want to experiment with that.

            Harry was just glad that he was safe from the Peuras for now. This was just another thing that he was grateful to the darkness for.

            “What the hell is that?” Draco demanded to know. Harry snapped his head up expecting to see some hideous creature, because surely that was the way their luck worked out. But didn’t see any creature. Off in the distance was a little shack. At least he thought it was a shack.

            Finneus grimaced slightly. “That my friends, is my parents’ house. We have reached our destination.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are a couple things that I would like to talk about with this chapter. 
> 
> Lucius was having too much fun with teasing George. Haha. Narcissa coming to his rescue was a little sweet of her. 
> 
> Penis rock. I am sorry guys. haha. I couldn't help myself. I needed an interesting shape that would have gotten his attention and this was what came to mind. 
> 
> So with the Deja vu, it was kind of a combination of a lot of things. I took part of that from the Matrix (I love the matrix. Anyone know what I was referring to with the deja vu there?) 
> 
> Jinn are something that is found in a lot of myths but also religion. I am not mocking or making fun of anyone's religion. This is just a magical creature that I wanted for my story. I combined several folklore to create this version. Most of them all said that Jinn were created from smokeless and scorching fire. That to me was my golden ticket into changing the lore for my own benefit. Now Iblis and Shaytan are basically the same thing in the lore. That is where I tweaked it and had them being separate things. Shaytan in a lot of religions is the devil. Some spell it Shaitan or Shaytan. I just picked the one I liked better. Some say that a Djinn is the most powerful of a Jinn but I made that the opposite. To me if some cultures were calling a Shaytan the devil that to me seemed more powerful. So Djinn, Iblis and Shaytan are all Jinn but different kinds. Hopefully that makes sense. 
> 
> Now when it comes to the hell portion. That I will leave up to your own imagination. Remus wasn't sure if it really was hell that the creatures were being summoned from or if it was just a realm. Perhaps the Fiendfyre is just a portal into their world. *Shrugs* Or perhaps they are forms of demons, that mythology likes to think of them as. I will leave that up to you to pick where you believe. Hopefully you liked the addition of them. I found them fun to play with. 
> 
> What did you think of the Shaytan? Are you with Remus and worry about what the Jinn will do? Or are you with Lucius and could care less who it kills as long as it isn't them?
> 
> I thought it was funny that the animals left them behind. I could have made it so that it was more dramatic with the Peura but I liked this route instead. And it just made more sense that they wouldn't be able to enter the body with the darkness already inside of him. 
> 
> And finally! They have reached the Flamels residence! 
> 
> Let me know what you all thought of this chapter. 
> 
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	83. The Calm Before the Storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This little note has nothing to do with the story, so if you want to skip that go right ahead. I would just like to say that my first prompt that I used to get past some writers block is now done. It is a Fred/Harry oneshot. I know it isn't a typical pairing but I rather liked the story. Let me know what you guys think of the oneshot. It is called Secret Admirer. I will start on a different prompt tonight, most likely. If there is anyone that still wants me to work on one and hasn't said anything, let me know. Or if you have multiple ideas, I am all ears. :)

            Draco looked at the shitty house with distaste. “You call this a house? I have seen broom cupboards bigger than that.” So perhaps that was an exaggeration but he really thought that the Flamels would be living in a nicer place. The burrow was bigger than this! That right there had to be saying something. They had a giant island for crying out loud. Anyone with an island could surely afford a bigger place than this.

            Harry wasn’t sure so sure about the cupboard comment, he would know. But it was rather small. His mind had pictured a giant castle or at least a mansion. This… this was a villain let down. This wasn’t even something Voldemort would have done.

            Finneus rolled his eyes at the comment. Such a snobby pureblood thing to say. “There are levels _underneath_ the ground. My parents don’t need much living space. They keep the couple rooms that you can see to themselves and everything below them is their torture cha-- er their work rooms.”

            Harry curled his mouth up in distaste. The Flamels torture people underneath their house? Sick. They couldn’t have made a separate place? It was probably some sick pleasure at knowing their victims were somewhere beneath their beds.

            Draco hummed in thought. It was nice knowing that the place was bigger than it looked. Because he had seriously been doubting the validity of the Flamels based off of their home. 

            The closer they got to the house, they realized that something was making a noise. Harry frowned as he looked around, trying to figure out what it could be.

            “Ignore that. My parents like to call it their watch dog.” Finneus shook his head at the curious looks and pointed off towards the side of the house.

            Draco narrowed his eyes expecting to see an actual dog but he had to do a double take. There in the shade, underneath a tree was not a dog. No. “It’s a Canis.” He said rather surprised. He could feel the confusion through the bond and he looked to Harry. “They are odd little creatures. They are similar in appearance to a squid but they don’t spend time in the water. They have tentacles but instead of two they have four. They rely on their eye sight heavily. They don’t have a sense of smell like a lot of creatures. There are two little glands below their eyes that they use to somewhat simulate a sense of smell. They also do not hear either. They can feel the vibrations around them. But don’t let that fool you into thinking they are soft or vulnerable creatures. If they lay a single tentacle on you, you are screwed. They can crush the life out of a victim in seconds.”

            Harry was looking at the little creature in surprise. The Canis wasn’t very big. If Draco hadn’t told him to not underestimate it, he probably would have. It just looked so cute. He squinted at the little thing and then frowned. “Are their eyes supposed to look like that?” Harry wondered.

            Draco turned to look at what Harry was seeing and gaped before whirling around to stare at Finneus. “That one is blind!” He said in outrage. Without its eyes the poor thing was out of all of its defensive senses. Even the little glands below the eyes were gouged out. The poor creature would be useless in a fight.

            Finneus winced slightly. “Yes. My parents wanted to know what would happen if you took away its sight, since it is the only sense that they really have besides touch and taste.”

            Harry dropped his mouth open in horror. Why would they have done something so cruel to an animal? What in the world had the poor thing done to them? “Why do they have it out here guarding the house. If it can’t see, smell or hear then how in the hell is it going to defend anything?”

            Finneus shook his head. “That is the point. They wanted to see how long it could last out in the open without its senses. Surprisingly it has been alive for ten years. I am not sure if the other animals leave it alone out of pity or if it really can manage on its own.” He had not bothered to ask his parents and seeing as he doesn't visit often, it was never a concern for him.

            Draco was sickened. He really hated the Flamels. It was bad enough that they were doing experiments on humans but did they have to go for animals too? Did they have to experiment at all? He just couldn’t understand how anyone could be so cruel.

            “I hate your parents.” Harry told him with a growl. He _really_ hated them with a passion.

            “Join the club.” Finneus snarked back easily. He stopped a couple feet away from the front of the door and raised a hand. He closed his eyes as he felt the magic of the wards surrounding the place. He breathed a sigh of relief when he realized that he was still keyed into the charms. He bet the only reason was so that his father didn’t grow suspicious. He highly doubted that his mother told him that she sent hellhounds after him. Taking him out of the wards would have been a question that she couldn’t answer. He would bet a lot of money that she would’ve waited at least ten years before trying to ‘find him’ before they announced him dead.

            It wasn’t hard to manipulate that wards to allow Potter and Malfoy entry. His mother really should have changed the wards after assuming he was dead. That would have been the smart thing to do. Whether suspicious or not. He couldn’t wait to see what his mother would say about that. He turned to Potter. “I think you should have Azad wait out here.” He told him.

            Harry furrowed his brows. He didn’t like the idea of keeping his hound outside. He wanted to make sure Azad was safe and he couldn’t do that if the animal was out here. “Why?” He demanded to know.

            “Because I think she might be able to manipulate him back to her side. I know that you can command him but one wrong bite and Malfoy and I will be a goner. She got them under her control once. I don’t think it would be too hard to do again.”

            Harry bit his lip as he thought this over. He wasn’t sure what methods Perenelle might go to once she realized that her hellhounds were not under her control anymore. He didn’t know how she had managed to get the collars on them the first time and he really didn’t want to give her another opportunity again. He didn’t really have any qualms about Finneus dying from a bad bite but he did care about Draco. He wouldn’t allow his soulmate to come into any harm. He nodded slowly. “Alright.” He said with a defeated sigh. He turned to Azad and looked at him sadly. “I know that you want to go in there but I think it would be best if you waited out here.”

            Azad whined and Harry let out a little chuckle. “I know.” He assured him with a pat to the head. “Hopefully we won’t be in there too long. Just be patient out here and keep Sephtis company.”

            Sephtis lifted his head and let out an angry hiss. _‘Why do I have to stay with the dog? I can be of great use to you speaker.’_

Harry smiled before running a finger across the snake’s head. **_‘I think it would be best if you stayed behind. I don’t want to put you in harms way. Plus you can keep a watch on Azad and make sure he doesn’t go anywhere._** ’ He played it off as if Sephtis was in charge of Azad. Hopefully that would appeal to the snake.

            Sephtis hissed again but Harry knew that it wasn’t in anger this time. _‘Listen up dog. I am the leader now. You will do as I say.’_ He jabbed Azad in the side of his neck with his tail when there was no sign of agreement.

            _‘Do you understand me? Speaker teach him the language. I can’t command him if he can’t understand me. Do so right now.’_ Harry rolled his eyes at how bossy the snake could be.

            **_‘I am sure you will find an alternative.’_** Harry assured him dryly. He tuned out the snake’s angry retorts and focused on Draco. This could be the last moment that they will have before all hell breaks loose. This could be the end of them or it could be just another chapter to their life.

            Draco pulled Harry into a tight embrace and held on strongly. He closed his eyes as he could feel a whirlwind of emotions from his lover. He detected love, terror, resignation, a sense of calm, unease and even anger. He wanted to apparate out of there and not look back. He wanted to wrap Harry up in a never-ending embrace. Draco wanted Harry safe and sound. He didn’t want his lover to have to face even more danger. He didn’t want to leave room for an opportunity that Harry could be harmed. He didn’t want Harry to go in there. He didn’t want to do this. But at the same time, he knew that they had to. He knew that they needed to go in there and end the threat of the Flamels once and for all. This was something that was an absolute must. This was something that couldn’t be avoided. This wasn’t the time for his worries or his doubts. Harry was just as nervous as he was. He knew that he needed to be strong for Harry but he was just so scared.

            “I love you Harry.” Draco whispered hoarsely. In the back of his mind he wondered if this was going to be the last time that he uttered those words to him. He wondered if this was going to end in disaster. He wished there had been more time. He wished that he had been able to tell the rest of the family goodbye. He hoped that if things ended badly, that they would all be okay. He hoped that his parents would understand and not be too angry with them.

            Harry could all of the fear from Draco and his heart was heavy. He didn’t want the last moments that he might have with his fiancé to be filled with agony. He knew that this was hard on the both of them. He knew that they could very well die soon. Draco was the best thing that had ever happened to him. He was every positive thing in his life. Draco was his everything and he refused to think even for a moment that this would all end badly. “I love you too Draco.” Harry whispered just as quietly. He leaned his head back to stare into glittering grey eyes.

            “This isn’t our last time. We will make it out of this alive. We will march in there and do what needs to be done. And when we succeed, I promise you that we will get married. I promise you that we will enjoy the rest of our lives together. This is not the end for us. This is just a small road bump that we have to make it past. And if for some godforsaken reason that we do die… well... we have had three wonderful lives together. This won’t be our last life with one another. If we die then I promise you that I will find you again. I promise you that we will have another shot at life if this ends badly. No matter what happens, know that I will always love you. You are my home Draco. Not what happens on earth, not where we live or where we go. You are the only home that I have ever really known. You are my other half and I will follow you wherever life takes us. If that is in the afterlife, then so be it. If we are meant to die than as long as I am with you, I won’t care.” Harry told him fiercely with determination.

            Finneus was very uncomfortable. He could hear every word that was being said and he felt like he was intruding on a private moment. Even though he looked away, he could still feel their magic. The bond that was as bright as a beacon was swirling. It was nearing the brightness of a sun. If it was possible to stare directly at it, he knew it would have blinded him. _This_ was what a soulmate was. _This_ was how a couple should be. His whole life he had known that his parents were soulmates. He had known that other couples could only be so lucky if they got a relationship like his parents. Perhaps it was because he couldn’t feel the magic of normal relationships that had led to his misconception. He had only known the one soulmate pairing. To him, his parents’ relationship was supposed to be the relationship that everyone wanted. Over his long life, he has heard countless tales of people pining and griping over their long-lost soulmate. He could never understand the want or the need for a relationship like that. Sure, his parents were soulmates but he didn’t really find anything special in them. It wasn’t until he met Potter and Malfoy that it all made sense. _This_ was the type of relationship that people dreamed about. _This_ was a soulmate pairing that made him want for something that he could never have.

            Potter and Malfoy had something that was hard to grasp. He could feel the bond that they had. He could feel the depths to the magic. He could actually feel the spirals that connected the two wizards. That alone seemed like a precious gift. Not many people will get to experience what a bond like that feels like. He knew that what he could detect paled in comparison to the real thing but the little that he could feel, was still a great consolation. If he had grown up around a bond like this, then he wondered what that would have done for him. To know that love like this exists in the world, it was something else. It was magical in its own right. He had never really envied anyone before. Definitely never his parents. Their soulmate bond was so small and so insignificant in comparison. If he didn’t know that his parents were soulmates he would have seriously questioned the validity of being able to claim their relationship as a soulmate bond. To him, what Potter and Malfoy had, that was really a soulmate bond.

            Finneus had no idea how this little adventure was going to turn out. His parents were dangerous people. That wasn’t bias or a familial statement. His parents really were dangerous. They were dark and as cruel as they come. He had never in his life come across anyone that could compare to their level of cruelty. Not a single person. He wasn’t sure what kind of plan that Potter and Malfoy had, nor was he comfortable with the darkness. Sure, it had saved them all a couple of times. But anything as dark and sentient as the darkness surely had ulterior motives. He wasn’t a trusting person by nature, so perhaps that is where his unease was stemming from. Overall, it didn’t matter what he thought. Potter and Malfoy were going to do whatever they wanted anyways. And hopefully, the end of this would result in his death. Because no matter how much he feared the unknown, the pull to see Athena was stronger. Maybe if he was lucky, he would be granted the shot at another life with her.

            Draco could feel the love that he held for Harry pumping throughout his veins. He could feel how much Harry loved him. It was the best feeling in the world. Noting could compare. No sound, no lyric, no poem or play could even remotely bring forth this type of feeling. He loved Harry with everything that he had. His lover’s words were playing in the back of his mind on repeat. Harry was right. They had had three wonderful lives together. Sure, they weren’t as long as either of them would have liked them to be. But it didn’t take away from the wondrousness of the whole thing. If it was time for them to die then they would find each other in the next life. They always have. They always will. The fear and morbid thoughts began to fade away. He could do this. He could walk in there and face his death with a bravery that he has never felt before. Draco knew that Harry was the inspiration that made that possible. He wasn’t afraid of dying any longer. Not when another life with Harry was the end result. He would love to be able to continue this life with his fiancé but if that was not in the cards for them, then he would just embrace their next life. Suddenly facing the Flamels didn’t seem like such a daunting process anymore. This was just another adventure waiting to happen.

            Draco looked to Harry with determination. “We can do this. You are right. If we die, then we die. But we _will_ do it together and we will excel in our next life. You are my other half, the best half of me and we can do this. Together.”

            Harry smiled sadly as he brushed a stray lock of Draco’s hair behind his ear. “Together.” He promised. They entwined hands and looked to Finneus for confirmation.

            Finneus sighed deeply and walked forward. He didn’t bother knocking. He had never done that before and he wouldn’t be starting now.

            As soon as they entered the doorway, Harry instantly felt unease. Even more so than when they were outside. There was an aroma of darkness to the home. Different than the darkness inside of him. This darkness that was so obviously all around the home, was one of death. He could practically smell it. Death was lingering everywhere. He couldn’t even remotely understand how anyone could live with all of this death and darkness around them.

            Draco wrinkled his nose in disgust. He hadn’t been in the home for more than a couple seconds and he was already wanting to leave. Not even in the presence of Voldemort’s dungeons did he feel this level of death. It was horrid. He could almost smell it. It was such a disturbing prospect. Not for the first time, he was wondering what the hell was wrong with the Flamels.

            Harry could hear what sounded like cooking. Thinking of the Flamels doing something so mundane as cooking dinner was really odd. It almost seemed to humanize them. Which is something that he has been unable to do this whole time.

            Finneus could feel tension spiking inside of him. He had no idea what their game plan was. Just springing an attack on his parents was a really bad idea. He was about to call out to them but before he could, a loud scream could be heard. He closed his eyes and sighed. It would appear that his parents had victims down below. Of course they did.

            Harry shared a look with Draco at the scream. He felt really bad for whoever was down there. He wondered if there would be a way to save them. He hoped so. The plan that he had set in motion with the darkness was still going. They both knew that it was a long shot to just attack the Flamels. The darkness said that it needed to gain momentum and power before it could leave his body. So they would have to play it cool for a little while. Which he was not looking forward to.

            There was a loud bang of a door opening down the hall. “Perenelle! Is dinner done? This guy is going to need a lot more than just physical pain to get the proper test results.”

            Harry could feel the revulsion at hearing Nicolas Flamel’s voice. He had to breathe deeply to stop the bile from forming. He felt Draco give him a squeeze to their clasped hands. As long as he had Draco, he could do anything.

            “Hey! I am home!” Finneus said in an exaggeratedly cheery voice.

            There was a loud clang from the kitchen followed by a lot of cursing and swearing. Finneus smirked. Looks like his mother wasn’t expecting that. He wondered if that had been her dinner she just ruined. God he hoped so. It would serve her right. Sending hellhounds after your own child? Bitch move, for sure.

            “Finneus?” Finneus almost smiled at the excitement in his father’s voice. It had been many years since he had come home for a visit. His family wasn’t conventional and they definitely would have murdered each other if he visited more than once in a short time period. One would think that his father actually cared for him but it was all for show. His father didn’t care about anyone but his mother and his work.

            Nicolas and Perenelle both made it to the hallway at the exact same time. Finneus could see the disbelief on his mother’s face and it was just perfect. There was almost a fear to her eyes. Like she couldn’t believe that he had made it out alive. He had to admit that he himself would be a little afraid if his mother had managed to survive a hellhound attack. That would be something of a miracle. His mother looked the same as she always had. Wavy wild black hair and crazy blue eyes. It was funny, in all of the blue eyes that he has seen over the years, none have even come close to her level of insane. He supposed that was like the pot calling the kettle black. He himself wasn’t exactly the clean picture of mental health.  

            In some instances, he might even say his mother was pretty. But most of the time it was hard to find beauty in such insanity. Storms can be considered beautiful. Like a tornado. It is wild, raw and purely natural. There is a beauty to the chaos of a storm. The destructive nature of a tornado is what makes people weary of it but there is no denying the natural energy that one brings. Just because something is dangerous doesn’t mean it can’t be beautiful. His mother though… it was more than just danger to her. There was an insanity to her that has always lurked beneath the skin. Insanity and chaos are two different things. Insanity can’t be romanticized. Chaos usually has excuses to fall back upon but what grievances can insanity air? What can insanity use to justify its faults? Her insanity was always something that didn’t get along with him. He used to wonder as a child if he was the only one who could pick up on the insanity of his mother. If he was the only one who saw the instability that she was. If he was the only one to actually see her for what she really is. Surely his father could see it. How could the man be her soulmate and not notice? Was it a balance thing? Perhaps she held the insanity and he held the normalcy to offset each other? Many centuries later and he still didn’t have the answers for that. His mother was a mystery that he hoped to never solve.

            Finneus looked to his father and frowned. It was always the same face that he could see in the mirror. They looked too much alike. Same sandy brown hair. Same brown eyes. Finneus hated that he looked like his father. He hated that he looked like either of his parents. Why couldn’t he just be his own person? Why couldn’t he look like himself? He didn’t want to take a single thing from either of them. His parents were the worst people imaginable. Again, pot calling the kettle black. But he couldn’t help but feel that way. He couldn’t help but loathe everything about them. His whole life they treated him like he was just in the background. Like he didn’t matter. He knew that the only reason he was even granted the use of the Elixir was because of his father. And he had his suspicions that it was only because he knew too much. He wondered if he hadn’t helped them with the stone, if they would have even shared the Elixir. He doubted it. His father was as selfish as his mother when it came to the stone. That is why the two of them deserve one another. That is why they were soulmates. Perhaps it wasn’t two sides of a coin that made up their bond. Perhaps it was actually the same exact side of the coin. Maybe they were just so much a like that fate said, fuck it and allowed them to be soulmates. Heaven knows that only they would put up with one another.

            His mother was always harping on him to lay off of the Elixir and age a couple years but he knew that he never would. He could remember her arguments. ‘Why would you want to be a teenager forever?’ He always shrugged off their complaints and never bothered with an explanation. But the truth of the matter was because of his father. The older he got the more he would look like his father. He couldn’t stomach his reflection as it was. There was no way he would be able to wake up every day and see his father staring back at him. No way.

            Every visit home always marked an aggression for him. He loathed coming to see them. Hated it just as much as he knew his mother hated seeing him. He was the reminder of something that she didn’t want. She had never wanted children, that much had been plainly obvious. He never did ask her why she treated him the way she did. He never bothered wanting to understand. He knew he wouldn’t like the answer. Caring was just a recipe for disaster. Caring would only bring pain and he refused to allow his mother the satisfaction of getting to him. But this time… this time he wasn’t even remotely upset about coming. He couldn’t wait for them to finally get what is coming to them. He was practically giddy at the thought.

            “What are doing here?” Nicolas asked with intrigue in his voice. Finneus hated the pretense. He hated the false concern and false curiosity. He never could understand why his parents didn't just reach out and tell him that they couldn’t stand him. It would save them all a lot of trouble in the end. But for some reason it was like a play. It was a game to them. To see how well they could pretend to be actual loving parents.  

            “Yes, what are you doing here?” Finneus couldn’t withhold the smirk at the suspicion in his mother’s tone. She was obviously not liking the fact that he was alive. He bet she had already planned out a whole ‘mother in mourning’ speech. Such a shame she would be missing that opportunity.

            “Mother, father.” Finneus began slowly. “I would like to introduce some friends of mine.” He stepped aside and watched their utter disbelief that he had _dared_ to bring anyone onto the island.

            “This is Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter.”  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, there was not a whole lot for this chapter. I know that some of you might have been expecting me to just dive right into the drama and the action but to me it just wasn't realistic. This is a pivotal moment in their lives. They could potentially be walking to their deaths. I needed the characters to recognize that and I needed to show you all that as well. 
> 
> I just love Sephtis. He just had to lord over Azad, didn't he?
> 
> There was also some more about Finneus in this chapter. An inside at his thoughts regarding his parents. He was a big portion of this chapter and I wanted to show you that. 
> 
> Yes, I still managed to throw in a magical creature, even if was just in passing. lol. Canis is Latin for dog. I get that the creature isn't even remotely dog like but that was just the irony of the Flamels considering the creature to be a watch dog. 
> 
> Now I know that not a whole lot of action was in this chapter but I do hope that you guys liked the emotional impact of it. 
> 
> Let me know what you think. I would love to hear from you all. <3
> 
> -XxTheDarkLordxX
> 
> P.S. I think my favorite quote of the chapter was, 'This was a villain let down.' Haha.


	84. Temptation of the Worst Kind

            Harry watched as their eyes widened and then narrow. He knew that they were seeing the resemblance to Ethan. They had to be. There was no way that they could miss it. There was practically no differences between the way he looked in his past life and this life. The big question would be, would they remember Ethan? They killed so many people over the years, that he wondered if any one person would stand out to them. Ethan had been the very last life that made it possible for the Sorcerer’s Stone. Perhaps that death would have stuck out to them.

            Draco was a tad nervous at the in depth staring that was going on. It was almost like they could _see_ into his soul. Judging by their displeasure, they didn’t seem to like it. Oh well, it wasn’t like he cared about their approval. They were insane psychopaths hell bent on murdering everything.

            Nicolas instantly recognized the name Harry Potter. It was nice to have a face to put to the name. Even as isolated as they are for most of their life, that name sure stuck around lately. Society always had someone popular that they liked to harp on. In recent years, the popular names before Potter’s fame had been Voldemort, Grindewald and Dumbledore. Society is rather fickle and have a fascination with people that they dub to be celebrities. They themselves had been a celebrity right after the stone had been completed. Nicolas couldn’t help but wonder why on earth his son would bring anyone home. It wasn’t like Finneus had ever had friends before. His child had always been a loner. His wife said it must have been bad genes from their ancestors, because Finneus just didn’t come out right.

            Nicolas took another look at Potter and he frowned. There was a niggling in the back of his mind but he couldn’t quite understand why. There was something familiar about the boy. It wasn’t his hair or his face, really. It was the eyes. For a moment he wanted to snort at the irony. He must have been around his son too long if he was picking up familiar things in people’s eyes. That had always been his son’s fascination. Finneus’s peculiar habits never used to bother him. He was always disappointed that his son didn’t want to join in on the family business but as long as he was still causing deaths, then he really didn’t mind it. It was his wife that had thought the eye stealing had been wrong. But it wasn’t like she could really say anything regarding trophies, she has a nice bone collection out back and all around the house.

            He narrowed his eyes the longer he stared. It was definitely the eyes that stood out to him. They were green but almost too green. Were those real? He had only seen eyes like that one time but it had been a _long_ time ago. He closed his eyes for a couple seconds as he willed his mind to bring the memory forward. Nicolas’s eyes snapped open in shock. If he didn’t know any better, he would say that he was looking at Ethan Ainsworth. But he did know better. He had killed Ethan with his own hands. So that couldn’t be him. It was possible that he was a descendant from the man.

            Perenelle frowned deeply as she stared at her son. She would look at the new comers in a moment. But she was concerned with the fact that her son was still alive. That was not something that she had anticipated. She wondered if something had gone wrong with the hellhounds. She had checked their collars before letting them out. So the spells couldn't have fallen. She reached out through the binding spells to call them back to her but she narrowed her eyes when there was no indication of them. Had Finneus done something to them? Had he found a way to free them before they could harm him? She cursed inwardly when she realized that she wouldn’t be able to question him while she was in front of her husband. He wouldn’t have understood her need to send them after him. If she killed Finneus and he found out… she shuddered at the thought. He would make her replace him. That would mean another child. Nope. Once had been bad enough. She never even wanted Finneus. She tried several spells that would make the child abort before Finneus was born. But any spell that would have done so, would have attracted Nicolas’s attention. So she had stuck to small insignificant spells every single day, hoping that enough exposure would harm the baby. Unfortunately, none of them worked.

            She would have to find a chance to talk to her son without Nicolas around and demand an answer. She had gone to the dock right outside of Puerto Rico to get more ingredients for her spices. She had used the last of the oregano when trying a new finger-leg soup from her last victim. While there, she felt her son’s magic. When she had turned to investigate, sure enough, there was her son. Only he was with two other people and they were about to head out on the water. It didn’t matter what reason Finneus might have to bring other people to the island. That was not allowed and he knew that. The only explanation had been that he was planning something bad. Perenelle had always known that her son hated her. The feeling was quite mutual. But to think that he would bring death her way, that was uncalled for. She had debated about whether to tell Nicolas but this had been her one shot at finally getting rid of her son. So she kept quiet, apparated home and sent the hell hounds for her Finneus.

            Perenelle looked to the people that her son risked his life bringing them and frowned. The blonde one didn’t look remotely familiar. She had heard of the Malfoy name over the past couple centuries but nothing about them had ever resonated. But Potter… now that was intriguing. That was a name that she had heard in whispers every time she stepped out into society. Not to mention the day that Dumbledore told her that Potter had been the one to thwart Voldemort from getting the ‘stone’. He hadn’t said much but he implied that Potter had touched it. The fucking moron. What kind of idiot child is thick enough to touch any dark artifact? She never voiced her thoughts or opinions. Something told her that she should keep the false stone. Anyone who had touched something so dark would be someone to watch out for. She had meant to find Potter eventually but honestly forgot about him. She had switched the false stone out with another false stone and destroyed that one in front of Dumbledore.

            Destroying a false stone had been a daunting process. Over the years they had thought about destroying them. What use was a stone that didn’t work? But her husband had a sentimental value to them. He had said that they put a lot of effort into the stones and therefore they should keep them. Her husband had thought that they would have to obliviate the Dumbledore into thinking that they had destroyed the stone but that wasn’t the case. She had found a way to destroy it. The whole thing had been ironic really, the stone was created from the sacrifice of life, so why shouldn’t the sacrifice of death be the solution to getting rid of it?

            Perenelle looked to Potter and frowned. She had to blink a couple times to shake off the sense of Déjà vu. She knew that her Shaytan was bound, so that wasn’t it. But Potter looked like someone she had met before. Being alive for as long as she has, this was a feeling that sometimes happened.  It took only a couple moments before it clicked. This wasn’t a face that was similar. This was the _same_ face. Ethan Ainsworth. She was confused but wasn’t sure how to ask. Ainsworth had died. There was no doubting that. If he hadn’t died then their stone wouldn’t have worked all of these years. Part of her mind wanted to say it was a descendant but that didn’t seem to fit. With descendant’s there is always similarities and even heavy resemblances but this was not that. This _was_ Ethan Ainsworth. That was his face. That was his eyes. It was even his height. She discounted the thought of a ghost and even an illusion. She wasn’t sure how Ainsworth was here but she just knew that he was. Her mind couldn’t even comprehend thinking of him as Harry Potter. Because he wasn’t. That wasn’t who this was. She could see the scar on his forehead and even knew that this was what the boy was calling himself. But to her he would only ever be Ainsworth.

           Perenelle tilted her head as she reached out with her magic. She wasn’t nearly as good as her son when it came to feeling out others but she was decent. Almost immediately she recoiled. There was a dangerous darkness to both of them. Normally that would intrigue her and even draw her in but there was something toxic to them that she didn’t like. It was threatening. Something that was warring with her own darkness. She knew immediately that this was not human. This darkness was not meant to be inside them. She tentatively reached out again and frowned when she realized that it wasn’t really the both of them that had it. It was only in Ainsworth. She could detect a sense of darkness through Malfoy but not really inside him. Which was very confusing. It made no sense. She didn’t understand how that could be. It was like it was inside him but it wasn’t at the same time. Her first instinct was to say that if Potter really had touched the false stone, that this would be the result. But there was _no_ physical way that someone would be able to contain this level of darkness without any repercussions. Going on six plus years with _this_ much darkness would have led to irreversible damage. But at the same time, what else could it be? Had Potter found a way to harness something left over from the stone?

            Was that why they were here? Did they want something from them? Advice, perhaps? Or did they have more sinister reasons for coming here? If this was indeed Ethan Ainsworth than the blonde would no doubt be Noah. Ethan had died saying the man’s name. It would make sense. Were they here for revenge? That was kind of cute in a way, not the two of them. No, that they actually thought they could enact revenge. If that was why they were here, then they were in for a serious let down.

            “Mister Potter. Mister Malfoy. It is nice to meet you.” Nicolas told them with a charming smile, that no one bought. He held out his hand in greeting but Harry and Draco didn’t even bother to look at it.

            “Afraid we have been sick lately. Wouldn’t want to take any chances.” Draco said in an apologetic tone. There was no way he was touching them. Who knew what kind of shite they did with those hands. There would be no physical contact whatsoever.

            “Right.” Perenelle said in a sarcastic tone. “It’s not like there aren’t potions that can fix that.” She sneered at them before turning around and going into the living room. Nicolas gave them a small smile. “Sorry about her, we don’t get too many visitors.” He sent a pointed look at his son, silently demanding answers.

            Finneus smirked at his father but didn’t answer the demand. “Should we follow mother?” He asked, it turned out to be rhetorical because he just ignored his father and walked into the other room.

            “After you.” Draco told Nicolas with a wave of his hand. Nicolas narrowed his eyes at being commanded in his own house, and by strangers too!

            As soon as Nicolas turned around, Harry immediately took Draco’s face in his hands and kissed him hard. Their mouths moved against one another in a quick but emotional kiss. The meaning didn’t need to be voiced. They needed the support of each other, more than with just emotions. Draco pushed all that he could into the quick kiss before breaking apart and entwining their fingers.

            Finneus rolled his eyes at their glazed expression when they entered the room. They were literally in a life or death situation and they couldn’t keep their hands off of each other? He gestured to seats right next to him, instead of the open chairs by his parents.

            “So.” Nicolas began slowly as he stared between the three of them. “What brings you here? I wasn’t aware that Finneus had any friends.”

            Draco couldn’t help himself. He snorted… loudly. Finneus glared at his father and then at Malfoy. Draco waved his hand in a silent apology as he tried to reign in his humor. This was just too good. Finneus’s own father said what Draco had been suspecting all along.

            “Laugh it up.” Finneus told him darkly. Harry’s mouth twitched and he had to marvel over the fact that he was two feet away from the Flamel’s and he was nearly laughing. He looked around the room and had to school his features to not show the disgust that he was sure was on his face. The room was about the same size of the Dursley’s living room. Only instead of adoring photos of Dudley, there was skulls hanging from all over the place. It reminded him of hunters who tack up the heads of deer and other animals on their walls. He was positive that these were past victims of theirs. It was one of the most morbid things he had ever seen. Although he did have to admit that it was a step up from the last time he had been in a room with the Flamels. There was no rotting corpses or bugs swarming nearby. So that was a plus. He still would rather be _anywhere_ than here. The room was littered with little pieces of bones. He didn’t even want to know what they all were. He was pretty sure he spotted a pelvis and he shuddered. What the hell was wrong with them?

            Harry shared a look with Draco, their hands were still entwined. “We are here to just ask you some questions.” He said in a sure voice. He tried to nudge the darkness to speed up whatever it was doing. He could feel the darkness swirling underneath him. Like it was pulling all of its resources and then swelling up. The feeling was similar to heartburn. He didn’t like it.

            Nicolas narrowed his eyes. He didn’t think that was why they were here at all. There was something off about them and he wasn’t sure what it was. He looked to his wife and he could tell that she was thinking the same thing. He had to rely on her facial expressions more and more since their bond had been dimming. He probably should have worried about that but he just liked the new sense of freedom that the bond was giving him. He had always hated that his wife knew _every_ single emotion. There was no privacy. No blocks. He was literally giving one hundred percent all the time and every day. He couldn’t hide anything from her, couldn’t just exist without her. It was enough to drive him bonkers.

            “Well we were about to have dinner, you are welcome to anything that we have.” He gestured before standing up.

            Finneus shook his head briefly as he looked down at his nails. “You don’t want to eat anything that they cook.” He breathed out, barely audible to Harry and Draco.

            “No thank you. We ate before arriving.” Harry said in what he hoped was an apologetic tone. He wouldn’t put it past them to poison him.

            Perenelle lifted a brow. “Are you sure? It is a specialty of mine. Human meat is such a delicacy.” She purred before getting up and following her husband into the kitchen.

            “No, um, we are on a diet.” Draco offered weakly, his voice trailing after them with a firm shake of his head. Draco cringed internally. What the fuck? Harry was positive that he was going to be sick.

            As soon as they were gone, Draco turned to Finneus. “A delicacy?” His whisper had a hysterical edge to it. “Escargot, caviar and haggis, those are delicacies! Not human meat. That is so wrong on so many levels.” He shuddered just thinking about it.

            Harry who had been nodding along to everything that Draco had been saying, suddenly scrunched up his face. “You eat haggis?” He asked with distaste. Draco shrugged. “I had it a couple times at some benefits my parents dragged me to. I can only stomach it because I refuse to ask what is in it.”

            Finneus curled his mouth up. “That is gross.” He piped up. Draco turned to him with an ‘are you serious’ look. “Says the man whose parents eat human insides!”

            Finneus tilted his head back and forth conceding to the point. “I did tell you that you wouldn’t want to eat anything that they cooked.” He pointed out. It wasn’t his fault that his parents liked to eat people.

            Nicolas turned to his wife as soon as they entered the kitchen. “What do you think is going on?” He questioned as he brought out bowls.

            Perenelle leaned against the doorway and frowned. “I think they are here to kill us.” She told him honestly. At her husband’s doubtful look she rolled her eyes. “Finneus has never brought anyone home. Never. There has to be a bigger reason than just simple questions being asked.” She reasoned.

            Nicolas frowned. He himself was also having doubts about the reason that they were here. He didn’t think that it was a death threat though. His son could have had ample opportunities to attempt to kill them over the years. Finneus didn’t have the guts or the power to be a serious threat to them. He doubted it would start now.

            “Did you feel out the darkness inside Ainsworth?” Nicolas quickly looked to his wife at her statement. “You think he looks like him too then?”

            Perenelle scoffed. “I don’t think he looks like him. I think it _is_ him.” She argued. She rolled her eyes at the disbelief. Honestly, her husband would be nowhere without her. “Nic, there is no way that is a descendant. He looks the exact same.” She pointed out.

            Nicolas frowned. “His magic isn’t the same though. We used that magic, remember? There is a lot to him that is completely different. If it was somehow Ainsworth than we would be able to recognize that.”

            Perenelle sighed. That was a good point. “But I think the darkness that is inside him is making it hard to pick up on his magic.” She argued.

            “What about him being Harry Potter?” Nicolas questioned. “You can clearly see the scar.” When she just looked at him pointedly, he raised his brows. “You think he is both of them.” He said slowly. He tilted his head to the side as he considered this. “If that is true then it would have to be some form of reincarnation because there is no way that he didn’t die the first time around. We watched the life leave his body.”

            Perenelle hummed in thought. She hadn’t really stopped to consider reincarnation. That was always a whimsical notion that she never believed in. Always considered that lonely people with no lives made up reincarnation. There was zero evidence to prove that it exists. Surely, if it was real then someone somewhere would have some kind of proof. Even something as farfetched as reincarnation made sense in this instance. She had been trying to figure out how Ainsworth could be alive. She had briefly considered necromancy but there wasn’t a death darkness to him. Just darkness. She would have known if it had been necromancy. Her father taught her all the signs to look for. Ainsworth wasn’t showing a single one of them.

            “I suppose that could be one explanation.” She told him with a slight nod to her head.

            Nicolas rolled his eyes. “It is the only explanation.” He countered. Perenelle huffed. Sometimes she wondered why she kept him alive. “If it is reincarnation, then I suppose they are here for revenge.” She mused, completely ignoring his last comment.

            Nicolas paused in his filling up the bowls with the homemade meat pie and turned to give her a shocked look. “That would be pretty gutsy of them. They would _know_ what we are capable of, if that were true. Coming into our home would be next to suicide.”

            Perenelle agreed wholeheartedly. “Which is why they must have something up their sleeves. Or they wouldn’t bother coming here.”

            “I didn’t really take a good look at the darkness that you say is inside Ainsworth.” Perenelle scoffed at her husband. It was just like him to get distracted when it came to the important details. “Do you suppose that is their trump card?” He asked her, ignoring the looks she was sending him.

            She paused slightly. “It is possible but I don’t think so. It is _massive_ and volatile. I don’t think he can wield such darkness. I think the darkness is wielding him.”

            Nicolas smirked at the thought. Perenelle shook her head rapidly. “I know that look. Don’t think about it.” She warned him. He frowned, why would she care if he experimented? “You need to take another look at the boy. That darkness is _not_ containable. I think it is seriously harming him. It isn’t any darkness that is even remotely close to our own.”

            Nicolas blinked rapidly. They have come across all kinds of magic over the years. They have experimented on different cultures and different people. They have spliced magic, torn it apart and reassembled it to do their bidding. In all of that, he has never heard a single complaint or warning from his wife. He was having a hard time believing that she wasn’t wanting to harness any of it. He almost wanted to see if she was an imposter.

            She ignored the concern in those brown eyes. That wasn’t important. She leaned forward. “I think it came from the false stone that Dumbledore took.”

            Nicolas leaned back on the balls of his feet in surprise before he smirked wickedly. “ _That_ would explain it.” He shook his head in slight wonder. That would explain why his wife didn’t want to experiment on the darkness. Unfortunately for her, it made him want to experiment even more. He could just imagine what that kind of power and darkness it could accomplish. He was growing lustful just thinking about it. He couldn’t believe someone would have actually touched it. Shouldn’t Ainsworth/Potter have been taught better?

            Perenelle eyed her husband warily. The excitement never dimmed, if anything, it grew stronger. She knew him better than he thought. Nicolas wasn’t going to give up. Well, then it would be up to her to end all of this before Nicolas got them killed.

            When they walked back into the room with their two bowls of food, they noticed that the three of them seemed to be whispering to each other. Nicolas frowned at his son. Was his wife right? Had Finneus known what was going on and still led them here?  He sat down and eyed both strangers with interest. Now that he wasn’t caught up in the surprise of their looks, he could definitely detect the darkness. His nostrils flared at the power of it. He couldn’t understand why Perenelle wouldn’t want to harness that. Such power demanded attention and dedication. Oh, he could just imagine all of the things that he could do with all of that power.

            Harry did not like the stares that they were giving him. They were almost knowing stares. Almost like they had detected who he was. It wasn’t too surprising. He knew that he looked the same as he had when he was Ethan. He imagined that they wouldn’t have forgotten him. His death had been what granted them the stone, after all. But there was more than just knowing in those eyes. There was a wariness to Perenelle’s that worried him. Why would she be wary? He would have preferred if she had been cocky in her own abilities. That would indicate that she would be unaware of the danger that they posed. But if she was wary, then that hinted that she might just be able to detect the darkness. Which wasn’t very good for them. The more ignorant she is, the better in the end. He wondered if Finneus got his magic senses from his parents. Did they have the same ability? Could they detect the darkness just like Finneus could?

            Harry didn’t like the look in Nicolas’s eyes. The man looked starved and not for food. He was reminded of the way that Finneus looked at him back at Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes. Like he could see the darkness and wanted it. This would not be good if they were found out too quickly.

            _‘They detect us but their magic has disagreed with ours.’_ Harry and Draco were not very comforted by the darkness’ statement. Draco shared an uneasy feeling with Harry through the bond. This was not looking so good for them.

            Nicolas cocked his head to the side. For a moment there had been something else besides darkness. There had been a spark of something familiar. It was like a brightness that he had never seen before. It was so bright that he wondered who it had come from. Potter had been nothing but darkness, while Malfoy was dark but in a different way. Neither one of them had any light in them. Which was rather odd, now that he thought about it. Shouldn’t Harry Potter be full of light? Something was going on here. If Potter was such a light wizard like the world claimed him to be, then there should be more than just darkness inside of him. Why would Dumbledore have put so much faith in the boy if there was no light in him? That didn’t make any sense.

            “How did such a dark wizard destroy Voldemort?” Nicolas asked with open suspicion. Perenelle blinked before giving Ainsworth another feel with her magic. She had to fight the urge to recoil again, but once she was able to push past it, she noticed what her husband meant. There wasn’t an ounce of light to the boy. Which was odd. If this really had come from the false stone, did that mean that the stone had been eating away the boy’s light nature? Or was Ainsworth a dark wizard all along. A wolf in sheep’s clothing.

            Finneus, Draco and Harry all frowned in unison. Dark? Finneus reached out with his magic and raised his brows. Now he understood what his father was hinting at. The gaping cavern of light that always made him sick to feel was dimmed. There wasn’t an ounce of light showing through. If he didn’t know that Potter was as light as they come, then he would have been curious too. The darkness must be dimming the light. He wondered why that was. Why would the darkness care if his parents knew that Potter was a light wizard? Was there something to the plan of theirs that would explain it. He arched a brow when he noticed that the soulmate bond was also dimmed. Again, if he hadn’t known that they were soulmates then this would have made him doubt that. What was the darkness playing at?

            Draco had been so nervous about the whole thing that he didn’t quite realize it at first, but the bond was acting oddly. Not in a way that was concerning him but in a way that was curious. He could detect it but it was almost one sided. Similar to being underwater, where you can hear things above you but in a different way. He could feel the bond but it was almost like it was underneath water. Or in this case, the darkness.

            _‘We have dimmed the bond and host's magic. They cannot be aware of it. Restrict your emotion pushing.’_ Harry was slightly confused at the last statement. Emotion pushing? He realized the darkness must have been talking about the emotions that they share or try and get the other to feel it. Harry could still feel the bond. It wasn’t like it had been with the Lactera. Then, it had almost felt like the bond was being cut off. Now, it was like it was just being covered up. He liked this way much better than the previous. He hated not being able to feel Draco.

            Harry smiled cryptically. “It takes darkness to destroy darkness.” Draco was mildly impressed with the acting skills from Harry.

            Nicolas shared a look with his wife. That was a debatable statement but it wasn’t one that he could openly disprove. He still felt like something was happening that he was unaware of but he couldn’t figure it out.

            Perenelle wasn’t a mother for no reason. She could detect a lie right out of the gates. Ainsworth wasn’t exactly lying but he wasn’t telling the truth either. If she had to guess, she would say it was a combination of what he said and something else.

            Harry had been about to add to the statement when something reached his awareness. For a moment he thought it was the darkness doing something but that wasn’t it. This was something else. This was something similar but different. This was something dark and dangerous. It was heady in the aroma of danger. It was so dark and so intoxicating. Part of him was worried about this line of thinking. Darkness had never been something that he had been attracted to. Dark things tend to end in disaster for him. But a much bigger part of him was enchanted. He was so drawn to it that it was distracting. It reminded him of the way he felt after him and Draco first connected as souls. They had been so caught up in one another that nothing else mattered. It was the same way. Nothing else mattered but finding what was releasing such danger. He ignored the growing worry in the bond and started looking around the room rapidly.

            “What is with him?” Nicolas asked in confusion when he noticed that Ainsworth was acting like a frog trying to catch a fly. His eyes were moving rapidly trying to look for something that they couldn’t see.

            Draco was worried. What was going on with Harry? He could feel a growing desperation to the bond. It was scaring him. He couldn’t remember Harry ever feeling like this before. It was borderline obsession.

            Harry turned his head to the wall right beside him and narrowed his eyes at a tiny little button on the side of a human skull. “What is that?” He demanded to know.

            Perenelle’s eyes widened comically before she smirked knowingly. She waved her husband’s concern away and quickly waved her wand and the button was immediately pressed.

            Finneus gaped for a moment. He couldn’t believe that his mother was showing Potter what was inside. He wondered if she had been hit with a confundus charm. She was so possessive of its content that he couldn’t wrap his mind around this.

            As soon as the button was pressed, a drawer shot out of the wall. It was so well hidden that neither Harry nor Draco had even suspected that there was more to the wall.

            Harry stood up so rapidly that it startled Draco, who had been holding his hand. The quick movement had actually yanked on his muscles and he winced in pain before letting go of Harry’s hand.

            Harry walked over to the drawer slowly and deliberately. _Oh,_ it was right there. That was what he had been detecting. That had been what had been causing the unease when he first walked in. Only now, now it was beautiful and lovely. He wanted it. He wanted to see and feel more of it. He needed it like he needed to breathe.

            Draco stood up and followed behind Harry in concern. He wasn’t sure what was in that drawer but he knew that it was something bad. Both Harry and Draco gasped when they saw three red stones sitting on a velvet pillow.

            Draco knew that the one in the middle had to be the true stone. The red was so ruby and rich that it had to be the Sorcerer’s Stone. The other two on either side of it were a lackluster red. A pale comparison. Almost like the color had faded over time. It was nearing a dark shade of black around the edges. It could almost resemble a rock, a colorful rock, but a rock nonetheless.

            Harry closed his eyes and breathed in the aroma of the stones. This was what true power was. This is what the manifestation of temptation was. He reached out both of his hands and made to dive into the drawer. He could hear Draco yell at him to not touch them but he didn’t care what Draco had to say.

            _‘Touch them.’_ Harry had never wanted to listen to anyone as much as he did in that moment. Why shouldn’t he touch them? Why shouldn’t he feel the power? Why shouldn’t he have a better understanding of them? They were made to be touched. They were made to be set free. Harry shook free of one of Draco’s hand and grabbed hold of two of the stones. The third stone was useless. He had all that he could from that stone. He needed the other two.

            Draco had one free hand on Harry when his lover grabbed the stones. There was a shock wave of power that was released the moment Harry touched them. It was so powerful. It was almost like a gust of wind. He braced himself but made sure to not let go of Harry.

            _‘Yesssss’_ Harry breathed out in ecstasy. Draco whimpered. That wasn’t Harry’s voice. That was the darkness but it was magnified. It was _so_ much darker than usual. Draco dropped his palm when Harry turned around with two of the stones in his hands. He gasped at the sight of Harry. There was blood pouring out of his eyes, ears, nose and mouth. His lover’s normally green eyes were as red as the blood on his face and as red as the stones in his hands.

            _‘Finally.’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You probably have all sorts of questions. I will try and anticipate them but if I miss any, don't hesitate to ask. I won't be giving out spoilers so don't bother. :)
> 
> So yes, they can detect magic in similar ways to Finneus but it isn't nearly as strong. Nor is it always right. So that is why they didn't instantly recognize such darkness in Harry. Nicolas was more caught up in why Harry looked familiar to really pay attention to anything else. It is a single-minded fault that the man has. 
> 
> Perenelle didn't detect the darkness right away because she was more interested why her son was alive. After the hellhound incident, she couldn't really fathom why he would be alive. 
> 
> So the finger-leg soup was a take on frog-leg soup. It is just how it sounds. Fingers and legs of human people. Occasionally she likes to experiment with creatures too. But her favorite is people. There was a play on Sweeney Todd too. With the meat pies made out of human body parts. So gross but I do hope you picked up on that. 
> 
> As for why Finneus hadn't detected his mother while she was on the dock, that would be because she dims her magical signature out in public. It wouldn't do well to attract attention. 
> 
> As to why Perenelle and Nicolas didn't recognize Draco, well they hadn't really ever spent time around him. There were some moments in society where they had come across Noah but they had always been more fascinated with Ethan. 
> 
> I know Perenelle thinks that the Shaytan is still bound but that isn't the case. You all remember that. So this is just arrogance on her part. 
> 
> Draco throwing shade and not allowing to be touched by Nicolas just made me chuckle. Or when they lied and said they were on a diet. Haha.
> 
> So not only are the Flamels twisted mentally but they also like to eat people... well... *Cringes* So Haggis is technically considered a delicacy. I won't judge it based off of the way it looks and sounds. But I won't ever be eating it. No offense to all the people who like it. 
> 
> So, what are your thoughts regarding Harry touching two of the stones? What do you think that entails? Why do you think Perenelle allowed him to touch them? 
> 
> Let me know what you thought of this chapter. 
> 
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	85. Darkness and Love End it All

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You all have my SINCEREST apologies for this chapter being so late. This chapter was quite difficult for me. In an emotional way and a physical way. Sorry about that.

            Draco wasn’t sure what to do. The bond felt wrong and distorted. That wasn’t Harry in there. That was the darkness. He wasn’t sure if the darkness had lied to them and they were now here under false pretenses, or if something else was going on. This was not how he had envisioned things going. He wanted nothing more than to dive into the bond and to make Harry feel better but he knew that would be a bad idea. He dimmed the bond the best he could without full on shutting it down. It was probably smart to close the bond behind occlumency shields but he just couldn’t do that. He needed to still have the connection with his lover. He needed to be able to tell when things go wrong.

            Draco closed his eyes and whimpered at the pure danger that he could feel in the bond. Not just the bond. He could feel danger in the room too. The unease that he had felt within seconds of entering the room, had more than tripled after Harry touched the stones. Now, he could practically smell it. He wasn’t entirely sure if danger could ever be tangible enough to be smelt but if so, then he was definitely smelling it. The sheer depth to it was astounding. He wondered if this is what Finneus had been feeling all along. He had never been able to detect magic like that before. Part of him had been envious of Finneus for being able to do that. But now, he wasn’t so sure. Being able to detect this much power and darkness was not a good thing. He hadn’t even known that something so dark could exist. Through the bond, the normal darkness wasn’t like this. That had been just something in the background. Now though, it was awful. It was like Harry and the darkness had switched roles. His lover was now in the background, while an amplified version of the darkness was on the loose inside of Harry's body.

            He had no idea how he was going to get Harry to come back. The last time he had almost died. That was when the darkness was just normal. Draco knew with every gut instinct that he possessed, that he was not going to make it out of this alive. He was going to die. Strangely, he was okay with that. He stretched out his hand and knocked one of the stones away so that he could entwine his fingers Harry’s. No matter how this turned out, he would be with his lover through every step of the way.

            Finneus gasped and then choked on all of the power that was being released into the air. He could feel it, taste it, smell it and if he closed his eyes, he could almost see it with his abilities. There was an almost tangible visual that was in the room. If he had thought that the darkness had been a temptation to him before, well now, it was almost criminal how badly he wanted it. This was so dark and delicious that he wanted to go over there and demand it for himself. He wanted to go over there and take what was rightly his. Because surely, all of that goodness had to be his. He almost did too, but there was a tiny little rational part of his brain that said, ‘no, this isn’t a good idea.’ He had to force all of his thriving lust for the darkness to the side. He had to use every ounce of control that he possessed to not storm over there and just demand the power for his own.

            Once Finneus had been able to control himself, he was able to assess the situation. Boy, were they fucked. What on earth would have possessed Potter touch the stones? Hadn’t he learned from his mistakes? Hadn’t he learned that one darkness was bad enough? Did he really need three inside of him? Surely, the one from the real stone was even worse. The real stone was a successful ritual. That had to have some effect on the level of depth that the darkness surrounding it would have. He tried to wrap his mind around everything that had just happened. Questioning why Potter had done it would not change anything. In the end, it didn’t matter the reasons why, what mattered was finding a way out of this.

            Finneus thought back to when he had been chained to the wall and Potter had gotten angry about Luna. Malfoy had been the only one who had been able to get Potter to come back to himself. Potter had fought against the darkness and was able to take full control of his body. But things have changed since then. The darkness had taken control of Potter’s body during the Lactera incident. Potter hadn’t even been consciously aware or angry at the time. The darkness didn’t need Potter’s permission of approval to take control. So if the darkness could take over whenever it wanted, then that meant it wouldn’t be pushed back unless it wanted to. Something was telling him that the darkness was not about to take a back seat right now. No, the darkness had pushed Potter back this time. The question was, what did the darkness want?

            Perenelle recoiled dramatically, practically falling out of her chair in her haste to get _away_. This had not been her intention. She had always known that dark resonates with dark. She had been hoping that touching the stones would have made the already impossible darkness inside of Potter implode. She could see blood steadily leaking out of all kinds of orifices. That was a sign of too much power. They had steadily experimented over the years. Vessels and containers can only hold so much power before they begin to break down or even corrode. With the amount of power that Ainsworth had in him, she figured that a little more would be just the thing to tip him over the edge. She hadn’t thought that he would touch the false stone too. Perenelle just thought that he would go for the Sorcerer’s Stone. She couldn’t believe how much raw power there was. She wasn’t stupid, she had known that the stones were dark but she didn’t think that _this_ is what was inside it.

            It was probably a good thing that they had never known what kind of power was lurking inside of the stone or else her husband may have tried experimenting with it. Every single fiber of her being knew that this darkness could never be controlled, never be contained. It was something else, something out of the realm of their possibilities. She could feel the depths to it and she wasn’t even trying. Normally she has to reach out with her magic but not this time. It was like the darkness was wanting to let them _know_ how powerful it was. It was like it was wanting them to be afraid. Perenelle had never been frightened of anything in her entire life. Not when she was a child and her father used her mother in a necromancy ritual. Not when she killed her first victim at six. Not when she was caught by a horde of Aurors at ten. Not when she killed her first partner. Not when she first tried creating dementors despite her father’s warnings that it wouldn’t work and the ritual almost took her life. Not when her first attempt at the stone backfired and nearly killed herself. Not when Nicolas had threatened to leave her. Not when the Lactera she caught nearly ate her. Not when she took the giant squid’s mate away at Hogwarts and it nearly strangled her to death.  Nothing had ever scared her. Growing up around death will do that to a person.

            But staring at the insane power inside of Ainsworth was scaring her. Not necessarily the thought of dying. When one experiments on the creatures that they have, they know that death is always an option. That is what makes the experiments so enticing and so much fun. It wasn’t the thought of dying, it was the actual reality of dying that was scaring her. It is easy to be conceited when you have lived as long as they have. It is easy to not consider things a threat. It is easy to be over confident where one shouldn’t be. It is easy to think that nothing will get to you. That nothing will change up the safety of your life. But… staring at Ainsworth was a cold slap to the face of reality. To the danger of the darkness, she was just a tiny blimp on the radar of its power. She was nothing compared to what it could do to her. This was something that she wouldn’t be able to match. This was something that was out of her element and out of her league. If true death had an embodiment, then this would be it. Despite the ticking time turner of her life, she wasn’t going to take it lying down or cowering in fear. That just wasn’t who she was. She pulled out her wand discreetly and decided to wait for the opportune moment to strike.

            Nicolas could barely see through his half-lidded eyes. He hadn’t been this drunk on lust since his first week of marriage. There was something so enticing about the sheer depth of power that was radiating off of Ainsworth. It was almost too much. It was almost enough to have him kneeling on the ground. The urge to submit was strong. It was a daunting thought. What was about this power that made him lose control? He had never been good at detecting magic like Finneus, but he didn’t need to right now. He could feel it without even trying. He could feel it all and he was in love with the energy. He wanted it for himself. He wanted to experiment on it. He wanted to wrap himself in the blackness and never let go. He was willing to give up _anything_ to have it. Everything else seemed insignificant in comparison to it. Nothing else mattered but this power. Nothing else would ever matter.

            Nicolas could feel himself salivating from just the aura of the darkness. He hadn’t even done anything yet and it was already almost too much. It was already an overload to his senses. He felt like he was drunk without consuming anything. He had to fight his muscles just to stay upright. This was intense and intoxicating. He wasn’t sure if he would have the ability to harness such power but he was sure going to try. He knew that his wife wouldn’t approve of it but he honestly didn’t even care. Nicolas couldn’t understand how Perenelle wouldn’t want to harness such magic. Couldn’t she feel it? Wasn’t she tempted like he was? Wasn’t she compelled to find just a taste? What was wrong with her?

            Harry knew that something was wrong. He could feel it inside of him. A mass swirling energy of just _wrong_. He was himself but at the same time he wasn’t. He could vaguely register what was happening around him. He could barely remember that he had picked up the stones. He couldn’t fathom why he had done that. All he could remember was an all-consuming need to touch them. It was familial in a way. It felt like it was every answer to his problems. The stones were a beacon of darkness in a world already so dark. They were needed. The stones were needed to be touched. Needed to be let free. The darkness in them were _so_ lonely. He could feel them. All the innocent souls inside of the stones. They were all crying out to be saved. All crying out to be protected. All crying out for justice. All crying out for _something_ to be done.

            But it was all too much. Hundreds of voices were surrounding him. Nothing he did could block it out. Nothing he did could make them go away or at the very least, shut up. Why did they have to be inside of him? Why did they have to use his body as their vessel? Why was he the one to answer their demands? Why couldn’t the darkness leave now? Why was it still inside of him? Touching the other stones had _never_ been the plan. Nothing the darkness had told him had ever resulted in this outcome. Had the darkness lied to him? Had it really meant to just grow more power? What was the end result? Or had this been a spur of the moment decision? Was it his fault or the darkness’s fault that the stones had been touched? He could remember being in control of his actions. It had been his body and his mind that made it possible to touch the stones. It had been his own wishes that made it all possible. But at the same time, everything seemed skewed. Like he hadn’t completely aware of the outcome. It was like his inhibitions had left him. He knew what he was doing was a bad idea but he just didn’t care. He knew that the stones shouldn’t be touched but what did that have to do with him? It was like life choices didn’t matter. It was like the only thing that even made sense in the world had been the stones.

            Harry wasn’t sure how to go from here. He wanted to take control of his body but he couldn’t even tell which part of himself that he was locked away in. The darkness was too massive. The space which it needed to control his body, left no room for himself. It was almost like he was a stranger in his own body. There was no room for him to go anywhere. The darkness had taken up residence and it wasn’t going anywhere. All he knew was that he was utterly surrounded by darkness and there was no end in sight. Harry wasn’t sure where he was supposed to go from here. The bond was so fucking dimmed that it was laughable. He supposed that was a good thing, that meant that Draco would be relatively safe. Thinking about Draco sent a shock wave of pain throughout his heart. This isn’t what he had anticipated would happen. This isn’t how he thought things would go. Harry felt like giving up. What did it matter if the darkness shoved him out of the way? What did it matter if he never gained control of his body? What did it matter if he never got to be himself again? What did it matter if this ended up killing him?

            Just when he was beginning to think that nothing was worth fighting anymore, he felt a warm touch to his body. He had almost discounted it altogether but there was an insistence to the warmth. Like a message with no words and no feelings. He concentrated as hard as he could, he had to push through endless seas of nothingness to be able to grasp just moments of awareness. There was a light pressure to his hand. Draco. Draco wasn’t letting him go. It didn’t matter that the darkness had taken him over, his soulmate wasn’t giving up on him. Even when the odds were completely stacked against them, his lover was fighting. If Draco could risk his life by sticking by his side, then he wouldn’t give up either. He could do this. He could just wait patiently for the time being, he would wait until the right time to strike. Harry knew that he couldn’t hold out any longer against the darkness. He had to get back to the small area in the back of his mind. The will to submit was too strong. He used his last bit of energy to hopefully offer Draco a message.

            Draco felt a tiny little squeeze to their combined hands and he snapped his gaze up to Harry’s face. For just a millisecond, he saw green sparkling amongst the red eyes. In a flash, they were quickly engulfed by red. But Draco saw them. He knew that Harry was still inside there. He was still aware of what was happening. This was a good sign and it filled him with warmth.

            Nicolas took a step forward, albeit a shaky step but stopped when Ainsworth threw out a hand and suddenly he was being lifted up into the air. He felt like there was a hand wrapped around his throat. Breathing became a chore, one he wasn’t very good at.

            _‘Tell me, are you god?’_ Nicolas blinked a couple times in confusion. _‘Are you a higher form of judgement? Have you created the earth that we stand on, the oxygen that we breathe and the animals we intake?’_

Perenelle figured this was her golden opportunity. While the darkness was focused on her husband, she had a shot. She shot out a number of spells. All ranging from mild to deadly. She held her breathe in anticipation, hoping that some of them stuck. She gasped when every single spell bounced off of the man and suddenly rebounded. She made to leap away out of the line of fire but she was suddenly lifted into the air just like her husband.

            _‘You dare attack us? You think that you are above us in the ways of magic? Think again insignificant human. You are nothing compared to us. You are nothing compared to the power of us combined.’_ Draco winced when Perenelle was slammed against the closest wall. A sharp bone that the woman no doubt had hung up as a trophy, sliced straight into her shoulder. He was impressed that she didn’t make a single peep. He supposed that she would be an expert in pain.

            Perenelle bit the side of her cheek hard enough to draw blood, pain was irrelevant. She was not going to give the darkness the satisfaction of knowing that she was in pain. This was nothing. She had lived through much worse things than this. She would not die a whimpering mess. She had more dignity than that.

            Nicolas wanted to scream at his wife for attempting to harm the darkness. Who knows what would have happened if Ainsworth’s body had been harmed. But he couldn’t utter a single word with the constriction of his vocal cords. He shivered when those red beady eyes looked back to him.

            _‘We asked you a question. Are you some higher entity?’_

            Nicolas tried shaking his head but he wasn’t capable of it. He forced the words out of his throat. “Nah oh.” He cringed internally at the poor speech. It turned into just sounding out the word ‘no’ instead of speaking it. He flinched when the red eyes narrowed in obvious anger. Whether at his awful speech pattern or the answer itself, he wasn’t sure.

            _‘Then what gives you the right to murder innocent people? What gives you the right to take the lives of those who have never harmed you? What gives you the right to be the judge and the executioner? Who do you think you are to play god?’_

Draco breathed a sigh of relief at the statement. That seemed to still be right up what the darkness had talked to Harry about. If the darkness was still wanting revenge then that meant that things would be okay, right?

            Finneus winced at the statement. So that was where this was all headed. This is what the game plan had been. He had been right there along with his parents for this ride, so there was no way that he was walking out of this one alive.

            Perenelle scoffed the best that she could. “You are joking!” She spat out, she ignored the glare that her husband was sending her. “You are a giant swirling mass of power and you are bothered by what we have done to beings that don’t even matter to you. What do you care who we kill? It has no significance to you.” She couldn’t believe that this giant power that had frightened her was a bloody bleeding heart. What the hell did it matter who they murdered?

            Draco would have whistled at the pile of shite she just walked into. Man, talk about not knowing when to shut up. He felt Harry’s hand tighten dangerously on his own and he knew that it wasn’t his lover. It was the darkness, it was angry. He was just grateful that it hadn’t turned its anger on him just yet.  

_‘You presume to think that you get to decide who lives and who perishes. You take the lives of people for your own benefit. Life is not some simple notion that mere mortals get to play with. Life is not something that nobodies like yourselves get to decide. Life is a complex state of perpetual motion. Life is always moving forward with no rhyme or reason. Life is not something you get to mess with until it meets your expectations. The lives of people are not something for **you** to decide!’_

Perenelle shook her head. She couldn’t understand why something so powerful would care about what they do. It wasn’t like the darkness was innocent, it was about to kill them!

            Nicolas really wished that his wife would shut up. Couldn’t she see that she was just angering it? Any chances of them being able to walk out of this with their lives was dwindling.

            _‘We care who you kill because we were once those very lives that you so callously took!’_ There was a shocked silence that filled the room at that statement. Nicolas was looking at the darkness in a new light. Was it implying that the darkness stemmed from the lives of the people and not the ritual itself?

            Perenelle frowned at the sentence. She almost moaned at her own stupidity. If it wasn’t going to kill her before this, then it surely would now.

            _‘We are the product of your false self-confidence. We are the product of your cruelty and horrid rituals. We are the result of selfish efforts. We are everything that was sacrificed for your own benefit. We are the innocent lives that were lost. We are also the reason you will die. We are the solution to the growing threat that you are. We have bided our time and gathered our resources. You take your last breaths in this place.’_

Finneus let out an air of surprise. He couldn’t exactly be resentful over the turn of events. He couldn’t exactly claim that he didn’t deserve a death. He had willingly gone along with his parents’ choices. He deserved this just as much as they did. But he couldn’t help but be surprised over the sentience to the darkness. If this really were the lives that had been lost, then he wondered if there were other emotions involved as well. Emotionless beings wouldn’t care for things like revenge. If they could feel revenge then could they feel other emotions as well? Was this darkness its own being? It could feel, think and have the capabilities of protection. This was a life force. Had they created a new life in the process of taking lives?

            Draco gasped in pain and clutched his arm. He quickly looked to his arm and frowned, there wasn’t a wound that he could see. But it felt like he was being split from the inside. He looked to Harry and covered his mouth in shock. Right in the same spot that he felt the pain, there was a gaping hole in Harry’s arm. Black light was shining out of his body. He groaned when more pain shot through him, this time his stomach. He was looking at Harry already, so he didn’t miss the new shining light coming from Harry’s stomach. He had seen the shirt ride up and the skin cackle before peeling away in the force of the outburst. He wanted to know what the black light was but he knew that touching it would be a bad thing.

            Draco looked up at Harry’s face and he whimpered at the fresh gushing of blood pouring off of his soulmate’s face. He wished he knew how to help. He wished he knew what to do. He felt more than heard the cracking of more skin. That was all the warning that he got before he felt the secondhand pain. Draco wasn’t sure if this was a side effect of the bond itself or if they were just tied together. Whatever was happening to Harry was having an effect on him too. He whimpered at the dozens of spots on his body that were screaming out in pain. It was too much. It hurt too badly. To feel his body literally breaking apart was the worst pain he had ever felt. But the confusing part was that it wasn’t even really happening to him. There weren’t any gaping holes that he could see like the ones that were clearly on Harry’s body. But the pain was real. It wasn’t like what he could share in the bond. He just _knew_ that the same thing was happening to him.

            Draco turned his head at the sound of a loud crash. He was surprised to see both Nicolas and Perenelle in heaps on the floor. It appeared that the darkness had dropped them. He narrowed his eyes but he could see them breathing. A groan from Nicolas let him know that he had been correct. So they were still alive, just injured. He whipped his head around when he heard Harry moan in pain. His eyes filled with tears at the endless blood that marred his lover’s features. He screamed when his face felt like it was splitting open. He didn’t have to be looking at Harry to know that his lover’s face resembled Swiss cheese. Harry’s face was breaking open with more black light shining through.

            “What’s happening to him?” Draco breathed out. He was talking to Finneus but he didn’t bother turning around. He was not going to take his eyes off of Harry.

            Finneus looked at Potter with regret. This was not how he saw this ending. He had thought that at least Potter and Malfoy would walk out of this with their lives intact.

            “His body can’t contain the darkness. It is too much for him. The darkness is seeking a way out of his body.” Finneus whispered. He wanted to look away. He wanted to not witness this but he couldn’t drag his eyes from the morbid sight.

            Draco could hear Nicolas and Perenelle moving in the background. They were probably going to make it this way soon. “Harry, I need you to listen to me.” Draco said firmly and loudly. He fought the scream when he felt more of his body being torn away. “I need you to release the darkness. I need you to force it out of your body. I need you to push with everything that you have.”

            Finneus blinked when he noticed that his mother’s wand had fallen when she landed. He dived for it and quickly bound them up in ropes. “What are you doing?” Perenelle snarled. “Let us go. We can take them now.”

            Nicolas frowned at his son. What was going on here? Why wasn’t he helping them?

            Finneus shook his head. “Shut up.” He told her firmly. He smirked at the offended look in her eyes. “You made your bed. Now lie in it.” He told her before sending a silencing charm her way. He also sent one to his father for good measure. “It wasn’t up to us to decide who got to live. The stone should never have been created.” He turned his back so he wouldn’t have to see the disappointment on their faces. He knew that he wasn’t the son that they wanted but knowing and seeing were two different things.        

            “Come on Harry.” Draco urged as more black light shone through Harry’s body. Draco barely even whimpered at the secondhand pain. “Push out the darkness.”

            Finneus gaped for a moment. “If he manages to do that, then you know that would be the same thing as releasing wild magic, right? Only a million times worse. Do you have any idea what is going to happen?” He asked incredulously.

            Draco smiled sadly as he cupped one of Harry’s cheeks. “Yeah, most likely an explosion of magic. This entire island will probably cease to exist in the backlash.” He couldn’t afford to doubt his line of thinking. He couldn’t afford to be nervous now. He had to do this.

            “It will kill _everything_. Including you.” Finneus pointed out with awe. He could feel his parents struggling against his magic so he sent even more ropes at them. He would have stunned them but he wanted them to be awake and aware for it all.

            “Either way Harry dies.” Draco was proud that his voice hadn’t cracked. The Flamels didn’t need to know that there were tears streaming down his face. “I feel everything he is feeling. I will die right along with him. At least this way, it ensures that your parents die along with the stones. This way, it offers a solution for everything.”

            Finneus opened his mouth for a moment in surprise. He wanted to say something but he wasn’t sure what. “You should get out of here Finneus.” Draco advised. “Get out of here and save your own life.” Draco didn’t even stop to reconsider his offer. He knew that he was letting a killer go loose but he didn’t care. Finneus had grown slightly on him. He didn’t have to die with them.

            Finneus breathed out for a moment before shaking his head. “No.” He told him firmly. “I will stay. I deserve the same treatment as my parents. I willingly killed the same people that they have. I will face my own punishment.”

            Draco hadn’t expected a different answer but it was still nice to hear. He nodded his agreement and stared into Harry’s eyes. “Harry, my love.” He whispered. “I need you to push. I need you to force the darkness out of your body.”

            Harry wanted to fight and scream at the injustice of the situation. He wanted to tell Draco no. He wanted Draco to get out of here. He wanted his lover safe and sound. If he was going to die, then it wouldn’t be dragging Draco with him.

            “We are equals Harry.” Harry had to marvel at the fact that Draco knew what he was thinking despite their bond being dimmed. “We are in this together. Whether that be life or death. Where you go, I follow. That is how we work.” Harry closed his eyes in regret. Fighting this wouldn’t change a thing. The only thing that fighting would accomplish would be changing the way he died. Draco was right, at least this way they got rid of the stones and the Flamels.

            Harry sucked in a deep breath and used every ounce of love that he possibly could to reign in some control. He knew that love was something that the darkness was weak against. He was fighting for control and it was so damn hard. It was like a tug of war. He pulled but the darkness had more strength on its side.

            Draco could see flashes of green sparking through and he knew that Harry was trying. He wasn’t sure what his lover needed from him but it was obvious that Harry needed help. The only thing he had ever been able to offer his soulmate had been love. Love was the only thing that he could give at the moment. He opened the bond and shoved every single bit of love that he held for Harry through it.

            Harry had been drooping in the power of the darkness. It hadn’t been enough. He barely had the energy to keep going. But he felt a rush of love and knew that Draco was giving him everything that he could. A package deal. That was what Draco had said that they were. His lover had been right. Equals. He pulled that love in and used it as the catalyst to getting rid of the darkness. He used the holes that were already in his skin to push it out. He used the love to chase out the darkness. He used everything that Draco had, and everything that he had.

            Draco kept his hand entwined in Harry’s as they dropped to their knees. His hand on his lover’s cheek had fallen but he quickly cupped the bloody cheek. He ignored the pain shooting throughout his body. When Harry tipped his head back and opened his mouth, he knew that Harry had succeeded. With a loud scream, black light was shoved out of Harry’s body. The amount of darkness inside of Harry had been unbelievable. He couldn’t wrap his mind around the fact that Harry had been able to even hold it inside of him for as long as he had.

            As soon as every last drop of darkness had oozed out of Harry, Draco tightened his hold on Harry’s hand. He looked into those lovely green eyes as a bright blinding light filtered the room. He knew that he only had seconds before his life would be taken. He used that time to say the only thing that mattered. “I love you.” Draco whispered before his entire world went out with an intense explosion that led to an endless darkness. That was where he drew his last breath. Throughout the whole thing, he never once let go of Harry’s hand.

            The first thing that registered was a white light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before you blow up at me and tell me that I have ruined your experience of my story, I would just like to say that appearances aren't everything, they are rather deceiving. So please have patience and don't give up. 
> 
> This is kind of random but you know how some people can't stand the word 'moist'? That word has never bothered me but what word does, is orifices. That word makes me cringe. I cringed while writing it. 
> 
> So there was a teeny tiny insight to the insanity that Perenelle is. She is messed up for sure. 
> 
> I normally have a bunch of questions for you guys and I point out a lot of things but this chapter has seriously screwed me up. I can't even really think. 
> 
> Let me know what you thought of it and please remember that appearances are deceiving. 
> 
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	86. Denial is Dangerous

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter killed me guys. I haven't been this affected since when Draco 'died' from the darkness attacking the bond. Yesterday's chapter didn't even get to me but this one sure did. I might just be a big baby though. But you already knew that.

           Lucius was so sick of the damn muggle boat. He had thought that surely it would have been better than being in the air with the Veela but now he wasn’t so sure. They encountered charmed devices that made waves so strong and powerful that if Narcissa hadn’t activated protection spells, they would have been underwater and swept away by a swirling mass of water. The rocking of the boat caused Fred to grow sick. Which is something that he confessed had happened earlier. They made sure to have him vomit in a container and then just vanishing it. They did not need another Merrow falling in love with him.

            Lucius had nearly hexed George silly when the damn redhead stuck his hand in the water out of boredom and was nearly dragged into the water by a playful water fairy. The Fairy had been so upset by his refusal to go willingly, that she almost gnawed off one of George’s fingers. Some fairies have a rabid temper. This one was no different, if anything, she had been the angriest fairy he had ever seen. Lucius had been seconds away from just shoving both twins off the boat and was willing to let the sea take them away. Lucius was a lot of things but patient, wasn’t one of them.

            He wasn’t sure if it was just being confined in a tiny unstable boat that was causing Lucius to want to murder everyone but he was definitely not in a good mood. Everyone had caught on quickly that he was not to be talked to but that might have been after he snapped at them for breathing too loudly.

            George was glaring at the back of Lucius’s head. Breathing too loudly? Honestly, he was thinking about tossing the man overboard and hoping a Lactera came by for him. It wasn’t like he had made _that_ big of a mistake. There wasn’t anything in the boat for them to entertain himself with. So reaching into the water wasn’t that big of a deal. How was he supposed to know that there had been water fairies in there? Blaming him for that was just a tad bit too cruel. If he had known that a fairy was in there then he wouldn’t have done it… well probably... he was really bored.

            Remus was praying that they reached Harry and Draco soon. There was just no way that he had the patience to deal with a moody Malfoy. He couldn’t ever remember Draco causing him this much trouble and that had been when the boy was still a bully! One would think that the man would be mature enough to be able to handle the Weasley twins. He did have to admit that it had been stupid of George to reach a hand into the water. The idiot _knew_ that there were things in the water and he did it anyways. He was still shaking his head at the excuse the boy tried to give him. ‘I was bored.’ Like that was supposed to be a good enough reason to risk not only his life but everyone else’s as well. He was just grateful that his own son was still a baby and he prayed that Teddy would never be influenced by the twins’ behavior.

            Severus didn’t care who started what. He was of the mind to just boot the twins _and_ Lucius off the boat. He was getting a headache from their damn arguing. If they thought that they were being subtle by mumbling insults at each other, then they were sorely mistaken. That was almost worse than if they were using a normal talking level. The stupid whispers could be heard over the steady strum of the boat. It just set his teeth to grinding. He was just grateful for Blaise, Pansy and Narcissa. They were great distractions for their partners. He was just thankful that he was manning the wheel or else he might have shoved some of them over the side of the boat. He narrowed his eyes when a small wave of fog rolled in. It wasn’t much but it still made navigating a little difficult.

            “We have got to be getting close, right?” Pansy asked nervously. She didn’t like the fact that it had been a little while from the fairy incident. If felt like there was something else out there that was waiting for them and she didn’t like it. She just wanted to get to her best friends. This whole experience had been a real shitty one. She couldn’t wait to rip Harry and Draco a new for one, this was entirely their fault.

            Severus shared a look with Remus. That wasn’t a question that either of them wanted to answer. It was entirely possible that they had gone a separate route from the boys. It was entirely possible that they weren’t even close to where they were supposed to be going. It was entirely possible that they were wasting their damn time out here. It wasn’t exactly a boost for morale. Severus wasn’t good at making people feel better. He sent a pleading look to his lover. It was up to him to answer her question.

            Remus glared at Severus. Why did he have to be the one to answer her? Why couldn’t he be a grouchy guy like Severus? Why did it matter if Remus was a nice guy? That was not an excuse for him to handle all of the situations that Severus didn’t want.

            “Actually.” Lucius began in a rude tone. “The chances that we are even remotely close to them is-” He was cut off by his wife's hand to his mouth. He turned to demand what she was doing but her glare made him forget that instantly. It would be suicide to argue with her.

            “Very high.” Severus finished for Lucius quickly. He was going to murder that man. That sentence could have started a panic. It was a good thing he could see things clearly now that the fog had cleared slightly.

            Remus frowned at his lover. He didn’t think that lying to everyone was a good policy. But he did notice that Pansy looked rather pleased with the answer. He still thought this was going to come back to bite them in the arse later on. Lying wasn’t ever a good policy. He huffed in humor at the fact that his Slytherin partner probably had the opposite life motto. He imagined that Slytherins lied all the time.

            Fred and Blaise narrowed their eyes in suspicion. That didn’t sound at all like what Lucius had been about to say. By the man’s tone of voice and rude gestures, it seemed like he was going to say the opposite. False assurances were not something that they wanted to hear. Not at a time like this. If they weren’t even close to Harry and Draco then they would rather hear it. It was better to be prepared than to be blind sighted.

            “Are you sure about that?” Fred asked doubtfully.

            “Yeah, sounds like a lie to me.” Blaise piped up. Remus winced at the crestfallen face of Pansy’s. Looks like the arse biting was now. He shook his head sadly at the back of Severus’s head.

            Severus scoffed. “Have I ever given you a reason to doubt me?” He argued. Remus looked at him in bewilderment. Okay, this was going too far now. It was just better to come clean now and deal with the back lash. If they lied further then it would just cause more issues.

            Severus huffed at the silence. Well that was encouraging. He was going to be having a talk with all of them later. The fucking ingrates. “I am _positive_ that it wouldn’t take too much longer.”

            “Severus.” Remus said in a slight warning. “I don’t think we should get their hopes-” He was cut off by Severus raising a hand in the air. He narrowed his eyes at the rude gesture.

            “I am not getting their hopes up.” Severus argued. The lack of faith around here was seriously getting to him.

            Remus bit his lip. “What makes you so sure?” He retorted.

            “Because I can see an island in the distance.” There was a silence before suddenly everyone was scrambling forward trying to see it at once.

            Unfortunately, some people were undignified about the whole thing.

            “OW! That hurt. I think you crushed my foot.” Pansy snapped.

            “Wanker! I was almost pushed into the water because of you.” George rounded on Lucius.

            “Good. Maybe more fairies could take you away.” Lucius retorted.

            “Better watch out Blaise, we might breathe too loudly around him. Merlin knows it is punishable by law.” Fred grumbled.

            “I think my neck kinked.” Blaise winced in pain. He had been jarred and his neck had responded badly.  

            In all of the shoving, Remus had got shoved right into Severus’s back. “I am sorry love.” He whispered into the man’s ear. Severus knew that Remus was apologizing for more than just the accident. “It’s alright.” He assured him before turning his head slightly so that he could kiss his cheek. Remus wrapped his arms around Severus’s waist and leaned his chin on the man’s shoulder.

            “Do you think that is where the Flamels are located?” Narcissa asked. The probability was pretty high. She didn’t think there were many islands out here.    

            “Oh yeah.” The quartet said at the same time. It didn’t make sense for it to be anything else. There was an excitement in the air now that they were even closer to the island.

            Remus stiffened when he felt a shimmer of _something_ in the air. It made his hackles rise. He was about to warn them that something could be out there but suddenly there was an explosion. One so powerful that it shook the water and vibrations could be felt from as far away as they were.

            Everyone stood frozen in shock when what had been an island before was now an explosion of dirt and water. The bit that they had been able to see was completely engulfed into water.

            They had seconds before a backlash of power made itself towards them. It was a mass of power and waves. Everyone scrambled to protect themselves. Luckily the magic hadn’t harmed them but the water went right through their barriers and everyone began spluttering and coughing up water. The boat had nearly tipped over… again.

            “You don’t think they were on it when it e-exploded?” Narcissa asked through tears. She hoped and prayed with everything that she had that her boys were still alive.

            Severus was out of positive reinforcement. “I don’t know.” He whispered hoarsely. The excitement had vanished so quickly that he wasn’t even sure it had been here in the first place. His heart was heavy as he stared at the mess that had once been an island. He couldn’t imagine that anything could have lived through that.

            “We need a way to know if Harry is still alive.” Fred whispered. “If only Draco had stayed behind, then we would have their connection to rely on.” George added.

            Lucius blinked rapidly before he smacked his thigh in his own stupidity. “We may not have Draco but we have the next best thing. I can’t believe I didn’t think of it sooner. I am a fucking moron.” Lucius swore under his breath.

            Everyone eyed the blonde man in a mixture of bewilderment and shock. Lucius was insulting himself? That was a new one. Severus was about to ask his friend what in the world he was talking about but he was shushed by said friend.

            “Kreacher!” Lucius bellowed out loudly. Remus furrowed his brows. Why was he calling Kreacher?

            A *Pop* signified the elf’s entrance. Well actually a large splash was heard more prominently then the apparation. Everyone shared a concerned look before they quickly looked over the side of the boat.

            Kreacher was coughing and flailing his arms like crazy. Lucius winced and reached his hand out to pull the elf into the boat. “Sorry Kreacher, I should have thought about where you would enter when called.”

            Kreacher narrowed his eyes at Lord Malfoy. If it wasn’t for him being a respectable pureblood, he would have used his magic on the man and sent him tumbling into the water. He did not have to answer the call of someone who was not his Master. He had arrived as a favor for the man. He couldn’t fathom why a person of such noble blood would have summoned an elf in such a dangerous climate. It was an insult.

            “What is it that Lord Malfoy requires of Kreacher?” He croaked out, his eyes were still narrowed in distaste.

            “I need you to use your bond with your Master and tell me if it is still going strong.” Lucius told him firmly.

            There were ‘ohhhhs’ coming from everyone else. Lucius was just glad that he wasn’t the only one who hadn’t thought of Kreacher in the first place.

            Kreacher’s ears immediately drooped. “Kreacher hasn’t been able to feel Master properly for several days. There has been a darkness in him that grew stronger. Master was aware of it so Kreacher has not been worried.”

            Remus bit his lip. That didn’t sound good. If the darkness had been growing stronger for days then it was entirely possible that Harry had been completely taken over.

            Lucius swore internally. “Can you feel the connection to him at all?” He held his breath as he waited for an answer.

            Kreacher paused for a moment as he stretched out his magic. His eyes filled with tears. “I can’t feel Master Harry at all sir. He isn’t connected to me anywhere.”

            “Oh god.” Remus said as he clutched onto Severus tightly. Everyone gasped out in shock.

            “Is there any other explanation besides death that could cause that?” Remus asked with a shaky voice as tears sprung to his eyes. He knew a lot about elves but he just needed to hear the words. He needed the confirmation of his worst fears.

            “Only if Master passed Kreacher onto someone else. But sir, Kreacher would be knowing if that had happened. Kreacher is a f-free elf.” Kreacher shuddered before his knees hit the floor of the boat in shock. He had never thought that would be possible. He had served the Black family his whole life. He didn’t want to be a free elf. He wanted to serve Master Harry. He wanted to help with Master Harry and Master Draco’s children that they would’ve had. Kreacher knew that his Masters were indecent but they were the best Masters he has had in a long time. Kreacher wasn’t used to this pain before. Was he hurting? He could feel tears down his face. He knew that this was undignified but he didn’t have a Master anymore that would care about such things. He didn’t have anyone to care for anymore. That was the worst thing that could happen to an elf. His magic was already crying out over the loss of a family to take care of. Kreacher wasn’t like Dobby. He needed a family. He couldn’t be free. He didn’t want to be free. He wanted Master Harry! He would even take Master Draco’s crazy ideas if he could have them back. He would eat ice cream with Master Draco if they could come back. He would even go to the muggle place that Master Draco had wanted him to go. Kreacher would do anything as long as he got his Masters back.

            Lucius sat down on the side of the boat in shock. He couldn’t believe it. His son was dead. That was the only explanation. If Kreacher was a free elf than only death would explain this. He could feel his eyes stinging but he forced it away. This could still be a mistake. He clung to a small shred of denial that was inside of him.

            “Do you know the last place that his magic was used?” Blaise asked the crying elf gently. His own vision was skewed with tears. He couldn’t afford to break down right now. Thinking about Harry and Draco was killing him but he needed to push that to the side. There would be time to break down later.

            It took a couple tries before Kreacher realized that he was being asked a question. He nodded his head. That was one of the ways that Elves found their Masters. He used his magic to find the magical signature of the last time Master Harry used magic.

            “Y-yes.” Kreacher stuttered before standing up. He would take them to his dead Master and then he would go back to the Elven realm. There would be no other family that he would want to serve. No one would be able to compare to Master Harry.

            Lucius stood up and told everyone to charm their feet just in case the destination was over water.

            Kreacher made sure that everyone was touching him before he zeroed in on the area that Master Harry had last used magic.

            They all arrived with a small *Pop* Kreacher stepped back and decided he would wait till they were done and then apparate them back out of here.

            Lucius looked around and frowned. They were looking at the rubble of a house. Water was everywhere else. It appeared that this one area was saved from the blast. He looked around and was amazed that the place hadn’t been completely blown away from the blast. This was odd. Why wasn’t it underwater like the rest of the island? The place was in ruins and blown a part but by all rights it should be completely immerged into the ocean.

            Remus sniffed the air. “Smells like wild magic.” He sniffed deeply and recoiled. “It’s dark.” He mused out loud.

            “The darkness.” Everyone said at the same time in horror. That would explain the explosion.

            Severus had used his wand to pick up pieces of wood and brick out of the way. If this was the last spot that Kreacher had felt Harry use magic then Harry had to be here. He caught sight of something that looked like a trainer. He made a triumphant noise and lifted a piece of wood away.

            Everyone had scrambled to get close to Severus when he made the noise. Cries of horror were shared all around. There was a completely charred body. Well what they assumed was a body. There were chunks missing from the explosion.

            “I-Is that?” Remus couldn’t even finish the whole sentence.

            Lucius narrowed his eyes at the body. The trainer that was on the foot didn’t remotely look familiar. “That isn’t Draco or Harry. It is a woman’s body.” He said out loud.

            Everyone breathed out a sigh of relief at that. It appeared that no one wanted to believe that Harry and Draco were dead, despite all the evidence otherwise. Denial was a dangerous thing.

            “There is rope around her arm.” Fred pointed out. He did only mean arm, the right arm was completely blown out of its socket. All that was left was a gnarled stub.

            Remus had been lifting up wood and rubble with his own hands. He was too far gone in his grief to think about using his wand. His werewolf was too close to the moon to even consider not finding his cub. “Here is another one who is bound.” The entire lower body below the stomach had been blown apart. He wasn’t sure if the legs were somewhere in here or if the blast had just incinerated them.

            Fred and George sighed out in relief. “That isn’t Harry or Draco’s hair.” They said in unison. The man in question looked older than them. Not that there was much to the face that they could see. Merlin, what a horrible way to die. Fred had always thought that the killing curse was a shitty death but he would prefer to die that way over being blown up.

            “Here is another body.” Blaise and Pansy said. They were by what they guessed might have been a chair. It was hard to tell by the pieces of it that were left behind. Lucius walked over and frowned. The person was young enough to be either one of his sons but he just didn’t think that it was them. He transfigured a piece of wood into a cloth and gently rubbed some dirt off of the person so that he could get a clearer picture of the identity.

            Everyone raised their brows in surprise. This was the dead body of Finneus Flamel. He seemed to have had a better death. Only a foot seemed to have been missing from the explosion.

            “So than those two must be Nicolas and Perenelle.” Narcissa breathed out. She knew they were dead but she wanted to kick them anyways. She restrained herself… barely.

            Everyone started lifting more pieces of the destroyed house, all looking for any sign of Harry or Draco.

            Remus let out a cry of agony that let everyone else know that they had been found.

            Gasps of horror were shared all around when they came across the two missing members of their family.

            Harry and Draco were surprisingly intact. Except Harry was covered in gaping holes all over his body. They both had a hand entwined in the other’s. They were staring into each other’s eyes. Even from the distance that everyone was to the boy’s, they could tell that the stares were lifeless. There was no life to the bodies.

            Remus crumpled to the floor as he stared at the two of them. He couldn’t believe it. He had hoped that Kreacher had been wrong. He had hoped that it was just the darkness dimming the ownership bond. He had hoped with all that he had that Harry and Draco were still alive. Harry was the last connection that he had to James. He couldn’t stop the tears from flowing down his cheek. Harry was just as much of a son to him as Teddy was. Thoughts of Harry was the one thing that had kept him going when Dumbledore wouldn’t allow him to see Harry. Harry couldn’t be dead. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t right. Harry had too much to live for. Harry was the best person that he had ever come across. He was a true goodness in the world that he had ever even seen. Harry had such a life and spirit to him. His heart felt like it was crumbling into thousands of pieces. It wasn’t right. This was wrong! Harry couldn’t really be dead. This had to be a trick. It had to be another one of the Flamels’ traps. It just had to be.

            Severus stared down at the lifeless form of his godson and he knew that something in him had just died. He knew that he would never be fully okay after this. He couldn’t believe it. They had been right there! If only they had been quicker. If only they had gotten past the traps quicker. Then they would have been able to help. This didn’t have to happen! Even when Draco was a tiny baby, Severus knew that he would do anything for his godson. Draco was the closest thing he had ever had to a child. Despite the way his godson had grown up, he had always known that Draco had a gentle heart. He had always known that Draco would be one of the best men he would come to know. And he had been right. He wanted to murder the Flamels all over again. This was entirely their fault that he would now be faced with burying his godson. This wasn’t how he had thought this would turn out. He wanted to shout at the injustice of the whole situation. It wasn’t right. He kneeled right behind Remus and offered the man the best support that he could. He held his werewolf partner as they both let out their grief.

            Pansy buried her face into George’s neck and sobbed her heart out. This couldn’t be real. This had to be some joke. They would come back from this, right? Harry had brought Draco back last time. They had done it before. Why wasn’t there someone to bring them back this time? Didn’t Harry and Draco deserve it? She couldn’t look at their lifeless bodies any longer. She couldn’t stomach it. As it was, she wanted to throw up. She closed her eyes and her mind flashed with all of the memories that she had with Draco. She could see him as a shy three year old asking to be her friend. She could see the playdates that they had over the years. She was the first person that Draco had told that he was interested in men. She was the one that he came crying to when Harry turned down his friendship. She could see all the years of staying up late and sneaking out past curfew to joke around and just have fun. She could see all of the midnight secrets and junk food around the common room fire. She tried to stop the memories but they kept coming.

            She could see as her best friend crushed on Harry from afar for _years_. She could see Draco grow steadily stressed under the pressure of his family. She hadn’t saw him much during the war but the few times had been awful. Her best friend had been a shell of his former self. Finally, she saw Draco find a blossoming love with Harry. She saw all the positive changes to her best friend, she saw the way Harry loved him. She saw the pure love that they held for one another. The day that their souls had connected in the Manor would always be the high light of her life. She had never seen anything so beautiful in her life and she knew she never would again. One of the most heart lifting moments had been listening to Draco proposing to Harry with such heart crushing sweetness. The world needed Harry and Draco. The two soulmates just couldn’t be dead. Living without the two of them seemed so wrong. Seeing life without being able to share it with them filled her with such grief that she wasn’t sure she would ever come back from this.

            Blaise couldn’t see a thing through his tears but that wasn’t going to stop him from trying to see his friends. He was worried that if he looked away he would forget what they looked like. Draco couldn’t be dead. He just couldn’t be. Draco was his best friend. Draco was always there for him. Always willing to listen, even if he teased first. Draco was the only person besides Pansy who knew him and liked him anyways. He couldn’t look away. He could barely make out a mop of blonde through his blurred vision. This was the single worst moment of his entire life. He wanted to scream that this was an imposter. His Draco wouldn’t just be laying there. His Draco would already be mocking Blaise for crying. His Draco would have snarked out a snide comment and flattened his hair. His Draco would have made a sexual joke and held Harry close. His Draco wouldn’t be lying here. His Draco wouldn’t be dead. His Draco had too much to live for. This couldn’t be his Draco.

            George clutched Pansy to him like she was his life line, which could possibly be true. He looked to Harry and let out a broken sob. This was messed up on so many levels. The last time he had seen Harry’s lifeless form had been during the war. He had thought that Harry had been dead then but it had been a trick. Was this a trick too? Was Harry about to pop back up and let them know that it had been a part of the plan? His mind wouldn’t allow the possibility that his brother was dead. Harry had been his brother since the boy was in his second year. Harry was such a sweet gentle person. Harry walked through life in ways that he had always envied. Harry was family to him in ways that his own had failed. Harry believed in him and Fred when no one else did. Harry had given them the start up to their shop. He had given them the world when they felt like they were failing. Harry was more than their silent partner. Harry was the reason the shop existed in the first place. Harry was the heart of Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes. The longer George stared, the more he lost hope that Harry would make it out of this. His heart throbbed painfully and he turned away from the horrid sight of his dead brother.

            Fred was sure he wasn’t breathing properly. His heart was beating too fast to be considered healthy. This was not okay. This was a horrid nightmare. All of this was. He was asleep in their flat above the shop. He would wake up any minute and cutch Blaise in his sleep. He would wake up and revel in the fact that Harry and Draco were safe. Because this had to be a nightmare. This couldn’t be reality. It just couldn’t be. Only dreams were filled with things like this. He tried pinching himself awake but it wasn’t working! His eyes spilled over and he sobbed when his denial was crumbling. He sobbed when the horrid truth was staring him in the face. His brother was dead. Harry was dead and never coming back. He let out another sob before throwing himself at Blaise.

            Lucius clutched his wife’s hand and stared at the unmoving body of his children. Harry was as much of a son to him as Draco. He looked to Draco’s pale blonde hair to the complete opposite of Harry’s black hair. They were opposites that complimented each other. They were opposites in every way but they belonged together. He couldn’t even think of one of them without the other. He squeezed his eyes shut at the waterfall of tears that were spilling out when he caught sight of their entwined hands. Not even death had been enough to tear them a part. That thought alone broke him more than the sight of their dead bodies. Parents weren’t supposed to outlive their children. He was supposed to die before them. He wished that they had gotten here earlier. He would have sacrificed his own life for theirs. He would have done anything to ensure that their lives would be saved. He would have taken out his own beating heart if it saved them. He didn’t want to think that his children had lived such shitty lives and didn’t even get to enjoy life. They were only eighteen! They deserved to have a long and full life. This had to be some horrid mistake. This had to be some error somewhere. He clutched his heart when it throbbed painfully. The pain of his grief was a horrible reminder that this really had happened. That his sons were dead right in front of him. The pain made him feel alive in way that he had never wanted. The pain wouldn’t let him go numb. The pain was screaming at him. He couldn’t see past it, couldn’t hear anything. Even closing his eyes did nothing. All he could see was their lifeless bodies.

            Narcissa clutched her husband’s hand tightly before her knees buckled. Her baby boy couldn’t be dead. She hadn’t had a lot of time to get to know the man he had become. She hadn’t gotten the time to tell him how much she loved him. She had eighteen years of ‘I love you’ to make up for. Now she wouldn’t ever get the chance. She wouldn’t see her sons get married. She would never be made a grandmother. She would never get to see their dreams fulfilled. She would never get to see her son have a long and happy life. Couldn’t she offer her own life? Couldn’t she do _something_ to bring them back? There had to be something. She was willing to do anything. She would willingly give up every single thing that she had to make this right. Her lip trembled as she looked at the love that was still on their dead faces. She closed her eyes but all she could see was death. Death everywhere. Hadn’t their lives been filled with enough death? Why did this have to happen? She knew that they had previous lifetimes together but she wanted to be able to enjoy this one with them. She had no doubts that they would find each other in the afterlife. The love that her sons had for each other would ensure that they would always be together. But that thought was of little comfort right now. Perhaps many years down the road when she would be able to think of them without wanting to burst into a million pieces, that thought would be of some comfort. But not right now. Not when all she wanted to do was curl up and cry. Not when she herself wanted to die right along with them.

            There were several long minutes where everyone cried over the lives of the two men that had brought life and joy to their lives.

                                                                                               ~--~--~--~

            Everyone was too caught up in their sorrow and mourning to realize that the red rock in Harry’s free hand suddenly glowed a bright green.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I know I have put all of your emotions through the wringer and I am sorry for that! 
> 
> I know that the family is a loving bunch but I think that being in such a small confined space for so long would bring forward a lot of tension. And Lucius has never been a patient or nice guy. :P That would explain his grumpiness. 
> 
> Poor Kreacher landing in the water. Kreachers thoughts on his Masters' death, had tears in my eyes. Man, I was so emotional during this chapter. 
> 
> There isn't much I am going to say about the mourning of the family. That is eight people that I would be talking about. That is a lot. But I hopefully you all appreciated the eight completely different forms of thoughts on the deaths. I tried to show you all that everyone thinks and grieves differently. I am not sure which one of them hurt the most to me. Fred's thoughts about it being a dream killed my insides. Which one was the worst for you to read through?
> 
> Let me know what your thoughts are on this chapter. And what you think the green glow meant. 
> 
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	87. White Light

                Bright. Too bright. Draco’s lids were closed but he could see how bright it was behind his eyes. He wasn’t sure what was going on. Was he dead? Was he alive? Or was he just swimming in an existence of nothingness? He wasn’t conscious of memories or past experiences. He was just a being floating through the bright white. He was curious. That is a side effect of being human. He couldn’t help but wonder where he was or what he was supposed to be doing. Order. Wasn’t that what made the world go round? There was a rhyme or reason to the world, it was order that let people know where they fit in life. Draco was positive that he was supposed to be doing something. Doing nothing seemed like an odd choice. Was this supposed to be a pleasurable experience? Was doing nothing an experience he was supposed to enjoy?

            A distant sound made his ears twitch in awareness. He found himself wanting to fight the pain that he knew would happen if he opened his eyes. Did he want to look into blinding light for an unknown noise?

            “Draco.” The answer was yes, yes he did. Thousands of memories swam into his mind as he pried open his eyes and blinked heavily into the white light. He realized that the voice was familiar. He narrowed his eyes into the light as he tried to place it.

            “Love, can you hear me?” Draco snapped his head up. Harry. The first thing he realized as he fought his limbs to sit up was that the room was _not_ as bright as the thought it was. Just that the ceiling was bright lights, artificial blinding lights. That would explain the pain. He was in a tiny square room. No bigger than a kitchen. Every part of the room was white, to the walls to floor. Even his clothing, he was wearing a bright set of white robes. He turned his head and caught sight of his entire reason for existing. “Harry.” He breathed out before completely launching himself at him.

            Harry chuckled slightly as he held on to Draco. He let out a relieved sigh. He hadn’t been sure what to think when he came to and saw that Draco was just lying there unmoving. He had been worried that his soulmate was too far gone.

            “I wasn’t sure what had happened to us.” Draco whispered as he held on to Harry tighter. He could still see the way Harry looked with blood pouring down his face. The way Harry had continued to clutch the Sorcerer’s Stone even as he was dying. The way that Harry’s entire body began to crack and buckle under the weight of too much magic from the darkness.

            Harry’s memory was a little hazy. He could remember hearing Draco tell him to push out the darkness. He could remember knowing that they were going to die. “You offered to let Finneus go.” Harry said in amused confusion.

            Draco huffed at the fleeting ‘moment’ that they just had. Leave it to Harry to ruin it. He narrowed his eyes in a challenge. “What of it?”

            Harry grinned cheekily. “I think that you have really taken Hufflepuff pride in stride.” Draco growled lowly in his throat.

            “Do not tempt my patience. I will kill you.” Draco threatened with narrowed eyes. No one threatens his Slytherin reputation.

            Harry threw his head back and laughed loudly. Such a sweet sound that caused Draco’s mouth to twitch. He cursed inwardly at the fact that Harry could do that to him.

            “We are already dead love.” Harry reminded him before sobering up. Dead. That was an interesting thought. He thought of the family that they were leaving behind. He sighed sadly at all that they would be missing. He wouldn’t be there to see Teddy grow up. He wouldn’t be there for when the quartet got married and had children of their own. He wouldn’t be there to witness the love between Severus and Remus grow. He wouldn’t be there to see Lucius and Narcissa be wonderful grandparents.

           He swallowed thickly at his own life that was cut short. He had wanted to finish school and get married. He felt a pang of loss go through him at the thought of never being able to walk down the aisle and marry the love of his life. During his marriage to Noah, things had been rushed and small due to Larson. Harry had been really looking forward to their wedding. He wanted to exchange vows and tie himself for eternity to Draco. He wanted to live his life next to the best man he had ever known. He wanted to wake up every single day to the gorgeous blonde and fall asleep tucked up in his arms. He wanted to have a family. He felt another ache at the children that they wouldn’t be having. His eyes filled with tears as he covered his flat stomach. He wouldn’t ever get the chance to be pregnant with a child. He wouldn’t see them grow up and find their own way in life.

            Draco swallowed thickly at the emotions he could feel through Harry. His own eyes became watery when he realized what Harry was thinking. He covered Harry’s hand and rubbed his lover’s stomach. “We can still have that. We can have children in our next life.” He promised with a shaky breath. He tried to force away the ache of longing when thinking of the children they would never have. He had heard the way Harry described them and he had _wanted_ them. Wanted them with a ferocity that had surprised him. “We can have our dream wedding in another life.” His voice cracked.

            Harry closed his eyes tightly and buried his face in Draco’s neck. “What if there aren’t any other lives? What if three was our limit?” He whispered.

            Draco shook his head. “I can’t and won't believe that. We keep finding each other love. That must mean something. Look at us now, we are dead but still here with one another. Maybe we will enter our next life together.” He knew that no matter what they had given up, that he wouldn’t change a thing. The way they died had been necessary.

            Harry wiped his eyes and nodded slowly. “I love you.” He croaked as he stared into beautiful soft grey eyes.

            “Oh baby.” Draco breathed out slowly as he cupped Harry’s face. “I love you too. So much.” He whispered. “Not even death can stop my love for you.” Draco sighed internally, perhaps there was some truth to Harry’s Hufflepuff statement. He was a giant sap when it came to his green-eyed beauty.

            “You aren’t dead.” They both sprang into action at the close voice.

            Harry looked around before gaping inelegantly at the newcomer. Draco looked to Harry and the new person in confusion. “There are two of you.” He said slowly.

            Harry eyed his double warily. He could see that the other version of his was a little see through. Similar to a ghost but a little sturdier. It was odd watching his own self smile. He narrowed his eyes at the love shining in his other self’s eyes as he stared at Draco. Draco was _his_ , he would even fight his own double if he had to.  

            Draco entwined their fingers at the jealousy he could feel. He thought it was silly that Harry was jealous of a ghost Harry. He cocked his eyes as he noticed some subtle differences between the two of them. His eyes widened in realization. “Ethan.” He breathed out in surprise.

            Harry tilted his head back in shock. _Oh_. That would explain the ghost like features.

            Ethan smiled in delight at Draco. “Yes. It is I.” He looked to Harry. “I am you. I unfortunately do not have the same memories that you do. You have lived three lives, while I have only lived two.”

            Harry bit his lip. “I don’t remember Ethan knowing about his first life.” Ethan shook his head. “I did not know until after my death.” There was a sadness to his face that made Harry and Draco shift a little.

            Ethan looked to Draco with sad eyes. “I am sorry that I never listened to you.” Draco blinked a little at the apology. “It’s alright.” He mumbled a little uneasily. He had already had this conversation with Harry. It was so odd to think of two Harry’s.

            Harry frowned. “Why are you here?” He caught the arched brow and he rushed to explain. “I don’t mean in a negative way.” He reassured. “I just mean that you are me and I am you. So how come there is even a ghost version of you. I have your memories because I _am_ you. There shouldn’t be two of us.”

            Ethan nodded his agreement with a smile. “You are correct. There shouldn’t be two of us. Technically there isn’t.” Harry and Draco shared heavy confusion through the bond.

            “I am not you per say. I am your magic and your essence. Well, part of it.” He sighed at their obvious confusion. Draco grumbled a little at Ethan’s irritation. It wasn’t like they had ever been in a situation like this.

            “When I died, the Flamels took my very life essence and magic in a sacrifice for their stone. When you were reincarnated you were given most of your magic in this life but not all of it. You couldn’t have the magic that was trapped in the stone. I was trapped inside of the stone for nearly 700 years.”

            Harry and Draco shared a considering look. Harry was still a little confused but now things were starting to make sense.

            “Trapped like the rest of the souls?” Harry asked with furrowed brows. He wondered if they were going to see the other souls too. Did that mean that part of the extended darkness was a piece of himself?

            Ethan shook his head. “No. When I died, something happened. I did something that changed the stone.” Harry blinked rapidly as he tried to think of what Ethan had done. He thought back to the last few moments of his life.

            “We thought of our love for Noah.” He finally said out loud. He looked up to see Ethan smiling at him in approval. He looked to Draco and caught sight of a pretty blush staining his cheeks. Harry shared an amused look with himself. Merlin, that was going to take some getting used to.

            Draco pouted. They were double teaming him. He couldn’t hold up very well against one Harry and now there were two of them.

            “That is right.” Ethan spoke up. “I thought of the love that I held for Noah and it changed the stone slightly. The stone was not designed to hold love. The stone is one of the darkest rituals known to man. Something that dark filled with love? Well that was two warring natures that didn’t belong. I have spent 700 years fighting off the darkness.”

            Draco immediately frowned. That didn’t sound good at all. But he was intrigued at the love. He knew that dark rituals failed with light things. He wondered how the stone could have even been created with love inside of it. Ethan was right. They were two warring natures.

            “How did the stone manage to survive for so long? Shouldn’t the love have corroded the stone? Dark rituals aren’t meant for love.” Draco piped up.

            Harry had no idea if that was true. He was curious though.

            “The stone _was_ corroding.” That statement brought Harry and Draco up short. “What?” They said at the same time.

            Ethan smiled at them softly. “I was one life essence against three hundred others. It was difficult. Since it was two warring natures pitted against each other, the darkness of this stone was wanting me to conform to their nature. I had to fight constantly. Luckily enough for me, the love that I have for Noah was stronger than anything that they could throw at me.”

            Draco was filled with a mass of affection. He laid his head on Harry’s shoulder and didn’t mask the love he knew was in his eyes. Ethan and Harry were the same person. Even if they were right now in two different forms.

            Harry tilted his head to the side. “But there had to be some people that thought of their family members before they died.” He wondered. The darkness of the false stone had shown him memories of some of those victims and they had thought of people.

            Ethan nodded his head. “That is true but there are other factors that come into play as well. Magic is one. Not all of the people who died were wizards or witches. To fight off the darkness’s intended purpose, magic was needed. Then you have to take account of the victims themselves. The Flamels didn’t just pick random people off the street. They targeted a lot of people who wouldn’t attract attention. Widowers or people who just didn’t have families.” He held up a hand when Harry opened his mouth to argue.

            “I am not saying that none of their victims had families. There were a lot of people that did. They had wives and husbands or children. But those were the minority. There is also a mob mentality that you have to look into. The group as a whole had already conformed to the ritual. As they died for the stone, their life essence and will to fight was gone. They are beings with no body or conscious. They are just existing in the small form of the stone. What one does, the other’s follow. Even if there was to say fifty or so people who _had_ magic _and_ thought of loved ones as they died, that is not enough to fight the status quo of the stone.”

            Draco was a little out of his element now. Sentient dark rituals were not something that really existed. He wasn’t sure what would be normal or not.

            “Plus. None of them were soulmates.” He smiled widely. “Soulmates love on a deeper level. A level that other people just can’t understand.”

            Harry smiled down at Draco. That was something he definitely already knew. He looked up to Ethan and smiled at him before he considered what he had said. “When I was Ethan, I didn’t know that we were soulmates.”

            Ethan laughed. “The thing about being in isolation for so long is that there is a lot to think about. I came to the conclusion that we were soulmates pretty quickly. I myself had wondered why I was able to fight the darkness so easily and that was the only thing I can think of. But now… now I _know_ it is true because I can see it.” He said in awe as he stared at the two of them.

            “There is a beauty to you both. I can see your souls. They are intertwined together. A lot of people think that soulmates share one soul but that is not the case. I can see it. You both have your own souls but they are so far intertwined, two souls that complement the other. You were meant for each other. It is like one soul is the key and the other the lock. One only has purpose with the other. Without Harry, there is no need for the key that Draco represents.” He finished with a grin.

            Harry wished that he could see what they looked like to Ethan. He wished that he could see their bond and connection. Draco sighed happily at the explanation. It all made sense to him. He liked that he was the key in the metaphor. He liked to think that he was the only one that could unlock Harry. It was a sweet thought.  

            Ethan shook his head. “I am getting off topic.” He said with a wry grin. “The stone was corroding. I would have guessed that without your interference, the stone would have lasted maybe another sixty years. Give or take a decade or two.” He said with a little shrug. “I was winning the fight.” There was a proud but smug grin on his face.

            Harry bit his lip in confusion. He was impressed but this seemed complicated. “How come it wasn’t like the stone that I touched? The false stone’s darkness wanted revenge.”

            Ethan hummed in thought. “That is a good question.” He admitted. “The key words there, were false stone. That ritual failed. Nothing came out of the botched experiment. So the stone’s true purpose never came to fruition. That stone didn’t have the will of the Flamels to go against. The Sorcerer’s Stone was bound in the ritual. The darkness in the Sorcerer’s Stone had to do the bidding of the Flamels. Their purpose was the Elixir of life. They had one purpose and that was it. Your false stone had no purpose since it failed the ritual. There was no will there. Nothing to fight against. That stone had no warring natures either. That darkness had nearly 700 years to plan its revenge and just waited for the right moment to strike. Which came along in the form of you.” He pointed to Harry with a regretful expression.  

            Draco considered this. It made sense to him in a way. Since it was a failed ritual there would be no order to the stone. Nothing to tell it what to do. The Flamels had made the mistake in thinking that since the ritual failed that that meant that the stone was inert. That had been their biggest error.

            “Which I would say happened to the other false stone that you touched right before the end. Two darkness’ that wanted revenge. That along with the volatile darkness to the Sorcerer’s Stone made it possible for you to push it out of your body.”

            Harry narrowed his eyes in thought. “What happened to the darkness? Is it still out there?”

            “No.” Ethan assured him. “You released the darkness in a burst of wild magic. If you had done a ritual and put the darkness inside of another vessel than the darkness would have been able to live inside of that. But just like any form of magic that is released, it unleashed on the surrounding area. My guess, the whole place went under.”

            Draco hummed. Wild magic. He had hoped that this is what would happen but he hadn’t been entirely sure. There would be a buzz of magic around the area for a long time but nothing sentient any longer. He thought back to when Harry asked why Finneus hadn’t released Lucinda’s magic into the air. Doing so would have torn apart the Manor and the buzz of magic would have been the same. It would have been in the air for a long time before dissipating. If this had really been what had happened, then the darkness was gone.

            “Why didn’t you get released too?” Harry asked.

            “Because you never took me into your body like you did with the three darkness’. I don’t conform to the darkness. I fought to stay inside of the stone.”

            Harry and Draco looked around warily. “We are inside the stone?” Draco asked in distaste. He huffed when Ethan started laughing.

            “No. How in the world would you have gotten inside the stone? Have you been in any dark rituals that I am not aware of?”

            Draco glared at him and folded his free arm across his chest. “No.” He pouted slightly which made the man laugh more.

            Harry ignored the laughter and Draco’s pouting. “You said that we aren’t dead. But then if we aren’t dead, then where are we?”

            Ethan cocked his head to the side. “I would classify this as a form of limbo. Like an astral or spiritual plane. You are not in hell, heaven or any form of an afterlife. You are in an in-between.”

            Draco arched a brow and looked around the plain empty white room. “Well they need a new decorator. That is for sure.” He mumbled under his breath. Ethan and Harry both snorted before rolling their eyes. Draco really didn’t like that there was two of them. How was he supposed to hold out against them both?

            “Why are we here?” Harry asked. “Why haven’t we moved on to an afterlife?”

            Ethan looked at them pointedly. Harry and Draco shared a confused look. Was that look supposed to signify something?

            Ethan huffed in annoyance. “ _I_ am the reason that you have not moved on.” He rolled his eyes at their surprise. “Do not forget that I am an entire life’s essence. Even though you are me and I am you, I am still not _exactly_ you. I am your magic and life. I stuck around in the stone to give you the life that was taken from you.”

            There was a stunned silence as Harry and Draco stared at Ethan in shock. Harry shook his head vehemently. “I am not living without Draco.”

            Draco was torn between kissing Harry senseless and smacking him. He opened his mouth but Harry cut him off with a glare. “Don’t even fucking say it Draco. I refuse to live without you. If you think for one moment that I would want to go live my life without you by my side then you have gone mad. That isn’t a life I would want. You complete me. I would be living half a life without you. I refuse.” Harry told him firmly and a little angrily.

            “I would rather just go into our next life together.” Harry ground out.

            Draco melted into Harry and kissed his neck. “I know. I wouldn’t have been able to do it either but I just wanted to give you a chance. I would never hold you back. You know this.”

            Harry lifted Draco’s chin so that he could see into glittering grey eyes. His anger evaporated. “I know.” He said softly.

            Ethan cleared his throat and they looked to him and noticed that he was amused. “As touching as you two are, I never said that it would only be for Harry.”

            Draco blinked rapidly. “You mean?” He couldn’t even voice his question out loud in case it couldn’t happen. He didn’t want to get his hopes up just for them to dash.

            “Didn’t you hear me when I said that your souls are intertwined? What happens to Harry’s life will happen to yours as well, Draco.” He paused to smile at the wonder on their faces.

            “My essence will be enough for the both of you. Your magic will not be as powerful as if I had combined with Harry while he was alive. But it will still be about what you had before. Only, it is more like one magic being split into the both of you.”

            Draco wasn’t too concerned that his magic was essentially gone. This was just one other thing that he had with Harry. Having his magic be his own but also Harry’s was just going to be an experience he was looking forward to. They shared a bond, love, and their lives. Why not magic too?

            “But if you don’t want this then I can just combine with Harry and you two can move onto your next life. You don’t have to continue with this one if you don’t want to.”

            Harry was surprised that it wasn’t an easy question. He thought it would be. Did he want to go back to this life? Did he want to spend the rest of his life in the spot light? Going back didn’t just mean going back to their family. It meant going back as _The_ Harry Potter. It meant all of the responsibility too.

            Draco wanted to go back but he could also see the excitement of going into another life too. He would follow Harry anywhere. “If we go back, they are going to kill us.”

            Harry could see the confusion on Ethan’s face and he chuckled. “He is talking about our family.” He looked to Draco. “Oh yeah. I can’t even imagine the talking to we will receive. What are the chances Severus will leave his potions out of it and your father won’t hex us?”

            Draco winced at the mental image that pictured. “Slim. We might have to run for it.” Harry laughed out loud. “Definitely wouldn’t be a Gryffindor with that attitude.”

            Draco mock glared. “Good. It is a proven fact that only prats come out of Gryffindor. While sophistication is the embodiment of Slytherins.” He raised his nose in the air and dismissed Harry with a haughty wave.

            Harry’s mouth twitched. Gods, he loved this man. Even when he was a snooty handful.

            “Does that mean you will go back?” Ethan asked them softly. They looked at one another and nodded their heads.

            “Yeah, we will go back.” They said in unison. This was the right decision. Harry felt a little thrill at the idea of getting to have the life that he had envisioned them having. Only this time, there would be no more villains… hopefully. If there were then he was _so_ not interfering. Society could handle the next Dark Lord.

            Ethan smiled warmly at them. “Alright.” He told them both. He looked to Harry. “Brace yourself. I will combine with you, I need you to keep the bond open so that you can share all of this through the soulmate bond.” He waited until Harry nodded his agreement before gliding forward and just entering Harry’s body.

            Harry stilled at the odd experience. He was surrounded in a cold embrace, just as if he had walked through a ghost. It was unpleasant. He could feel magic thrumming throughout his whole body before suddenly the cold was replaced with a warm feeling. Like his whole body was filled with liquid heat. It wasn’t a burning heat but more like he was in front of a fire. It was warm and comfortable. His mind was filled with all of the memories that he already had inside of him. They were Ethan’s life. He knew that the combining process was over as soon as the last memory filtered across his mind.

            Draco had felt everything that Harry had, at first it was just secondhand but when the warmth spread inside of Harry, it had spread in him too. He felt like his whole body was being cherished. He looked around and noticed that the room was dimming away, like they were moving somehow.

            “Harry, it is getting brighter.” Harry looked around and realized that Draco didn’t mean brighter white light. He meant true light. Like when you open up a window and nature’s light shines through. They were leaving behind the false lights and entering true light. Their hands were still entwined together before they were sucked into a darkness for just a moment.

            The first thing they registered was more white light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, what did you think of this chapter? 
> 
> Harry being possessive over Draco against his own self. Haha. 
> 
> Now some things are starting to make sense. Hopefully. Now you know what the green light was when Ethan was dying. 
> 
> Okay, you might be a little confused with the different darkness talk. There were four stones. With four separate darkness'. Perenelle destroyed one of the stones. So that darkness is gone. There was the darkness inside of Harry from the false stone he touched. Darkness from the last false stone and darkness from the real Sorcerer's Stone. 
> 
> Now Ethan's life essence is inside the stone but he was able to contact Harry and Draco from limbo. 
> 
> So what did you think of this chapter? 
> 
> I will respond to all of the comments from yesterday in a couple of hours. I am in a hurry right now, that is why the Authors Notes are not as long as usual. I do love hearing from all of you!
> 
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	88. Alive Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is slightly later than it has been in a while. I had an Easter party I had to go to and got back pretty late to start writing. Sorry about that. 
> 
> *NOTE* Now I know that some of you guys have noticed that the chapters now say that 90 is the last one. That may or may not hold true. I might go to 91 or even 92. It all depends on how I get this out. We are approaching the end of my story. *Sniffle* But do not worry. I have made this universe into a little series. There will be a lot of things that did not get addressed yet that will be in their own little story. So if you were hoping for more Weasley interactions, that will be in the series. Stuff with Fleur and Bill. Whether Demetrius and Charlie get their dream reservation. What happens in their final year at Hogwarts? How does lawyer school go? All of that and more will be in my series. So no worries guys. This story may be done but the series is not. Be patient my lovelies. :)

            Kreacher wasn’t sure how long was a respectable time for humans to mourn the loss of a person. Was he supposed to wait the rest of the night before taking them out of here? He wasn’t sure if he should speak up. Not having a Master was throwing him off, Kreacher had no idea how an elf was to act in a situation like this. He took his eyes off of the grieving family and looked to his dead Masters. His ears that had been previously drooped in sadness, suddenly perked up in confusion and interest.

            “Lord Malfoy?” Kreacher asked hesitantly. He knew if he was still an employed elf that he wouldn’t have spoken up. It wasn’t his place but now, he needed to say something.

            Lucius wiped his eyes and everyone looked at the elf curiously. House elves usually only speak up when they are requiring something of the head of house. He arched a brow when the elf didn’t say anything, only pointed at the direction he knew his dead sons were. He braced himself before looking.

            Everyone gasped as one at the sight of Harry and Draco. They were still laying on the ground but now they were surrounded by a glowing green light.

            “What is happening?” Remus whispered. Green light was never a good sign. It was the color of the killing curse. Normally that would make him panic but Harry was already dead. His eyes filled with tears at the renewed pain that that thought brought him.

            Severus narrowed his eyes trying to see where the light was coming from. There weren’t any living people but them around to cast a spell. He frowned. “It’s coming from the thing in his hand.” He pointed to a green stone in Harry’s palm.

            Lucius leaned forward to take a look at the stone. He tilted his head to the side. Why would Harry be clutching a stone as he was dying? His eyes widened. “That must be the Sorcerer’s Stone.” He wanted to take a step back to put some distance between him and the stone, but he forced himself to stay where he was.

            “Why would he touch it after he knew what the false stone had done?” Remus wondered. That was just stupid, which Harry wasn’t. The whole thing was rather confusing.

            “Perhaps it was a part of his plan?” Fred and George offered.

            “Or maybe it was needed to get rid of the darkness?” Pansy and Blaise piped up.

            Lucius wasn’t sure what to do. “Do you think that we should knock it out of his hand? Do you think it is harming his b-body?” His voice cracked. When no one said anything, he braced himself and took a step forward.

            An unearthly growl made him stop in his tracks and look around wildly. What the hell was that? More growling came from all around them. Everyone besides Lucius all huddled close together in one group. Lucius wasn’t sure if he should retreat or stay where he was. If it was some kind of trap, then moving could have a bad side effect.

            Remus sniffed the air and let out a horrified gasp. Seconds later everyone groaned and covered their mouths with their hands.

            “What the fuck is that? It smells worse than Aunt Muriel’s wrinkly skin.” George asked with a shudder.

            “Worst mental picture, ever.” Fred shuddered. George really needed to stop using that line.

            Severus and Lucius shared horrified looks. “You have got to be kidding me!” Lucius said in anger. How many vicious things did the Flamels have at their disposal? After nearly dying countless times, it shouldn’t really surprise him. He knew it shouldn’t, but he honestly didn’t ever expect that they would have a fucking hellhound. He knew that smell. Liquid Death. His father had been an expert on the subject. He would be able to recognize it in a heartbeat. Only, manmade Liquid Death has nothing on the real thing. The rancid odor of a real hellhound is drastically more potent than manmade Liquid Death.

            Lucius sighed when he saw the telltale black apparation. He really did take a step away this time.

            Remus narrowed his eyes. Of course there was a hellhound. This long road journey to purgatory wouldn’t be complete without the guards protecting the sanctuary. Leave it to the Flamels to have something so vicious safeguarding the house.

            “It’s a hellhound.” Blaise whispered in horror when the gigantic black beast fully materialized.

            “We are so fucked.” Fred, George and Pansy said in unison. How in the world were they supposed to fight a monster that can’t be killed?

            Severus tilted his head to the side when the hellhound didn’t immediately attack them. If it was a guardian to the house then it should have. “It isn’t behaving normally.”

            No sooner did he say that when it opened its mouth and spat out a snake. A _very_ venomous snake. Not to mention a _very_ angry snake. The hissing and the rapid tail were giant indicators to not move.

            _‘I cannot believe you put me in your mouth. Your insides absolutely reek. You just wait Azad, wait until I tell speaker.’_

“Why did it spit out its dinner?” Fred whispered. He was confused as to why there was a hellhound here in the first place and why they weren’t getting the fuck out of here. They couldn’t fight a hellhound.

            _‘Dinner? Oh. No. He. Didn’t. I will show you who is dinner.’_ Sephtis hissed before lunging forward.

            Fred held up his hands in defense but when he didn’t feel anything, he opened his eyes. He gaped at the sight of the hellhound holding the snake’s tail with its paw. That wasn’t a sight he thought he would see.

            _‘Let me go. Do not make me bite you.’_ Sephtis knew that was an empty threat. _‘Oh all right smelly. I won’t bite him… yet.’_ As soon as Azad lifted up his tail, Sephtis slithered his way up the hellhound and wound himself around the hellhound’s neck.

            “A hellhound and a snake that are friends.” Remus said slowly. He was having a hard time buying this.

            _‘We are not friends. I command him. There is a difference.’_

“Why aren’t they attacking us? Or at the very least, why isn’t the hellhound attacking us?” George wondered.

            _‘He has a name. Azad. Unless you want me to call you human, then you need to show him the proper respect. Same with me. My name is Sephtis. Learn it.'_

Lucius frowned when the hellhound laid down and tucked its legs underneath. That was definitely not the behavior of a normal hellhound. Not that he has ever actually _seen_ one.

            Remus took a step to the side to gauge a reaction from the hellhound. He could see the way the hellhound tracked his movements. He was able to move any direction that he wanted except for forward. He had tried to go forward and the hellhound let out a deep warning growl.

            “It won’t let us get to Harry and Draco.” Severus stated with a frown. Was it something to do with the stone in Harry’s hand? Was the hellhound actually protecting the stone and not the house? That would make sense.

            _‘Why would we let you near Speaker and Draco? We don’t like you.’_

“Do you think it is because of the stone or something else?” Lucius asked with furrowed brows.

            “Does it matter?” Narcissa asked in a strained voice. “I want to be able to get to my boys. We can’t let a hellhound dictate whether we are allowed near.” She wanted to get to them and see what was going on. She wanted to take them away from this hellhole so that she could give them a proper burial.

            _‘We have gone over this. His name is Azad. Are all humans this stupid?’_

Narcissa was going to ignore the hellhound and get to her sons but before she could even fully think of moving, Harry and Draco’s bodies began to levitate in the air. There was still a green light surrounding them. With them being in the air, it was obvious that it was coming from the stone. But what was curious was that the stone was still clutched into Harry’s hand. Surely, it should have fallen.

            Pansy gasped and pointed at Harry. “His skin is healing!”

            Everyone looked closely. Sure enough, they could see the skin slowly sealing and leaving behind a light pink color.

            “What is happening?” Fred and George said in unison. They weren’t sure what was going on but it didn’t seem like a bad thing.

            “Do you think… that it is bringing them back?...” Remus asked with his throat closed tightly. He wanted to think that. He wanted to believe in miracles but this one seemed a little too out there. After everything they had heard about the Sorcerer’s Stone, he didn’t think that was possible.

            Severus didn’t want to answer that, so he just wrapped his arms around his lover and held tight.

            “Color is coming back to their faces.” Narcissa whispered. She blinked rapidly as her eyes filled with tears. She didn’t want to voice her thoughts unless this was just some horrid trick.

            “They are breathing!” Blaise yelled in excitement. Everyone held their breath when the pair were lowered back to the ground and the green light started to fade. When the stone turned to a dingy red, everyone wondered what that meant. Before the stone had turned green it had been a vibrant ruby color, but now it was a faded red.

            The group let out their held breath as one when Harry and Draco started coughing. Everyone took a step forward, all planning to rush to them and see if this was all real but another growl interrupted them.

            “I really hate that thing.” Fred and George grumbled. They just wanted to see if Harry and Draco were alright but the stupid hellhound was blocking them.

            _‘Where is the respect? Azad could eat you in a heartbeat. Thing? You are a thing.’ _

Harry groaned. It was loud. Too loud. He knew that was Sephtis and he wished he would shut up. He could feel annoyance in the bond and knew that Draco felt the same way. He felt two things in his hands. One was soft and warm. He squeezed softly and smiled when he felt an answering squeeze. That was Draco. He frowned at whatever was in his other hand. It was hard and rough. His eyes flew open when he realized that it was the Sorcerer’s Stone. Everything had come back to him in a rush. The darkness. The Flamels. The stones. Dying. Ethan. All of it came back suddenly. He let go of the stone.

            Draco didn’t want to get up. He really didn’t. He was comfortable where he was… well mostly, there was something digging into his back. If he had to guess it would probably be a rock. But it was easy to ignore. He didn’t think he had the strength to get up or the will to either. He just wanted to lay here till he felt like getting up. He could feel Harry’s hand in his own and that was enough for him. All he really needed to make his life complete was Harry. He frowned when he picked up the end of a conversation. The voice hadn’t been one he had heard before. He was positive of that.

            Harry could feel the confusion and he frowned. He was already facing Draco but his lover’s eyes were closed. He tried lifting his head but it felt like it weighed a ton. He groaned in pain. That was enough for Draco to snap his eyes open. Harry in pain was not something that could sit well with him.

            “Fuck me sideways, that hurt.” Harry rasped out quietly. “Don’t try moving.”

            “I wasn’t going to.” Draco said with a slight chuckle. He grimaced in pain when just laughing hurt. Fuck. What the hell had happened to them as they died? He felt like everything inside of him was aching.  

            No one was able to speak as they heard Harry and Draco talk. It was like they couldn’t believe what they were seeing or hearing. Some wondered if it was just an illusion. They had seen the dead bodies with their own eyes. So how was it that they were alive now?

            _‘Is that a word for mating rituals? Speaker you did say that I could watch one.’_

Harry grinned widely. **_‘I did say that, didn’t I? But you still can’t watch me and Draco perform a mating ritual.’_**

Harry felt shock go through the bond and he looked into Draco’s wide eyes with worry.

            “What’s wrong love?” Harry whispered. He fought the pain of moving his limbs to rub Draco’s cheek.

            Draco frowned at Harry’s pain. “Don’t hurt yourself on my account. Please.” He whispered. Harry ignored him and continued to cup his lover’s face.

            Draco huffed in annoyance but smiled at him anyways. “I heard you. I heard you speaking to Sephtis.” Harry arched a brow. Of course he heard him, it wasn’t like he had been trying to be quiet. Draco shook his head. “No Harry. I _understood_ the parseltongue.”

            Harry gaped openly at Draco and then frowned at the amusement the blonde was sending through the bond.

            They stared at each other in wonder before both coming to the same conclusion. “Ethan.” They said at the same time. Ethan had told them that Draco would have half of Harry’s magic. That would have included the ability to speak parseltongue.

            The watchers were all severely confused. Harry was Ethan, wasn't he?

            Draco grinned wickedly. He had always wanted to be able to speak parseltongue.

            _‘I have two speakers?? You taught Draco how to speak the language. I must be the king of all serpents to have more than one speaker.’_

Harry and Draco snorted at that. Draco was pleased to be able to finally get to know the snake.

            _‘Next teach Azad. He does not listen to me. Oh, by the way, he SWALLOWED me whole.’_

Harry frowned but he was excited that both Azad and Sephtis made it out alive. “Azad?” Harry asked. He could feel the wagging of a tail smacking against his foot and he chuckled. The pain wasn’t as bad as before so the laugh didn’t hurt too much.

            Lucius gaped for a moment. Harry had named a hellhound? And said beast was wagging its tail like a common pet?

            “There you are. That’s a good boy. You got Sephtis to safety, didn’t you?” He cooed. When the tail wagging increased, he laughed again. “Such a smart boy, huh?”

            Draco sighed at how far gone his lover was over Azad. The hound already had him wrapped around his finger. He did have to admit that the hound was rather adorable.

            Everyone gaped at the domestic hellhound that was happily wagging his tail. Severus looked to the sky to bring him patience. Harry bloody Potter found and domesticated a hellhound. Of course he did.

            “Azad, remember what we talked about? Can you lower the smell?” Draco asked in a soft voice. He grinned when the smell immediately went away. “Thank you.” He told him with feeling. The smell had been causing his already splitting headache, to ache more. He giggled when he felt a lick to his clothed legs.

            “Hey.” Harry complained. “What about me?” He asked the hound. He laughed when he felt a lick to his leg too.

            “Our animals just like me more than you.” Draco teased with a grin. Harry rolled his eyes but it didn’t really bother him if that was true. He liked Draco more too.

            _‘I am not a pet like Azad. I own you, not the other way around. Remember? I command you.’_ Harry rolled his eyes again. Draco raised his brows in surprise at the snark the snake was releasing. This snake had a hell of a personality.

            _‘ **You do not command us.’** _ Draco told him firmly. He felt a thrill go through him at the fact that he was speaking parseltongue!

            Narcissa gripped her husband’s arm tightly when she heard her son speaking parseltongue. What was going on?

            _‘We shall see.’_ Sephtis hissed. They both could tell that the snake wasn’t convinced. _‘Do we have to keep Azad? I don’t like him. He ate me and he wouldn’t let me kill the human on fire.’_

Harry huffed. **_‘Yes, we are keeping Azad. He didn’t eat you. He saved you. If you hate him so much then why are you on him? What human on fire? Finneus?’_**

_‘I just… like his height. He is rather big.’_ Draco rolled his eyes at the weakest excuse he had heard in a long time. It was obvious that Sephtis liked Azad and just didn’t want to admit it.

            _‘There are humans around us. Two of them are on fire and one of them said that I was Azad’s dinner. I tried to bite him but Azad wouldn’t allow me to. Like he has the right to deny me! You put me in charge, remember?’_

Draco looked to Harry and silently demanded him to fix that. He wasn’t touching that at all.

            Harry sighed. **_‘Yes, I sort of put you in charge but you guys are a team. Act like it.’_**

_‘A team where I am in charge. Alright I can handle that.’_ Harry groaned but decided to let it go. Fighting with Sephtis was not worth the little energy he had. He was more concerned with the humans that were on fire.

            Harry braced himself and forced his aching limbs to allow him up. He shakily sat up but put his head in his hands at the nausea that the action brought. Draco sighed heavily at the emotions he was feeling in the bond. He thought his lover was stupid for moving when it was obvious that they shouldn’t, but he wasn’t going to have Harry be the only one to suffer. He didn’t even care that he was being such a sap.

            Draco winced as he hauled himself up. He managed a horrid half sitting position and leaned on Harry. He couldn’t sit on his own.

            Harry smiled and raised his hand to pat the side of Draco’s cheek as he wrapped an arm around Draco’s waist.

            “I feel like utter shite.” Draco moaned in despair.

            “I know.” Harry said in amusement.

            “Everything aches.” Draco continued to complain.

            “I know.”

            “My stomach feels like it is clawing its way out.”

            “I know.” Harry told him with a shake of his head that he instantly regretted doing.

            “My head hurts.” Draco was getting frustrated at the lack of a different answer that his statements were bringing.

            “I know.”

            “I love you.” He changed it up.

            Harry grinned and his eyes softened. “I know.” Before his soulmate could pout, he leaned in closer. “I love you too.” He promised him before kissing him gently and softly.

            Draco relished the love that was flowing so strongly through the bond. It made his dizzy head even more dizzy but this was a dizziness that he would gladly take. He moved his lips eagerly against Harry’s.

            A cough jarred them apart. They snapped their heads up and then moaned in pain.

            Harry and Draco’s eyes widened in surprise to see their entire family standing there. Some had faces of shock, some were crying and some looked annoyed.

            **_‘It’s too late to run away.’_** Draco whispered in parseltongue. Harry’s mouth twitched. **_‘I know, my lovely Hufflepuff.’_** Harry retorted easily.

            “I fucking hate you.” Draco grumbled in a glare. “And stop using stereotypes. I am sure there are plenty of Hufflepuffs who are brave.”

            Harry bit his lip to stop from laughing. “You know who cares about the generalizations of Hufflepuffs? Other Hufflepuffs.” He snorted in amusement. 

            Severus narrowed his eyes, it didn’t take a genius to figure out that they were talking about either hiding or running away from them. He rolled his eyes. That was _not_ happening.

            “I hate you.” Draco repeated again.

            Harry grinned and kissed the side of Draco’s head. “No you don’t. You love me more than anything in the world.” He pointed out.

            Draco narrowed his eyes. “Where does it say that you can’t love _and_ hate something? Love is not exclusive. I can love the taste of certain fruits but hate the texture of them.”

            Harry’s grin faded and he bit his lip at that. He hadn’t thought about it like that. Before he could begin any self-doubt, Draco reached forward and cupped his cheeks.

            “I could never hate anything about you.” He promised him. “I love everything about you. Even your horrid humor and awful teasing methods.”

            Harry grinned and kissed Draco’s nose. “I could never hate you either.” He pointed out.

            “I know.” Draco said haughtily. Harry rolled his eyes but continued to smile anyways.

            “So are you two just going to ignore the giant elephant in the room?” Severus asked loudly, interrupting their conversation.

            Harry and Draco winced and looked to them nervously.

            The quartet looked around rapidly. “What elephant? I don’t see one.”

            Harry, Severus and Remus laughed loudly. The force of his laughter was hurting Harry’s stomach but he couldn’t stop it.

            “It is a saying.” Severus said in annoyance. “I didn’t mean it literally. I was asking them if they were going to stop avoiding talking about what had happened to them.”

            “Then why not just say that?” Fred and George grumbled in annoyance. They would appreciate it if they stopped saying odd muggle sayings.

            Severus pinched the bridge of his nose. He was going to hurt someone in a minute.

            Harry rubbed the back of his head nervously. “Well um, the darkness talked to me last night and we had a conversation about why it was staying inside of me.” He winced at their thunderous looks.

            He hurried to explain before they could interrupt. “The darkness was the souls of all the innocent people the Flamels used on the false stone. It wanted revenge on their creators. It wasn’t going to harm us.” He finished nervously.

            Lucius narrowed his eyes. “Let me get this straight. A darkness that has killed Draco, taken you over numerous times and nearly killed Draco _again_ , tells you that it doesn’t want to harm you. That it just wants revenge against the Flamels and you _believed_ it. You didn’t talk to us or explain anything, you just took off with Finneus.” He finished incredulously.

            Harry frowned at Lucius. The man made a good point but that didn’t change anything. “That is the exact reason why we didn’t tell you guys. We both knew that you all wouldn’t agree to it. We couldn’t place the darkness inside of Finneus. His dark nature would have corrupted the plan that the darkness had. We had to get the darkness to Nicolas and Perenelle to succeed.”

            Severus curled his lip. “You took the choice of us agreeing with you out of our hands. Whether we agreed or not, you shouldn’t have just gone on your own. Do you have any idea of the shite we went through to get to you guys?!” He asked in a dangerously low voice. 

            Draco bit his lip in worry. Oh, he knew exactly what kind of horrors were out there. But they had Finneus to guide them here. That was something that had come in handy. It would have been hard to come through the water without the inside knowledge.

            “You made it past the Slovakian Seekers and the Lactera too?” Draco wondered.

            At their horrified faces, it must have meant that they had gone a different route. “You faced Lactera?” Narcissa asked in shock.

            “A whole pack.” Harry admitted with a wince.

            Remus blinked rapidly at the sheer fact that they had survived that. He couldn’t help but stare at Harry in wonder. His cub was alright. His cub was alive. He could still feel the pain of losing Harry and it was confusing. He could see that Harry was alive. He let go of Severus and hurried forward and wrapped up Harry in a tight hug.

            Harry winced at the pain of the hug but returned it just as fiercely. “I thought you were dead. I was the one who found the bodies.” He whispered. Harry closed his eyes. “I am sorry that you had to be the one to find us.” He pulled away from the hug and smiled softly when Remus sat on the ground beside him.

            As soon as Remus sat down, Narcissa rushed up to Draco. She hugged him tightly. “Don’t do that again. I can’t lose you. Either of you.” She told him softly before also sitting on the ground. Draco dropped his mouth open in shock that his pureblood mother was _willingly_ sitting on the floor.

            Harry smiled at the duo before looking to the others. “I am sorry that we did not tell you what we had planned. It was wrong of us but it was necessary. I wouldn’t have changed it if I could. The only thing I would change is you coming after us.” He shrugged at the anger on some of their faces.

            Draco rolled his eyes. “Knock it off. We are the ones who just died. We are the ones who are aching like you wouldn’t believe. Yes, we didn’t tell you. But like Harry said, you wouldn’t have let us go. This was something that _had_ to be done. There weren’t any other options. It took us months of searching to come up with _any_ plan. Severus’s plan was too risky. The darkness would have been way too dangerous in the hands of someone as dark as him. This is not excusing our behavior, we are just telling you the facts. Be angry if you want. I don’t care. Your anger won’t change anything. I get it, you were worried. But let us see the worry and not the anger. I didn’t bloody die to get yelled at. Save it for when I don’t feel like I am going to keel over again. I am nauseous, sore and starving. If you don’t have a solution to any of those issues than leave me alone.” Draco demanded. He didn’t even care how his rant looked to them. This had been one hell of a day and he just wanted it to end. They could yell at him later.

            _‘This is why I like Draco more. Speaker you are too soft.’_ Harry grumbled at that.

            Draco grinned at Harry. “Why does he call you speaker?”

            “Because he doesn’t like my name. He thinks of it like being hairy instead of Harry.” Harry shrugged. Draco snickered but then sobered when he looked back up at the rest of the group.

            Lucius sighed. He knew that his son was right but he was still so angry that they had risked their lives like that. His sons had died. That had happened. He was allowed to be angry. He wanted to lock them up and never let them out unless they signed a magical contract to never do something so foolish again.  

            Severus would concede the argument for now but this was far from over. He would harass them about this later on. He reached into his pocket to unshrink his robes. He pulled out several vials. He mixed three together and then handed them over along with a couple more. “Drink.” He ordered a little stiffly.

            Harry and Draco sighed at his anger. It would take some time before everyone would be alright with this. They immediately drank the potions and sighed in relief when they started to take effect.

            “How are you alive?” Fred asked the question that everyone had been wanting to know.

            Pansy smacked him on the back of his head. “Fred! You can’t just ask someone why they are alive. You should have worded that differently.”

            Fred glared daggers at her and stepped to the opposite side of Blaise.

            Harry and Draco laughed at them before looking down. It took a bit of explaining but between the both of them, they were able to get through it all.

            “Ethan’s magic was in the stone the whole time?” Blaise asked in awe.

            “You share magic?” Pansy said in surprise.

            “That is why you can speak parseltongue.” Fred mused in delight. He was jealous.

            “Death seems to just let you keep coming back.” George whispered with a shake of his head.

            “Yes.” Harry and Draco answered to all of their questions.

            Harry stood up to stretch out his muscles. He suddenly breathed out a whoosh of air when something tackled into his legs.

            “Master Harry! Kreacher has waited respectfully for the family to speak but Kreacher just can’t wait anymore.” He croaked out.

            Harry looked to the elf in bewilderment before patting the top of his head. “It is alright. I am okay.” He promised.

            Kreacher looked up at Master Harry and his eyes filled with tears. “Will Master please take Kreacher back into the noble house of Black?”

            Harry dropped his mouth open in surprise before looking to Draco in confusion.

            “You died Harry.” Remus said gently, he was pleased that his voice only shook slightly. “Kreacher became a free elf the moment you died.”

            Harry blinked down at the pleading elf in surprise. “Of course. You are family Kreacher.” He felt a rush of magic in the air and Kreacher beamed, his sharp teeth showing through.

            “Oh thank you Master Harry.” Kreacher stated as he wiped his eyes. He looked to Master Draco and smiled slightly at the waiting arms. He flung himself towards him.

            Draco chuckled from his position on the floor. “What do you say we go home?” He asked Harry and Kreacher. He smiled when he received two nods of approval.

            Harry looked to everyone. “Home.” He said with a smile. Home sounded like his own personal heaven. As long as he had Draco by his side and his family nearby.

           "Let's go quickly before the Peura come back." Harry told him firmly.

           "What??" Everyone shouted at once and hurried to apparate away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Sephtis and Azad made it out alright. I know that I mentioned that hellhounds can't die but I think some of you guys were still worried about him. That is alright. :) 
> 
> Some people wondered why Draco couldn't already understand the snake since they share a bond. But I didn't see it like that. Harry had the gift from Voldemort. Just because he had it did not mean that Draco should automatically know it too. But now that Draco has half of Harry's magic, it only made sense that he would also now be able to speak parseltongue. 
> 
> Hopefully you all were able to understand that even though Sephtis was talking to the family, no one understood him. I didn't want that to be confusing. But I did like the idea of him just bitching and no one being able to understand him. Which is why I did that. 
> 
> Sephtis is in denial. He totally is best friends with Azad. Admittance is the first step to acceptance. :P
> 
> I can understand them wanting to gripe and be angry at Harry and Draco but I also can understand that Harry and Draco just want to recover first. Haha. 
> 
> Narcissa sitting on the floor just warmed my heart right up.
> 
> Let me know what you thought of this chapter. 
> 
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	89. Changed Plans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, the end of this chapter has smut in it. There will be a bolded (*) signifying when and where that ends. There is a start and stop that won't be warned in the chapter but the actual smut will be.

            After a vigorous look over and a long-winded lecture, Harry and Draco were more than grateful to floo home.

            Draco sighed in relief at the welcoming appearance of the living room. “Oh thank Merlin. If I have to hear Severus say that we are reckless, half-baked, mindless simpletons one more time, I think I might kill him.”

            Harry whole heartedly agreed. “Though I think it was Lucius’s insult of us being half-witted, moronic dolts that annoyed me. I was mildly impressed the first time he called us that. As far as insults go, that one was pretty good. After the third time, it rather lost its appeal.”

            Sirius tilted his head to the side as he listened to them talk. He hadn’t seen them at all since they were fighting earlier in the day. It looked like they had made up. Good. That had been a nightmare to watch.

            Draco smirked. “It was rather good, wasn’t it? Not his best work but it was passable.” Over the years, he had heard a lot of colorful insults from his father. Usually they weren’t directed at him.

            “What did you two do to get their wrath?” Sirius asked curiously. He laughed when they jumped in surprise. He didn’t like the idea of Malfoy and Snape insulting them but he knew that they would probably have a good reason.

            Harry glared at his laughing godfather. Wouldn’t it be ironic if after surviving death he just keeled over from a heart attack?

            “We died.” Harry and Draco said in unison before smirking at the gaping portrait.  

            Sirius at first thought it was a joke but when they didn’t laugh, he began to worry. “What do you mean you died?” He could hear the hysterical edge to his voice and he winced internally. If he had been alive, he would have needed to sit down.

            “It isn’t a hard concept.” Draco drawled in amusement. “Harry died once before. Then me. Now the two of us together.” He arched his own brows at the statement. Hmm. There was some truth to George’s statement about death just letting them go.

            Harry thought there could have been a gentler way to ease Sirius into this conversation but he couldn’t help but be amused at the man’s reaction. After the incredibly long rant they had just endured at the Manor, he needed to laugh at someone else’s expense. He wondered if that was Draco’s influence or if he had always had a mean streak to him and just never noticed.

            Sirius growled. “Will you quit being vague?” He demanded angrily.

            Draco arched a brow. “You know, I have never been quite able to place you as a dog animagus till now. Go ahead, growl for me again.” His entire mood lifted with this one conversation. He really did love baiting people.

            Harry coughed to cover up his humor.

            Sirius narrowed his eyes before looking to Harry. It was obvious that his godson was finding the conversation funny. Great. There was two of them. “What do you see in him?” He asked in exasperation. “Because I really don’t get it.”

            Draco laughed in delight at the question. “Oh, I am wounded dear cousin. Here I thought that we were getting along swimmingly.”

            Harry chuckled before kissing Draco’s cheek. “I see the world when I look at him.” He answered honestly.

            Draco stopped laughing and melted at the statement. He turned to Harry and sighed at the love in those green eyes. He cupped Harry’s face in his hands. “Gods, I fucking love you.” He rasped out before slamming their lips together.

            Sirius groaned out loud. He was about to leave to his other painting before the two of them started getting hot and heavy, but he could hear someone entering the room. He turned his head and gaped openly. Words seemed to have left him.

            _‘Speaker.’_

“Master Harry.” Kreacher didn’t usually interrupt his Masters when they became indecent but this was necessary.

            Harry reluctantly put his tongue back into his own mouth and broke away from Draco. He blinked rapidly before letting out a snort of disbelief. Sephtis had wrapped himself around Kreacher’s body multiple times. It would appear that it was not in a friendly manner, if the red faced Kreacher was any indication. He just hoped that it wasn’t a lack of air that was causing the color. Azad was behind them happily wagging his tail.

            Draco turned around and let out peals of laughter. “What happened?” Harry asked weakly.

            _‘This creature has kept me and Azad outside the entire time you were gone. Why couldn’t we have come with you and the rest of the sacks of water?’_

            Harry’s mouth twitched at the fact that Sephtis was still upset over the family. They didn’t even get the luxury of being called humans.

            “Master Harry did not inform me of where they are to be kept. So Kreacher had kept them outside just in case Master Harry did not want them in the house.” Kreacher glared down at the snake that was squeezing him tightly. “But the snake has tried repeatedly to get inside anyways. Kreacher had to repair the door several times. Six times to be exact.”

            Draco was chuckling at the way Sephtis seemed to puff up in pride.

            _‘I broke a window too. The creature is unaware of that fact.’_

Harry shook his head at the two of them. It would seem that Sephtis just couldn’t get along with any one. “I apologize for not leaving you more explicit instructions Kreacher. Sephtis and Azad will remain inside with us. You don’t have to look after them.” Harry explained at the dissatisfied expression on Kreacher’s face.

            _‘We do not require to be looked after. I am not a pet.’_

Draco rolled his eyes. **_‘Yes, you have told us this, multiple times.’_** He pointed out.

            Sirius let out a little strangled noise of surprise at Draco speaking parseltongue.

            _‘Humans are not the smartest. I have no idea how well your memory works. It seemed prudent to remind you.’_

Harry ignored the insult. **_‘Let go of Kreacher. You are not to bite him nor are you allowed to strangle, maim or kill him. He is to be left intact and unharmed.’_** He told him firmly.

Draco could practically see the snake trying to find a loophole somewhere in there and it just warmed up his Slytherin heart. Merlin, the snake was perfect.

            Harry smiled when Sephtis unwound from Kreacher but then rolled his eyes when the snake hissed in warning at the elf.

            Kreacher was not impressed nor worried. “Kreacher knows many snake stew recipes, Master Harry.” He offered helpfully.

            Draco snickered at the way Sephtis stopped moving on his way to Azad.

            _‘Did he just? Oh no. I am not food. Azad, I am not allowed to kill him. Do it for me.’_ Sephtis demanded before climbing up the hound’s body.

            Harry huffed out in annoyance. “Kreacher, Sephtis is not food. He is not to be harmed. He must remain intact and whole.”

            Draco just loved his family. Even Kreacher was Slytherin. The wonderful elf was frowning in an obvious attempt to find a way around the order.

            Harry looked to Azad. “Do I have to give you any orders too? Or are you the best one out of them?” When Azad wagged his tail and licked Harry, Sirius was positive he was hallucinating.

            “That’s a good boy.” Harry told him firmly with a pat to the head. “Now all of you go do something that doesn’t involve getting on each other’s nerves. Kreacher, Sephtis broke a window. Will you please fix it?”

            Kreacher turned annoyed eyes to the snake that was clearly pleased with himself. “Of course, Master Harry.” He assured him. On his way out they could hear him muttering. “Deranged Snakes and Domesticated hellhounds? Kreacher wonders what he did to deserve this punishment.”

            _‘I will show him deranged.’_

 _**‘You will do no such thing.’**_ Harry argued. “Now the both of you go find something better to do.”

            Sephtis lifted his head. _‘Oh you were serious? I thought that was an excuse to get rid of the creature.’_

Harry sighed heavily while Draco laughed himself silly. He wondered why he was the one giving the orders around here.

            **_‘Yes, I am serious. Go explore the house, find rats or something. I don’t care what you do just do it somewhere else.’_**

            _‘How rude. Come on Azad, let’s go see what kind of trouble we can get into.’_

Harry opened his mouth to ask just what that might entail but thought better of it. He really didn’t want to know. As long as they left Kreacher alone then that was fine with him.

            Azad took off running up the stairs with Sephtis curled around his neck, his long tail slapping against the railing the whole way up.

            As soon as they were gone, Harry sagged into Draco. “Thank you for the absolute zero amount of help that you gave me. Why do I have to be the bad guy?”

            Draco wrapped his arms around Harry’s waist. “You had it all under control. If I thought you needed help, I would have spoken up.” He promised. “Besides.” He grinned wickedly. “That just means that I am their favorite if you are the bad guy.”

            Harry grinned softly. “Ah that was your dirty plan. Forever the Slytherin. You used this against me.” He kissed the tip of Draco’s nose.

            “Of course angel. When am I ever not a Slytherin?” He slapped a hand over Harry’s mouth when he caught the wicked grin. “On second thought, don’t answer that.”

            Sirius finally found his voice. “What the hell just happened. Why do you have a hellhound as a pet?!”

            _‘His name is Azad. Humans have no respect.’_

Harry turned and narrowed his eyes at the snake that was on the top of the banister. **_‘Get out of here.’_**

 **** _‘I am going. I just… slipped… that is all.’_

Draco rolled his eyes. He was going to have to teach the snake better excuses. He could not have such a Slytherin snake with horrid excuses.

            Harry waited until he was sure Sephtis was gone before turning back to Sirius. “It is a long story.” He warned him. He wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to get into details.

            “Not really.” Draco argued. “The darkness had a plan. We followed said plan, sans the rest of the family. We made it to the horrid lair of the Flamels. Found Azad and Sephtis. Harry can command hellhounds. I imagine I can too now. We sort of kicked ass. Died along the way, we share magic and here we are.” He summarized quickly.

            Sirius’s eye twitched at the lack of details but he was horrified by what he had heard. They had gone on some wild plan without the rest of the family? His mind was purposefully leaving out Snape and Malfoy when thinking of the word family.

            Harry was amused at the full story being shortened so drastically. “What he said.” He offered Sirius a shrug.

            “Perhaps Remus can give me more details.” Sirius mused. Next time his friend stopped by, he would harass the details out of him.

            “I doubt that will be for a while. Him and Severus will probably be having wild sex for the next couple of days.” Draco piped up, just to watch Sirius’s reaction. He wasn’t disappointed. The air seemed to leave Sirius’s frame and he gaped like a fish. If he had been alive, Draco was positive that statement might have sent the man into cardiac arrest.

            Harry bit the inside of his cheek hard to stop from laughing at the horrified look on his godfather’s face.

            “Please tell me you were joking.” Sirius begged. He felt like if he had been alive, he would have vomited vile. What a horrid mental picture.

            Harry couldn’t stop the chuckle. “Sorry to break the news to you like this.” He shot Draco a look. He shook his head at the unapologetic smile on his lover’s face. “But they are together and they are quite happy.” Harry frowned at the sickly green Sirius was turning. “Remus is happy, Sirius. He deserves this. You are already on thin ice when it comes to your friendship with him. If you say something negative to him about this, then you _will_ lose him.” He warned with narrowed eyes.

            Sirius nodded his head. “I think I need to think this over.” He whispered before walking out the painting and going to the matching one in the Gringotts vault.

            Harry shook his head in disappointment. He didn’t understand why it was so hard for Sirius to let go of the past. The man was a fucking painting for crying out loud. His godfather had always been stubborn, death did nothing to alleviate that. He looked to Draco and arched a brow.

            “What?” Draco feigned innocence. Harry snorted in amusement. Innocent was something his soulmate would never be.

            “You are cruel, you know that?”

            Draco grinned wickedly and wrapped his arms around Harry again. “You love it though.”

            Harry couldn’t deny that. “I love everything about you. Even your cruel wicked mean streaks.”

            Draco surprised Harry by jumping up and entwining his legs around his waist. “Oh you are such a flatterer.” He batted his lashes. “Such sweet words makes my blood boil.” Draco whispered before nibbling his ear.

            Harry moaned. “Oh yeah?” He panted. “What else gets your blood boiling?” He loved where this was heading. He ran his hands down Draco’s back till they settled on his arse.

            Draco arched into those warms hands, pressing his arse against the palms. “You do. Everything about you turns me on. The way you look, your sexy hair, your expressive eyes, your plump lips. The way you smell, so earthy and heavenly. The way you view me. The way you touch me, so warm and gentle. There isn’t a single thing about you that doesn’t do something for me.”

            Harry groaned and gripped Draco tighter.

            _‘Compliments seem to be a requirement for human mating rituals.’_

Draco squeaked in surprise at the sound of Sephtis. Harry let out a frustrated noise as he made his way to the stairs.  

            **_‘What did I tell you? You are not watching Draco and I mate.’_** Harry looked around but couldn’t see the snake anywhere. He figured that meant Sephtis was hiding.

            Draco had to admire the stubborn streak the snake had. Sephtis was clearly not giving up. He looked up and shook his head. “Love, look up.”

            Harry paused on the next step and looked to where Draco was pointing. He sighed when he caught sight of Sephtis hanging on a chandelier. **_‘How did you get up there?’_**

            _‘Azad. He is much more useful than I originally thought.’_

Harry looked up to the top of the stairs where Azad was looking at the floor with his tail tucked in and his ears were lying flat. He whined, knowing that he did something he shouldn’t have. 

            “Azad.” Harry said slowly. He smiled at the sorrowful red eyes looking up at him. Draco cooed at the sight. Harry didn’t have the heart to scold him. He just walked up the rest of the way and carefully lifted one hand off Draco’s arse to pat the top of Azad’s head. “Just make sure he doesn’t find a way to enter the bedroom.” Harry told the hound. “Guard the door with your life.”

            Draco smirked at the way Azad stood up rapidly and took Harry’s words to heart.

            _‘How am I going to get down from here?’_

Harry laughed loudly. **_‘Azad got you up there. See if he will get you down. You might have to admit that you actually like him though.’_**

 **** _‘Never!’_

They didn’t hear anything else that Sephtis might have said because Draco raised a hand off of Harry to slam their bedroom door. He waved his hand to lock and magically seal it. He wasn’t taking any chances that Sephtis might sweet talk Azad into allowing him in.

            Draco went back to nibbling Harry’s ear. “I want you Harry.” He whispered hotly.

            Harry had wanted to slowly peel off their clothes but he couldn’t restrain himself from vanishing them at his lover’s statement. They both groaned appreciatively at the skin on skin contact.

            Draco could feel Harry’s hard cock pressing into one of his arse cheeks and he panted.

            “How do you want me?” Harry whispered before swiping his tongue against Draco’s lips. Draco eagerly opened his mouth and welcomed the appendage. He started  undulating against Harry’s body.

            “I want you inside me.” Draco mumbled against Harry’s lips before kissing him senseless. “I want to feel you hot and thick in me.” He gasped when Harry started sucking a dark ring on his neck. “I want to be claimed.” He thrusted as best as he could. “I want to be owned.” He smirked when he felt Harry shudder. “I want to be shown how much my body is yours.” Draco could feel the lust in the bond and he reveled in it. “I just want you, Harry. As much as you are willing to give.”

            Harry dropped Draco on the bed and laughed at how high his lover bounced. He thought Draco would grumble or pout but his fiancé just took it all in stride.

            Draco stretched out his body and slowly opened his legs in an invitation. He thrilled when Harry’s breath hitched. He loved knowing how much his soulmate wanted him.

            Harry had been about to pounce and show Draco how much his lover’s body was his, but there was a shift of clouds outside and the moonlight hit the side of Draco’s face, lighting up his features. Draco was beautiful. He was memorized by everything about him. He was filled with so much love for the man that it froze him.

            Draco stilled when Harry stopped moving. He was about to ask if something was wrong but he was filled with Harry’s love for him. His lust was still there but instead of the wild out of control that it had been, it was softer, sweeter. There would be plenty of times where they would get rough, but as he stared at the tender love in those green eyes, he knew that tonight would not be one of those moments. He was perfectly okay with that. He lifted out his hand and held it out for Harry.

            Harry reached out gently to grip Draco’s hand. He let himself be pulled on top of Draco’s body. He settled on top of the creamy skin to stare deep into the eyes he loved so much. “I want to marry you tomorrow.”

            Draco blinked for a moment. That had not been what he had expected to hear. “Pardon?” He asked inelegantly.

            Harry smiled sweetly as he cupped the side of Draco’s cheek, his smile grew when his soulmate nuzzled into his palm. “I want that dream wedding. I want to be able to call you my husband again. I wanted to marry you with every fiber of my being in our first life. I ached to be able to show the world how much you meant to me. I wasn’t able to do that. Luckily, we were able to wed in our next life. I loved every single moment that you were my husband. I loved being able to look at our rings and know that you were my husband. I know that it is just a formality, considering that we will be together for the rest of our lives and any after that. But I want it, Draco. I want it more than anything. I ache for it again. I ache to show the entire wizarding world how much I love you. How proud I am to be a Malfoy. How much you are adored. I want to be your husband and I don’t want to wait any longer.” Harry finished, peppering Draco’s face with kisses.

            Draco could feel his eyes stinging at the sweet words. He knew that if they got married tomorrow, it would change every single plan that he had mapped out for their wedding. It would get rid of all of it, but that was alright. He was filled with so much love for his soulmate that it showed him that none of that mattered. As long as he was marrying Harry, he was alright.

            “Okay.” Draco croaked out thickly. “Let’s get married tomorrow.” He was excited at the words. Married. He would be married to Harry tomorrow.

            Harry wiped a stray tear from Draco’s eyes. Draco hadn’t even been aware he had been crying. “Is this what you want?” Harry bit his lip. “You aren’t saying this because it is what I want?”

            Draco let out a watery chuckle. He loved how confident his lover could be and then the next moment so shy and hesitant. It was an interesting combination. “Harry I want nothing more than to be married to you. I crave it just as badly as you do.”

            Harry let out a relieved sigh. “What about the plans? The phoenixes, the ten-course meal and the matching guest robes?” He knew that Draco had planned out a lot of the wedding with Narcissa and he didn’t want to ruin that.

            Draco kissed Harry’s cheek. “I just need you.” He told him firmly. “In twenty years when we are still married, we can go all out in celebration. I can have all of the theatrics then.”

            Harry melted, his fiancé was already thinking about their twenty-year anniversary. Draco was utterly perfect.

            “We should probably tell everyone tonight so that they can freak out and then rush around tomorrow.” Draco told him with a chuckle. He expected his lover to get up but he arched a brow when Harry shook his head no.

            “That can wait a little bit. I am going to have sex for the last time as your fiancé and then tomorrow you are going to shag me for the first time as my husband.” Harry mumbled before latching on to Draco’s neck.

**(*)**

            Draco shivered in delight and tilted his head to the side to give him more room. This sounded _much_ better than speaking to the rest of the family. He was still a little disgruntled with them anyways.

            Harry loved the taste of Draco’s skin. Loved the way Draco arched up into him with every lick and every suckle. Loved the way his lover moaned his name in a breathless pant when he tongued pale pink nipples. Sex with Draco was always intense and amazing, he loved being the only one allowed to do this. Being the only one who got to see his soulmate flushed and panting. The only one who got to see the way Draco’s pristine hair got rustled and messy from constantly moving his head back and forth. The way that some of the hairs stuck to his forehead from sweat. He loved the way the grey irises would darken in lust and the way they would get half lidded in desire. Draco was his in every way and he _loved_ it.

            “Harry.” Draco begged when it felt like all his lover wanted to do was kiss and nip at his skin. He loved the attention his body was being given but he wanted more. He wanted to feel Harry inside of him. He could feel himself clench at the thought. He moaned when he felt warm hands gently part his legs. Draco pulled them apart as wide as he could, eagerly. Yes. This is what he wanted. Finally.

            Harry loved the way his name sounded coming out of such sweet and tantalizing lips. He could have extended this, stretched it out like he knew Draco would have done to him, but he couldn’t. He just wanted to be inside of his fiancé. Wanted to be connected in the most intimately way possible.

            Draco arched his back when he felt a slick finger slide in between his cheeks. He hadn’t even heard Harry summon anything. He was too far gone in his lust to notice. He moaned loudly when the finger entered him. It had been a while since he was the one being entered. They switched a lot but Harry usually preferred being the one on the receiving end. Draco had no preference. As long as he got Harry in some way, that was all that mattered.

            Soon one finger was joined by another and Draco panted harshly at the stretch. It felt so good. He wanted more. He started thrusting onto those clever fingers. “More.” He demanded. He needed more.

            Harry kissed Draco’s thigh but ignored the request. He did however begin thrusting his fingers in harder and was determined to strike Draco’s prostate. When Draco arched and let out a keening yell he knew he found it.

            “Please love.” Draco begged. He couldn’t take much more of the fingers. They were driving him so close to the edge but he wanted to hit that peak with Harry inside of him.

            Harry added a third finger and scissored them quickly. He was weak against his lover’s pleading.

            Draco would have whined when Harry withdrew his fingers but he knew that meant he was about to get what he wanted, so he just moaned instead. The moan seemed to encourage Harry, because right after he released his vocal desire, he felt the thick head of Harry’s cock.

            “Yes.” Draco encouraged. He tried to thrust himself down onto the length but a hand held him still. He huffed out a breath but relaxed into the bed, willing to allow Harry to set the pace.

            Harry closed his eyes at the pleasure of Draco’s tight walls closing around him. He stopped halfway in, not to give Draco time to adjust, but to help him gain control of his own urges. He didn’t want this to be over too soon.

            Draco moaned at how full he felt with Harry’s prick sliding all the way inside him. He missed this. Missed the burn as his body accommodated the swollen length of Harry. When Harry bottomed out, he wrapped his leg’s around Harry’s waist.

            “You feel so good.” Harry whispered before slowly withdrawing his hips. Draco had been about to repeat the same sentence but his breath left him in a whoosh when Harry thrusted back inside of him.

            Harry loved the tight heat surrounding him. Loved the way Draco clenched around him with every thrust. Loved the breathy pants and moans he released with every snap of his hips.

            Draco wasn’t sure how long he was going to be able to last like this. Harry felt so big and good. He loved it. He stared into the green eyes that had been watching his face twist in pleasure.

            “I love you.” Draco moaned out on a particularly hard thrust. He felt Harry’s pleasure at the statement. “So much.” He added.

            Harry leaned forward till he placed his hands on either side of Draco’s face. He lowered his face until his lips were inches away from those lips that he loved so much. “Love you too.” He retorted before shoving his tongue into Draco’s mouth.

            Draco sighed into the kiss and thrusted his body up hard, trying to get Harry inside of him deeper. He lifted his hands up Harry’s back and ran them up and down sensuously.

            Harry knew that he was getting close, could feel it in the pit of his stomach. He picked up one of his hands and lowered it down Draco’s body and wrapped his palm around the leaking throbbing member.

            Draco broke the kiss and threw his head back and let out a guttural moan. “Harry.” He moaned breathlessly when he felt his climax approaching. Harry’s hand moved up and down his shaft faster in reply. He knew he wouldn’t be able to last much longer. Not when he could hear Harry’s rapid breathing and the way his lover’s cock throbbed inside of him.

            Harry’s eyes were drooping and he fought to keep them open. He wanted to watch Draco’s face when his soulmate climaxed. He wanted to see the proof of how much he could please the blonde.

            Draco rutted up faster the closer he became to finishing. He was moaning a string of Harry’s name and couldn’t be bothered to stop. It was so good. Too good. He knew he was about to come. Could feel the tingling of his spine. Could feel the way his muscles tensed. He arched his back as high as he could with Harry on top of him. “Harry!” He screamed as thick ropes of come shot out of his pulsing cock and splattered on his chest.

            Harry groaned out a series of curse words as Draco’s tight channel clenched almost painfully tighter around him. He wasn’t entirely sure but he thought he might have shouted out Draco’s name as white blinding light filtered behind his lids and he emptied his seed inside of Draco as deep as he could muster.

            Harry had some wits about him as he gently pulled out of his lover and landed down gracelessly next to him. They were both panting and sweaty but incredibly satisfied.

**(*)**

            Draco blindly reached out a hand until he felt one of Harry’s and entwined their fingers together.

            “Last night as an engaged man went off beautifully.” Draco mumbled with a laugh.

            Harry grinned and moved his head to the side so that he could look at Draco’s face. “I agree.” He murmured. “But we have to get up, to let everyone know about the change of plans.”

            Draco arched a brow. “Screw that.” He summoned the blanket that was underneath them. He was too lazy to just pull it out. He settled the blanket on top of them before calling Kreacher.

            Harry furrowed his brows but didn’t say anything as a *Pop* entered the room. He grinned when Kreacher didn’t even look at them. His eyes were reverted to the floor. Like he already knew they weren’t decent.

            “What can Kreacher do for Master Draco?” Kreacher croaked out.

            “I need you to go to the entire family and tell them that Harry and I will be getting married tomorrow. Tell them to prepare the back yard of the Manor and that we are sorry for the short notice.” He smirked at Harry, letting him know that he wasn’t sorry at all. “Speak with the twins and they will tell you some other people that might want to be invited.” His mind had gone to Bill and Fleur.

            Kreacher looked up in excitement. His Masters were getting married tomorrow! He waggled his ears back and forth as he clapped his hands. “Oh yes, right away Master Draco! I will speak with Mistress Malfoy and see if she will require Kreacher’s assistance.” Kreacher was already planning to stay up late to make sure that the wedding would look beautiful.

            Draco smiled warmly at the elf. “You will be there, won’t you?” He asked. At the confusion in Kreacher’s eyes he explained further. “You will watch the ceremony with the rest of the family?”

            Harry’s heart felt like it might burst at the way Draco so casually asked Kreacher to be there for the wedding.

            Kreacher’s eyes widened and they filled with tears. “Masters want Kreacher at the wedding?” Elves don’t usually watch a wedding unless they are to watch over the guests.

            Harry smiled. “You are our family, remember? We talked about this.” He reminded him gently.

            Kreacher would have hugged them again but he knew they were not decent under the blanket. That was not something he would be approaching. “Oh thank you Master Harry and Master Draco! Thank you, Kreacher would love to be there.” He gushed before apparating out of the room.

            Draco smiled softly at the spot that Kreacher had just vacated. “I love that elf.”

            Harry laughed warmly. “So do I.” He told him before laying his head down on Draco’s chest and listening to his soulmate’s heartbeat.

            “You know.” Draco began coyly. “There is still a little while before midnight.” Harry looked up in confusion.

            “There is plenty of time to do more shagging as engaged men.”

            Harry chuckled. “Is that so?” He murmured before settling back on top of him. “Sounds like a promising night.”

            It was indeed a promising night.

            Well almost... everyone but Sephtis seemed to be having a good night.

           _'Azad. Please let down! I said please this time!'_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, what did you think of this chapter?
> 
> Harry and Draco messing with Sirius because they were annoyed with the family, was funny to me. 
> 
> Sephtis and Kreacher not liking each other already makes me smile and shake my head. I think Sephtis needs to relax more. 
> 
> What do you think of the changed wedding plans? I rather like it. Spontaneous seems to be something that they are good at. 
> 
> Let me know your thoughts.
> 
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	90. In Perpetuum Simul

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, sorry this was so late. This chapter was a bitch to write. It was nearly 9k words so I hope you all appreciate it! Lol, you better. I didn't think anything could be more difficult than the Sphinx chapter. I thought the riddle had been bad, ha! Oh no. This marriage had been difficult. I needed to find a good balance in the ceremony and decide how to write it. There is more to this chapter but to finish it, I wouldn't have been able to post it for probably another three hours. So I just decided to finish the rest of the reception tomorrow. So enjoy the extra long chapter!

           “I don’t think I can do this. This was a bad idea.” Harry admitted as he paced back and forth in a small sectioned off portion of the dining hall. The room had been split into two, with a giant black screen that separated him from Draco, magically and physically. They both had been so nervous all day. This was their dream wedding. This was to be the best wedding that they have yet to have. There had been a feedback loop where they were feeding off of each other’s nerves. It had been so distracting that they couldn’t concentrate. Draco had suggested that they close the bond until the wedding, it had been obvious that he didn’t want to do that but they really did need their wits about them. Harry reluctantly agreed. That had been hours ago and each passing minute the itch to feel his lover grew.

            Fred shared a look with George. They were both incredibly fed up with the whole situation. Harry had always been a calm and easy going guy but he got real antsy without Draco. He had driven them up the wall. Which was saying something. Ever since late last night, the twins have been scrambling trying to make sure that everything would be alright with the wedding. The two of them had contacted Bill who was licensed with the Ministry to perform this type of ceremony. Something about there being a shortage in Egypt, he had learned from some of the locals while he was abroad. Bill had contacted Charlie to see if he could make it. Charlie had been a little surprised at the short notice but promised that he would try.

            Everyone had been assigned things to do. Narcissa, Fleur and the house elves were on the decorations of the backyard. Lucius and Bill were going over the ceremony vows to make sure that everything was alright there. Remus was getting some muggle technology that would record the whole ceremony. Severus was in charge of watching Teddy so that Remus could get it all set up. He had multiple of the muggle items all over the backyard. Pansy and Blaise were _supposed_ to be working on the charms over the perimeter while Fred and George were _supposed_ to be working on the charms over the area the circle was to be set up. Only, Harry and Draco were having problems. Problems that were seriously trying the twins’ patience.

            “What do you mean you can’t do it?” George asked with narrowed eyes. “You better be able to do it. I have had to listen to you whine and gripe about Draco for the past four hours now. Severus had to take over our duties so that you would have company. You better get over whatever is bothering you before I put you in a full body bind and float you down to the ceremony myself.” Fred blinked at his brother in surprise. He had been thinking the same thing but he wasn’t going to voice it.

            Harry looked at George with a frown. Okay, he knew he was probably driving them crazy but he didn’t think it was _that_ bad. “I didn’t mean the wedding you dolt. I meant I don’t think I can take the silence in the bond. I _need_ to be able to feel him.”

            Fred and George shared a confused look. “Wait.” Fred piped up. “You shut off your bond?” When Harry nodded his head, they both let out noises of understanding. That would explain why Harry had been so out of character.

            “Wait right here.” George commanded before dragging his brother out of the area and into Draco’s portion. When they entered, they could see their partners with stressed faces while Draco was panicking silently.

            Draco looked up and noticed the twins walk in. He was curious what they were doing in here. They were probably here to see their partners. The stupid wankers get to be together but he isn’t allowed to see Harry. Not because of tradition but because of the stupid torque. They had activated the beginning spells to signify that the promise to wed would happen that day. They weren’t allowed to be in the same room or the urge to connect the torques would be too powerful. One touch and the ceremony would have to start immediately.

            Pansy and Blaise stepped up to their lovers and leaned in to see what was happening. “How did you know we were here?” Blaise wondered as he linked his arm with Fred.

            Fred and George both grimaced. “We figured that you were going through the same fate as us.” Fred told him with a shake of his head. “We have been stuck with Harry for the past four hours.”

            Pansy and Blaise sighed. “You too?” She asked. “Draco was having a mini attack in here. He has been driving us mad. I almost killed him.”

            Blaise nodded gravely. “She did. I had to hold on to her wand.” He held up the proof in his hand. They could see that he held two wands.

            Fred and George snorted. “That’s my girl.” George praised. “What spell were you going for?” He wondered curiously.

            Pansy opened her mouth to answer but Blaise sighed heavily. “Must you encourage her?” He scolded with a shake of his head. He looked to his boyfriend. “What are you doing over here?”

            George was the one who answered. “Harry says that he can’t take the silence of the bond anymore.”

            Draco snapped his head up and narrowed his eyes at Harry’s name. “Harry? You said his name. What is going on with Harry? Is he okay?” Normally that answer would have come to him in the drop of a hat because he always had the bond to tell him how Harry was. Even without the bond, just one look into those green eyes would tell him everything that he needed to know. But now, he didn’t have either and it was making him feel so alone and incomplete.

            Fred rolled his eyes. Yeah, maybe having Harry wasn’t nearly as bad as having to put up with Draco. He sent his boyfriend a sympathetic look. “Yes, he is fine.” Fred answered. “He just wants to know if the bond can be reopened. He isn’t taking the silence of it too well.”

            Draco breathed in relief that Harry was okay and then he smiled. At least he wasn’t the only one who was feeling the absence. “Yes. I need that too.” He breathed out. He tentatively lowered the bond and sent a pulse, a probing pulse, one that was like knocking on a door. He was politely asking if he could come in. He grinned when the bond was immediately snapped back in place. He could feel Harry’s relief and love. He closed his eyes and sighed. He felt a million times better. He sent all the love that he could through the bond before opening his eyes and smiling a little sheepishly at his best friends.

            “I am sorry guys. I know I have been… a handful.” He ignored the derisive snort from Pansy. “I will be okay now. You can go finish whatever else you need to.” He raised his brows when Pansy and Blaise immediately ran out of the room without looking back. He couldn’t have been _that_ bad, right?

            Fred and George shook their heads as they followed their partners at a much slower pace. They checked in on Harry but he was also fairing fine now. When they made it outside they could see the changes in the backyard and they stopped to admire it. The gazebo had been enlarged to fit all of them inside of it. The path leading up to it was littered with floating candles and multi colored petals. Butterflies and fireflies were buzzing all around the area. They had all wanted the back yard to resemble the way it looked when Draco had proposed to Harry. The setting sun made the whole scene breathtaking.

            “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Pansy whispered as she entwined her fingers with her boyfriends. George nodded his agreement. “You sure hightailed it out of there.” He remarked dryly.

            Blaise chuckled as he wrapped his arms around Fred’s waist. “We weren’t taking any chances that he was going to change his mind.”

            The sound of footsteps made them turn around. Fred and George smiled at their older brother. “Charlie!” They both cried in unison before embracing him tightly. “You made it.” Fred told him when they broke apart. “Harry will be pleased. He was worried you wouldn’t be able to make it.”

            Charlie smiled at his younger brothers. He hadn’t seen or heard from them since the disastrous dinner at the burrow. “It took a lot of schedule swapping but we were able to pull it off.”

            Fred and George perked up at the ‘we’. They looked around and noticed a tall man about the same age as their brother. He had shoulder length hair, teal eyes and light chestnut skin.

            Demetrius had been rather nervous about coming with Charlie, but he really wanted to meet Harry and Draco. He had heard nothing but good things from Charlie about Harry and what little he has mentioned about Draco, well he would love to meet someone who had defended a man he had never met. Coming on such short notice had been rather difficult. They both would be working double shifts in the upcoming future. He looked at his lover’s younger brothers and he smiled slightly. He could see the resemblance to Charlie. He had about two seconds to nod politely at them before he was suddenly embraced in a hug by the both of them.

            “Woah.” Demetrius said with a slight laugh. He had not been expecting such a warm welcome but he was pleased nonetheless. He really wanted Charlie’s family to like him. He didn’t have a family of his own and he wanted to find one with his partner.

            Charlie was filled with a rush of gratitude for his brothers. This was what he had been hoping would happen. Demetrius hadn’t let on about his nerves, but Charlie could tell. There was no reason for his fiancé to be so nervous.

            Fred and George stepped back and smiled at the man.

           “You must be Demetrius.” Fred began.

           “We have heard some good-”

          “Things about you. Anyone that is willing to

          “Marry Charlie must surely be a saint.” George finished.

            Demetrius blinked as his head went back and forth trying to follow along with the conversation. Well, this would be an interesting day. He smiled at Charlie before taking his hand into his own. “I am afraid Charlie is the saint, not me.”

            Charlie scowled at that. He knew that Demetri was talking about putting up with the hate that people wrongly throw at them for his lover being part Incubus. Demetrius squeezed Charlie’s hand in a silent apology. He knew that things like that upset his fiancé but it was the truth, so he didn’t understand the point of hiding that.

            Charlie looked to the two behind his brothers and he smiled. “You must be Pansy and Blaise.”

            Pansy and Blaise shared a nervous look. They really wanted Fred and George’s brother to like them. Charlie was someone that their partners really looked up to, along with Bill.

            “Yes. It is nice to meet you.” Pansy smiled sweetly.

            “We have heard plenty of stories about you.” Blaise piped up.

            “All good stories. So no worries there.” Pansy hurried to explain at the arched brow.

            “We are just happy to finally meet you.” Blaise finished.  

            Charlie looked back and forth between them and then looked at his brothers. “I don’t know how you did it, but you managed to find partners that are just like you.”

            The quartet laughed together. “Thank you.” They all said in unison.

            Charlie blinked. “That is going to take some getting used to.”

            “How nice of you four to be taking a break. I had to cover all of your duties all with a baby I might add.” Came a snarky voice.

            They all looked over to see Severus holding a Teddy with black hair and black eyes. He looked just like a mini Severus. It was rather adorable.

            “Sorry Severus. But it wasn’t our fault.” Fred and George began hastily. Charlie was mouthing ‘Severus’ in surprise. He didn’t know that his brothers were on _that_ good of terms with the man.

            Pansy and Blaise nodded. “Yeah, Harry and Draco have been going through panic attacks.”

            Severus paused in his anger and looked towards the house. “Are they alright?” He asked genuinely worried. It wouldn’t do good if the two groomsmen weren’t doing well.

            Charlie smiled at the concern in the older man’s voice. He had thought that Harry defending the man might have been a stretch but it was obvious that Snape seemed to care about Harry too.

            The quartet nodded. “Now they are.” They said as one. “It had been pretty bad for a while.” Fred offered.

            Blaise winced. “Yes, Draco was… hard to manage. Pansy almost killed him.”

            Severus looked to Pansy rather intrigued. “What spell were you going to use?” Blaise groaned and threw his hands in the air while everyone else just laughed.

            “I am pleased to see all the humor that is going around but why are you all doing nothing?” Lucius drawled when he came up to the group.

            “Is there anything that we can help you with?” Demetrius asked while everyone else glared at the blonde.

            Lucius looked to the new comers and smiled gratefully. “You must be Demetrius. Thank you. I think I rather like you.” He admitted while glaring at the rest of the family. “Unlike these lot.”

            Charlie grinned at the teasing the older man was doing. He wasn’t sure what he was going to expect from Lucius Malfoy but this wasn’t it. He held out his hand. “Charlie Weasley. Haven’t had the chance to formally introduce myself.”

            Lucius gripped his hand firmly. “Lucius Malfoy. Well you are both welcome here anytime you wish.” While Charlie was blinking in surprise, Lucius looked to Demetrius. “Were you genuine in your offer? There are some spells that might take some time that I wouldn’t mind any help with.” He sent another glare towards the quartet. The spells had been their job in the first place.

            Demetrius grinned. “Of course.” Charlie followed Demetrius and Lucius. It wasn’t every day that one could say they enchanted things with Lucius Malfoy.

            Remus walked up to the group and grinned widely at the look his son was sporting. It filled him with warmth. “Hey love. Taking a break?”

            Severus scowled. Why were people assuming that he was doing nothing? “No. But I am considering doing so now that you are here.” He said with a slight smile. Remus reached over to take his son but Severus moved slightly. “Not because of Teddy.” He arched an unimpressed brow. “I want to take my break _with_ you _and_ Teddy.”

            Remus was pretty sure his heart just melted. He leaned in to wrap his arms around Severus’s neck. “I love you.” He whispered. He knew it was a little fast but he wasn’t getting any younger, he had a child and he was arse over tits for the man. Hiding it was doing nothing for him. Severus’s eyes softened. “And I you.” He admitted quietly.

            “I think we just witnessed a miracle.” Fred stage whispered. George nodded his head a little shell shocked. “Old men finding love in the wild. It is a geographic anomaly.” George whispered back.

            Remus and Severus snapped their heads to the side to glare at them. “What did you say?” Severus asked tightly.

            Pansy and Blaise grabbed hold of their partners. “Oh, look at that. I hear Narcissa calling us.” Blaise said weakly as he dragged Fred away, with Pansy and George right behind them.

            Remus watched them retreat with amusement. “Why do we put up with them?” Severus complained as he bounced Teddy against his hip. The baby was letting out amused giggles. Remus shrugged. “Beats me.” He admitted with a shake of his head before kissing Severus softly.

            “Oh look.” A dreamy voice interrupted. “I was right Neville. They _are_ together.” They looked over to the back door and froze at the sight of Luna Lovegood and Neville Longbottom. Neither of them had been informed that the two of them would be arriving.

            Neville shook his head at the gloating. That was another galleon he was down. He really should stop betting against her. He knew better, it was just the thought of both the professors getting together seemed farfetched. “So you were.” He admitted with a squeeze to her hand.

            Remus noticed that Luna’s eyes were intact. That was good news. He smiled warmly at them before breaking apart. “It is nice to see you again. Luna. Neville.” He nodded his head at the both of them.

            Severus wondered just what these two would bring to the wedding. The two worst students he had ever had at potions together in one place. Longbottom was so horrid at potions that he had to carry extra headache relievers in his robes on days he would have to teach the Gryffindors. He _knew_ that he didn’t help the situation much by his constant berating but the lump of the boy had _never_ even bothered to read the board. He put explicit instructions that any person could follow. It wasn’t even that hard. Lovegood on the other hand, was… just plain different. She could perform a potion decently when she bothered to try. She would spend the entire lesson looking around the room for imaginary creatures and insisting that the ingredients didn’t _want_ to be used in potions. She was the other reason for his headaches.

            “Longbottom. Lovegood.” He nodded his head to them.

            “Sir.” They greeted together. Neville eyed the man with interest. He had long ago stopped being afraid of the professor. It had been during past year at Hogwarts with the Carrows. Snape had never strongly punished anyone and even at times would interfere with the punishments when he could. He himself had been sent up to his office for extra ‘care’ that the Carrows seemed to think that he needed. He thought that Snape was going to harm him but he had been surprised when the man told him to tone down his defiance and told him to walk with a limp for the next day to make the Carrows believe he hand been severely punishment. Neville saw a different side to the man that day and never really believed that the man was a true deatheater. A true deatheater would have sent a crucio at him in a heartbeat.

            “We were not aware that you were coming.” Remus told them curiously. Luna was looking at the flying insects with a small smile. “We know. I told Harry and Draco that I would be here. They may have neglected to alert you.” She informed them without taking her eyes of the bugs.

            “Miss Lovegood. Mister Longbottom.” Narcissa’s voice interrupted. “Draco said something about you possibly showing up. It is nice to meet you.” She put emphasize on the word meet, when she looked to Luna. She didn’t want the time the girl had spent in her dungeons to be the first time they met.

            Luna smiled widely. “Did he now? How sweet of him to remember. Did you know that you have Osvolants surrounding the gazebo? They are lovely creatures. They give off good vibes. You have a lovely yard.”

            Narcissa didn’t even blink. She just smiled gratefully at the strange girl. “I did not know that. Why don’t you tell me all about them?” She gestured with her hand and led the girl away towards the gazebo. Neville followed behind them with a tender smile. Anyone that would listen to Luna talk about her creatures was someone that he would love to get to know.

            Remus and Severus stared at each other after the departure. “Well that was…” Severus trailed off.

            “Interesting.” Remus supplied.

            “Odd.” Severus retorted. Remus shrugged his shoulders. “I agree she is a little strange but she is a lovely girl.” Severus wasn’t sure about that but he was willing to keep an open mind.

            Fleur looked around the yard with a happy sigh. It was so beautiful. She was wishing that she had done her wedding like this, simple and elegant. She hadn’t even known all the people at her wedding. Fleur was so happy that she was here to witness the ceremony. She had never seen an _in perpetuum simul_ ceremony before. She just knew it was going to be beautiful. The sudden short notice had been a little surprising but she was thrilled nonetheless.

            Bill watched his wife twirl around happily around the glowing bugs and he smiled. He loved watching her be able to be free and express herself. It hadn’t been hard to switch around his schedule to make sure he was here for the wedding. He wouldn’t have missed this for the world. His brothers had said they needed to find a trustworthy person to perform the ceremony and he had quickly offered his services. When he had been in Egypt, a couple of his coworkers had gotten married and in were desperate need of someone to marry them. He learned quickly and even registered with the Ministry to become a magical officiant. This would be the first ever _in perpetuum simul_ ceremony that he has ever done but he was thrilled to do it. After he had heard that Harry and Draco were engaged, he began researching more about the ritual. It wasn’t something that was done anymore so he wanted to get it right just in case they asked him to perform it.

            “Are you having fun, my love?” He asked before he grabbed hold of her hand and twirled her around to a silent beat. Her laughter surrounded them and he grinned widely at the beautiful sound.

            “Bill!” Fleur breathed through little giggles as they danced. “I am ‘aving a wonderful zime. I can’t wait zoo see ‘arry and Draco.” She told him with a smile.

            Bill smiled down at his wife. “It won’t be much longer now.” He assured her. He stilled their dance and looked around when he felt eyes on the back of his head. He turned and caught sight of his brother.

            “Charlie!” Fleur squeaked out happily before rushing over to hug her brother in-law.

            Charlie chuckled as he caught his enthusiastic sister. “Hey Fleur. How have you been?”

            She grinned at him before stepping back into Bill’s arms. “We ‘ave been great. ‘arry is working on somezing for me for Gringotts. Both ‘im and Draco are ‘elping me. Zey said zat zey can get Gringotts zoo settle before going zoo court.”

            Demetrius was a little confused as to what was going on but he waited patiently to be introduced.

            Charlie arched a brow. He knew that Fleur had been let go from Gringotts unfairly but he wasn’t sure what Harry and Draco could do about it.

            Bill smiled at the enthusiasm from his wife. “They have sighted the Prejudice Act of 1975 as an unlawful reason to fire someone.” He explained.

            “I don’t see how that would work.” Charlie admitted. “That law is about blood status.”

            Bill grinned widely. “Exactly. They are drawing up a formal complaint stating, that since Fleur is part Veela and that her creature heritage comes from the blood of her ancestors, that it is about blood status. The law doesn’t describe what kind of blood status. Just says that a company cannot terminate someone based off of their blood status.”

            Demetrius and Charlie exchanged shocked looks. Demetrius grinned at the sneaky use of a loophole. That was utterly brilliant. He bit his lip and wondered if they might be able to find a solution like that for their own problems. Charlie refused to apply for a loan without him on the paperwork. They tried several different ways but once it was known that a magical creature was cosigning, they were instantly denied. Sure, they never ‘said’ that was the reason why, but they weren’t stupid. It was just plain old prejudice.

            “That is brilliant.” They said in unison.

            Fleur looked to Demetrius and her eyes widened. “I am so sorry! I was zoo excited zoo see Charlie zat I ‘ave missed seeing you.” She apologized. “I am Fleur.” She didn’t offer her hand but she did give him a tight hug.

            Demetrius smiled at the very hands on family. He hugged her back. “I am Demetrius. It is nice to meet you. Charlie has spoken a lot about you. The both of you.” He told Bill as well.

            Bill grinned widely before embracing his soon to be brother in-law. “He has told us the same. It is nice to meet family.”

            Demetrius sucked in a breath at the casual way he was instantly included as family. He blinked back tears and buried his face into Charlie’s neck.

            Charlie rubbed his back and mouthed ‘thank you’ to his older brother.

            “Places everyone!” Narcissa’s voice said in excitement. Everyone immediately formed two lines. One on one side of the path that led to the gazebo, the other line on the other side. So that Harry and Draco had to walk through them to get to Bill inside the Gazebo.

            Harry snapped his head up when he heard Narcissa’s magically enhanced voice. The double door that led to the back yard was thrown open wide with a bang and the black dividers that had been separating him from Draco vanished.

            Draco’s eyes locked onto Harry’s green orbs and he grinned widely. They both took off running until they were right in front of the other, which happened to be in front of the open doors. They smiled at each other as they shared their excitement and love through the bond.

            “Hi.” They said in unison. “I love you.” They said again at the same time. They grinned. Harry wanted nothing more than to reach out and touch his fiancé but he knew he wasn’t allowed. He smiled when he realized that they were wearing the exact same color. A traditional golden bronze of the _in perpetuum simul_ ceremony. They turned towards the door and their eyes widened at the gorgeous scene. They had no idea what it was going to look like. Harry’s eyes filled with tears, it reminded him of the night Draco proposed to him. He was incredibly thankful for his family able to pull this off in such short notice.

            Harry looked to their family and friends who showed up. He grinned when he noticed that Luna and Neville had shown up. He wasn’t even going to waste time wondering how she knew. They had only figured it out last night. His smile grew wider when he caught sight of Charlie and the man next to him who must be Demetrius. Harry smiled when he spotted Kreacher, he had to do a double take at the fact that he was holding Sirius’s painting. He wondered how much begging it had taken for Kreacher to willingly hold his godfather. He noticed that everyone had a pale blue lantern in their hands making the backyard light up in a natural glow that made his breath catch at the beauty of it.

            Draco smiled softly when he realized that one everyone was in matching robes. His mother must have remembered that that had been something he had wanted. Half the guests were in a bright green, the other in a silver. Their two favorite colors, the hues representing each half of the couple. Each couple here wore one color while the other couple wore the other.

            As soon as they stepped out of the doorway, they instantly were washed with a wave of magic. Harry had been informed a head of time that this was the cleansing spells. It made it so that anyone entering the area where the ceremony was to take place was cleansed clean of any negative thoughts. The spell was to fill the guests with happy thoughts so that they could take part in the full ritual. Only people of sound mind and emotions were allowed to take part of the circle.  

            They began to slowly walk side by side to where Bill was. As they moved, so did the guests. Their friends and family walked sideways at the same pace that they were walking.

            Demetrius bit his lip to stop from gasping. He looked wide eyed to Charlie as they walked. He could tell by the slight confusion to his fiancé’s eyes that he didn’t understand. Demetrius shook his head slightly at the silent question. He would explain later. He snapped his eyes back to the couple and he couldn’t help but sigh as he felt their bond. He knew that if he had been a full Incubus he would be able to see it but this was good enough. Their bond was beautiful. He hadn’t ever come across something like this before. Never in his life did he think that such love could exist. There was such a pure energy to the bond that it startled him. How could something like this even exist? He had known they were soulmates but knowing and seeing are two different things. The depths to the bond was stunning. He could even feel the emotions of it. Not in a way that they could but more in the way it pulsed with different emotions. He hadn’t been around them enough to be able tell which emotions they were feeling but with time, he would be able to. Whatever they were feeling was breathtaking. The wildly constant pulsing was so powerful that he knew it was love.

            When they made it inside of the gazebo, Harry and Draco stopped right in front of Bill. The family surrounded them in a circle, with Bill fitting right into part of the circle, making Harry and Draco the center of it. Everyone put down their lanterns on the ground, lighting up the gazebo further.

            “To begin the ceremony, I need you to look into each other’s eyes.” As soon as Harry and Draco turned to look at each other, Bill activated the beginning of the ritual. Harry’s eyes widened at the thrum of energy filling his body. It was intense.

            “This ceremony will tie the two of you together for not just this life but every life after this. You are tying your magic and your souls for eternity. Within this circle, you are not only declaring your intent to be bound together eternally in front of friends and family, but you also intend to declare this in front of your souls, a higher power that is at work to keep you in check. Souls cannot be tricked by sly words and material possessions. Souls connect on a deeper level that may never be seen to the human eye. When entering your engagement, you already made the promise to see this ceremony come to fruition. Your souls have already reached an understanding to the other. Now it is your mind and magic that will have to come to the same conclusion.”

            Harry and Draco shared a small smile at the last sentence. They already shared magic but that was alright. They would welcome being even more entwined than they already were.

          “Reach out and grab hold of your partner’s right hand. Then grab the left and place it on top of your right hands.” Harry thought their arms and hands resembled a figure eight. He had to marvel at the fact that even their hands were entwined together for the ritual.

          As soon as the hands bearing the torque made contact with each other, a thin golden string of magic left their bracelets and twined around the other person’s left arm in intricate twist and turns until stopping at the elbow. They could feel a slight burn into the skin leaving behind a thin golden string of color.

           “As you can see, the magic of your partner’s torque is combining into your own. This pattern in your skin will fade in color but will always remain on your skin as a reminder of the ritual and the connection that you will forever have.”

            Draco saw the beautiful twists and he was reminded of a tattoo. This was not a design he would have chosen originally but he thought it was gorgeous. This was proof of their love and their ceremony.

            “Magic comes from more places than just within the body. Magic can be taken from the world around us. The torque will now use some of the magic that can be obtained if we just seek it out. The first color that has emerged from the torque is a golden yellow. This color represents the magic within the Air. The color comes from the sun that brings warmth to this union. May your love for each other be as limitless as the air in the sky and as bright as the sun.”

            There was a tingling as the yellow settled into the skin. Harry thought that it tickled slightly.

           “The second color that you can now see is red. This color represents the magic within Fire. The color comes from a blazing inferno that brings the burning kindles of this union. May your love for each other be as free as the fire and as passionate as the color it represents.”

            Draco watched the red shoot out of the torque and up their arms with fascination. He had known that the colors were something that would happen, but it was surreal to see it. His skin tingled when the red settled elegantly next to the yellow.

           “The third color that you can now see is a dark blue. This color represents the magic within Water. The color comes from the moving tides that brings a refreshing chill to this union. May your love for each other be as deep as the depths of the ocean and constantly flowing like waves of the water.”

            Harry was enchanted by the beautiful colors that were now on his skin. Not a single color overlapped the others. They found their own path from his fingers to his elbow.

           “The last color that you see is green. This color represents the magic within the Earth. The color comes from the rolling hills and the bright life that surrounds this union. May your love be as wise and tall as the life that is being nurtured by nature.” There was a pause as the last color sunk into their arms. The yellow, red, blue and green all meshed in stunning twists along their skin. Harry and Draco were in love with them.

           “The colors have stopped and settled into the skin. The colors are now just as deeply ingrained as your own love. We may not be able to see the love or your connection but the colors and the intricate designs will always remain as a reminder to all who see you of the love that is so obviously between the two of you.”

            Harry felt himself get a little choked up at that. It wasn’t just a reminder to anyone who could see them. It was a reminder to themselves as well. They had their bond between them showing their love to each other but that wasn’t something they could see. Now, they had something visual to remind them that they will always be there for the other. They had proof of their connection and it was something that they would be able to see for the rest of their lives.

           “Soulmates already share a unique situation. You are already tied to one another emotionally. This ceremony will enhance the love that is already blossoming inside the two of you. To showcase this, I have two seeds in my hand. The two of you will each hold one in your clasped hands and push the magic and love that you feel for one another into the seed. This will show us and your souls all the love that is combined in your bodies by taking the blossoming love and turning it into a blossoming flower.”

            Harry opened his left hand slightly so that Bill could slide the seed into their hand. Next, he did the same with his right. When Bill gestured that they could start, Harry and Draco continued to stare into each other’s eyes but they both shoved all the love that they could into the seeds.

            Everyone gasped when instead of a small blossoming flower, two fully grown Wolfsbane flowers burst up out of their hands. The stem coming between their fingers. There was a moment of silence before more Wolfsbane flowers began sprouting seedless from all over the gazebo. Some just falling from the top of the structure. Harry couldn’t see past the circle but he just _knew_ that the flowers were all over the grass too. It would appear that they put just a _tad_ too much love into the seeds.

            Draco stared at the flowers between their palms with watery eyes. Wolfsbane was the flower that Harland gave him the very first time he ever met him as Dracott. This flower held a special meaning to the both of them and he couldn’t believe that this was the flower that was chosen. He hadn’t told his mother about this.

            Bill stared at the flowers that grew in confusion. He had given them sunflower seeds. He had no idea how Wolfsbane had grown from sunflower seeds. He shook his head and cleared his throat.

            “The more than _generous_ display of your love,” He paused to smile wolfishly at them. “Was proof of a deeper connection that shows that your souls will continue to thrive and grow combined together.”

            Harry sent Draco a small amount of love and grinned when more flowers popped up around them all. He needed to stop doing that while he held seeds in his hands.

           “The last part of the ceremony is the rings that you have chosen to show your love and claim your partner. The rings will be passed to all those who have been labeled friends and family. Each touch to the rings will signify their acceptance and approval of this union. They will each give their own blessing and wishes for your future. The blessings will be invisible etchings into the rings so that you will always have their silent support of your choices in everything that you do, from your family.”

            This is the part that Harry knew would choke him up. He had never had a family growing up. And now he had an ever-growing family, the fact that they all accepted and approved of his relationship with Draco meant the world to him. To think that they would be giving their blessings over their wedding rings, in a way that would always be there, just made him incredibly glad that he had these wonderful people to call a family.         

            Remus had the rings to start the blessing. He felt tears in his eyes as he closed them quickly before any could fall. He pushed his magic into the rings as he wished the soulmates a long and free life together. He passed the rings to Severus and gently took his son into his arms so that his lover could perform his own wishes.

            Severus grasped the rings as he felt his magic pool in his fingers. He prayed that Harry and Draco find the happiness that they deserved. The happiness with each other that he himself hadn’t found until just recently. He wished that nothing would ever come between such bright souls as these two.

            Lucius took the rings from Severus with watery eyes. He was filled with so much affection for the two young men who were tying themselves to each other. He had seen too much darkness in the world lately. Quite literally. He wished for the duo to always have brightness enter their lives. He wished for them to never know the sting of darkness again.

            Narcissa closed her palms when the rings made contact with her skin. She smiled gently at her sons. She wished for a simple life for the pair. She knew that it might not come true or that their lives might always be filled with something, but she still wished that they would get the simplistic life that they had never had.

            Fred grasped the rings as his eyes filled with tears. He had known that neither boy had the affection growing up that they wanted. So he wished that their lives would be filled with all the affection that they could give each other.

            George took the rings from his brother and slightly shook his head at the tears he could see in his eyes. He ignored his own stinging eyes. He was _not_ going to cry. He looked to Harry and Draco and could clearly see the joy that they held. He wished that would never go away. He wished that they would always find joy in one another.

            Pansy shakily took the rings from her boyfriend. She was filled with so much love as she stared at her best friends. She knew that they held ungodly amounts of love for each other. She wished that love would nurture and grow every day. She wished that the love would never fade and remain forever in their hearts.

            Blaise closed his hand around the rings and smiled at Harry and Draco. He loved seeing the two of them smile at each other. Even at school in the past, neither boy had much to smile about. He wished that their lives would be filled with never ending smiles and joyous laughter.

            Charlie took the rings from Blaise and marveled at the strength of these two men. They had both fought in a war that they weren’t prepared for. He wished that the strength that they held would bleed into the relationship, strengthening their marriage.

            Demetrius clasped the rings and felt out their bond again. He couldn’t help but be stunned at their expressive emotions. He wished that their emotions would always remain pure and generous as they were right now. He wished that their emotions would forever remain positive towards one another.

            Neville took the rings from Demetrius and smiled at his friend. He did not have the pleasure to call Draco his friend but he knew that Harry and Draco had started their connection as friends. He wished that they never lose that friendship. He wished that they would always remain each other’s best friend.

            Luna slid the rings into her hands and closed her eyes. Passion. That was what had always been their connection. Some would say it was the fights. Some would say they had been combined as enemies. But that wasn’t true. Underneath all of that, there was always passion. She wished that the passion the two of them held for each other would never dissipate.

            Luna handed the rings to Kreacher, who had Sirius’s painting leaning up against him. Kreacher wasn’t sure if he would be able to bless the rings. Just being here to see his Masters wed was a once in a lifetime experience. His eyes filled with tears and he smiled gratefully at the blonde girl. He held the rings tightly in his hands and drew as much of his magic as he could muster into the bond. He knew that he always complained that his Masters were indecent but the Noble House of Black wouldn’t be the same without it. He wished that his Masters would never lose their spark. He wished that they would always remain indecent... in private.

            Sirius wished that he could hold the rings but he would just pretend. He closed his eyes as he wished that the two of them would have something that they had never had a chance to have. Fun. He wished for Harry and Draco to be able to just enjoy themselves and that their lives be filled with fun.

            Fleur took the rings from Kreacher as her eyes filled with tears. She felt so privileged to be here to see them get married. She had always known that Harry was a fighter. That much was obvious during the tournament. From what she learned about Draco, he was just as much of a fighter as Harry. She wished that both boys would always keep the fighting spirit. She wished that they would always fight for their relationship. Never let it sizzle out.

            Bill was the last to receive the rings. He took a moment to make his own wish. Their bond to each other was something that had always fascinated him. He wished their soulmate bond would always remain healthy and vibrant. He wished that their connection would grow and nurture into something even more amazing.

           “As I slide these rings onto your fingers, I want you to think of the past, where you walked alone without your partner.” Bill paused so that they could listen to his instructions.

            Harry and Draco did as they were told. Both thinking of their not so happy lives. Harry thought of his life with the Dursleys, thought about the horrid way they treated him. Thought about his dreams of wishing that he would be saved or rescued from the awful home. He thought of life as the boy-who-lived. The pressures that he was constantly under. The weight of the world that had been on his shoulder as the _entire_ wizarding world demanded he save them. He thought of the darkness that had been around in the form of Voldemort.

            Draco thought of his childhood that had been so lonely. He thought of the loveless household and the endless house elves that raised him. He thought of the all the times he had been starving for some kind of attention. _Any_ attention. He thought of the stigma that he had to live with as a Slytherin and the son of a deatheater. He thought of the pressures to succeed and the life he had been trained to take over as heir to the Malfoy name. He thought of the mistakes that he had made under the horrid guise of protecting his family.

           “Appreciate the path that defined who you once were separately from your significant other. Now, I want you to think of the future that you will forever walk together, no longer alone. I want you to marvel at the life that you will build as a whole and cherish the gift of finding the one that completes you.”

            Draco thought about everything that he wanted to do with Harry. He thought about the life they would have. The future careers and the future children that they would have together. He was already marveling at the sheer possibilities that were now opened to him. It was a reminder that even though the paths they walked alone were horrid, they were worth it in the end. Everything they had done separately had brought them to this moment right now.

            Harry felt a thrill go through Draco and knew that his lover was thinking about their future. He thought about the love that he had for this man and knew that it would only increase the more they were together. He thought about what Bill had said. ‘No longer alone.’ Harry would never be the little boy in the cupboard again. He would never wish for a fairy tale ending because he had one now. He would never be alone. He would always have Draco by his side. It wouldn’t matter what happened to them, they would be okay because they had each other. His future _was_ Draco.

          “The rings have been placed and the magic is already at work, sealing the fate of this sacred union. You should feel the magic heating up and craving the piece that resides in your partner. You may release your hands and connect in any way that your magic sees fit.”

            The magic that had been constantly thrumming throughout the ceremony was now increasing. They could feel it bubbling and heating up their bodies. It felt like a heating charm had been placed throughout every nook and cranny inside of them. Harry had been told that he would feel a ‘need’ to connect to Draco. There was no point in preparing because it manifested differently in every pair. It could be a simple touch to a gentle kiss. It was a mystery. He was told that he would know what to do when the time came. As he stared into Draco’s eyes, he was filled with the most intense desire to kiss his lover. He didn’t stop to consider it, he leaned forward and pressed his lips gently against Dracos.

            Draco closed his eyes at the increase of energy that he could feel in his body. He knew that it was the magic of the ceremony completing what it was meant to. They were being tied together for eternity.

            Everyone gasped when their lips made contact. A cackle of energy surrounded the area as the connection between the two boys grew to even bigger heights. Those who had been there on the memorable night that they discovered they were soulmates, knew what was happening. Those who had not been there just stared in awe as the souls of Harry and Draco began singing in joy at being bound forever.

            The soft melody of the two souls was something that those who hadn’t been there, had never heard before. It was gentle and soft. It made their bodies feel like they had been purified from the inside out. Not only could the magic of them be heard, it was seen and felt. The tangible magic was breathtakingly beautiful. Rich colors of magenta and sapphire surrounded Harry and Draco. The souls and their magical cores were swirling around each other in a silent dance. They twirled, dipped and soared around the still kissing couple.

            Eyes filled with tears at the sound of pure joy their cores were making at being entwined even further.

            Harry and Draco weren’t entirely aware of what was happening around them. They just knew that the urge to keep connected was still strong. They had been told that they would know how to connect and so they were. The urge to continue the kiss was still there, so they didn’t bother fighting it.

            When the swirling colors dissipated back into the two soulmates, Harry and Draco finally broke apart. They both looked to Bill gratefully.

            “Thank you.” They whispered together. They put as emotion into the two words as they could. This had been an amazing experience and they weren’t sure that they could even voice it any further than those two words.

            Bill blinked back the tears at what he had just witnessed. “No.” He rasped thickly. “Thank you.” Merlin, that had been an honor. He couldn’t believe that he had witnessed that, let alone orchestrated it. This had been a big highlight that he would never forget.

            Harry and Draco set the flowers and seeds on the ground and entwined their hands together. They looked around the circle, each thanking every member who had been here to share their big day with them. The circle broke, Harry and Draco were the first ones that were supposed to leave the circle and lead everyone inside. As soon as they stepped out of the gazebo, they felt the same cleansing and they both closed their eyes at the feeling.

            Harry looked to Draco as they led the others towards the Manor. “Husband.” They whispered in unison before their grips on their hands tightened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really really hope that the wedding has met all your expectations. The wedding itself was taken from several different ceremonies from around the world. I of course added my own spin and changed all of the vows. I didn't like a lot the ones that I found online. Plus I like to be original, so the ceremony itself was split from already formed rituals (tweaked to fit a magical theme), but the words themselves were all mine. I added depth to some of the things too. Like the ring blessing? There is a ring blessing that I found, only the guests just pass the rings around and it is supposed to bless the union. But I liked the idea of them actually thinking of wishes for the couple to have in their lives. So I added that bit. 
> 
> Feel slightly bad for the quartet. They had to put up with Harry and Draco. Pansy almost killing Draco was a great start to the chapter. Haha. 
> 
> Charlie and Demetrius! Woot. I had to include them. I knew that some of you were hoping to see them in the wedding. Your wish is my command. 
> 
> Neville and Luna! I debated about her showing up without her eyes but I decided against it. Whatever lesson she had wanted to learn while blind, has already been taught to her. 
> 
> Now, remember that Harry and Draco had taken Finneus captive right after they finalized the contract with the goblins. So they didn't have time to tell Fleur about it. I didn't want you all to be confused about that part. 
> 
> Kreacher willingly holding Sirius's painting? I think I have seen everything now. Haha. 
> 
> There was a combination of several ceremonies. Handfasting. A twist on the rope or ties that would usually tie the couple. I used the torque. Some ceremonies use the elements. I added that as a combined version to the handfasting. Hopefully you all picked up on the fact that I included the house colors in the elements. ;P Some ceremonies will plant a tree or a plant, but I liked the idea of their love growing a flower. I already told you about me changing the ring idea. 
> 
> I debated about whether to show their souls again. They are tying their future lives together forever. So I figured this was definitely a moment that the souls would be rejoicing. 
> 
> I will finish the reception tomorrow and add in what that chapter was supposed to be about. Tomorrow will still be the last chapter for this story. 
> 
> Let me know what you thought about this chapter. 
> 
> -XxTheDarkLordxX


	91. It is Just the Beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You all know that this is the last chapter. It is surreal to think that this story is coming to a close. I have posted every single day for three months, minus one day. That is a lot of time and dedication that I have put towards this story. It has been an emotional ride just to write it. 
> 
> Funny tid bit, I almost didn't even post this story. I wasn't sure that anyone would want to read it. I was having writers block right after the Malfoy trial. So I thought that I would post the first couple chapters and see what people think. It became a way to force myself to push past the writers block. I know that some of you might think that I had this story already written and have just been posting the chapters once a day. That is not the case. I write every single day. No breaks. No stops. God at least stopped on Sunday. Just kidding! Don't take that last line seriously. Lol. 
> 
> I have loved writing this story and I have loved all the positive feedback that you have given me. I would like to give a shoutout to all of the people who have taken the time to write comments. I have loved every single one of them. The kudos are also nice. I thank everyone who has left me one. 
> 
> I know that it seems like it is ending, but just like the title to this story. It is just the beginning. I know that I mentioned this yesterday but I am going to say this again. This universe is not over. There is a lot more to it. I have plenty of stories and things to go along with this story. Quite a few sequels and many shorter stories for the side characters. If you have questions please don't hesitate to ask me.
> 
> If you are looking forward to my future stories on this series then please subscribe to my author updates on my profile. If not, then bookmark this story and you can just randomly see if I update. Either works. I really hope to see you all on my other stories. I can't stress this enough, but you all are the reason that this story exists. I write for myself and for the people who like it. Thank you for all of the positive feedback and the encouragement. Without you all, I would have given up long ago. <3

            Harry and Draco had been given their own little table a little ways away from the giant circular table that the rest of the guests were at. Harry looked around and smiled slightly. It was simple and elegant. There were floating candles everywhere and white tablecloths for their tables. They liked the idea of being close enough to the family that they could hear conversations if they so wished but separate enough that they could just bask in each other’s comforting presence.

            Harry grinned at the happy feelings in the bond. “I can’t believe it. We are married.” He said with a happy sigh.

            Draco grinned and scooted his chair closer to Harry. He nuzzled the side of Harry’s face. “My husband.” He felt a thrill through the bond from the both of them.

            “Husband.” Harry tested out the word with a smile. He was never going to stop loving the sound of that. He was pretty sure he was going to annoy everyone with it. He could already see him saying things like, ‘That’s my husband over there.’ ‘See the blonde guy, yeah we are married.’ ‘Draco is my husband.’ ‘No thanks, I am married.’ ‘I came here with my husband.’ ‘Why yes, yes I am married.’

            “Zey are just so cute!” Fleur said with a happy sigh as she watched the two newlyweds cuddle into each other.

            “They sure are.” Demetrius agreed with a little sigh himself. He could feel their bond pulsing and it was nearly distracting. “I can feel it.” He admitted. He looked up when he felt eyes on him. Demetrius could see the questioning glances. “I can feel their bond. It is so beautiful.”

            “You can feel it?” The quartet asked together, in surprise. When Demetrius let out a little nod, they shook their head in wonder. They thought it would be rather interesting to be able to feel their bond.

            Demetrius looked to Fleur and Remus. “Can either of you feel the bond?” He didn’t often come across other magical creatures and he was soothed by the knowledge that this family welcomed everyone in, whether they were a part creature or not.

            Remus shook his head. “No, I can’t feel it. But I can smell it.” He winced at how odd that sounded. “It’s just the way the two of them smell. I noticed that something was different about them when I saw them for the first time after they bonded. They smell the same but different. That is about all I can detect to their bond.”

            Fleur tilted her head to the side. “I can sense ze magic of eet en a way. Eet wasn’t obvious w’at eet was. I zought eet was just zat zey ‘ad already bonded en a typical marriage ceremony at first. Eet feels like a strong magical connection. But I can’t feel eet like you would zink. Other people ‘ave connections zoo zat I can sense, so zey don’t stick out zat much zoo me.” She shrugged hoping that made sense. She wished that she could feel the bond like Demetrius seemed to be able to. That would be an experience that she would love.

            Neville hadn’t been aware that they were soulmates until the end of the ceremony. Unsurprisingly, Luna had seemed aware of this fact. He had wondered why they were doing an _in perpetuum simul_ ceremony. It seemed… oddly traditional. He was raised with his grandmother’s mentality and he knew that she herself wanted that type of ceremony for him but Neville wasn’t going to do it. He didn’t give up the hope that he would meet his soulmate in another life. He wasn’t going to tie himself for eternity to someone that wasn’t his soulmate. For a moment, he had wondered if Harry just didn’t know exactly what the ceremony entailed but he discounted that quickly. Harry may be in love but he wasn’t blind to reality. He knew that his friend would have wanted to know all the details before agreeing to that kind of ceremony. He sighed internally at the memory of the wedding. He could understand why his grandmother wanted that for him. He could understand, really, he could. The ceremony had been one of the most beautiful things he had ever witnessed, but that wasn’t something that was in the cards for him. Not in this lifetime.

            Neville listened to them talk about the bond and the different ways that they could sense it and he wondered what that would be like. He would love to be able to sense something like that. What he witnessed today, the way their souls had connected… it was breathtaking. He hadn’t thought that after the war, there would be a whole lot to celebrate. But that, that had been like seeing the sun after weeks of rain. It had been something so magical and so beautiful that he knew he would never find something like that again. He would never witness such wonder in his lifetime. He thought it was ironic that two enemies had been right in front of each other’s faces and never even knew it. It was nearly poetic in the karma of it all.

            Conversations all around broke out over dinner. Harry smiled at his friends and family. Kreacher had taken Sirius back home so that he could finish his duties and check in on the animals. Remus and Severus were listening to Demetrius talk about life on the Dragon Reservation. Luna was telling Fleur all about the last hunt her and her father went on for the crumple-horned snorkack. ‘We came across an abandoned nest!’ Lucius was asking Neville about his plans for after Hogwarts. Narcissa was listening to Fred and George talk about their newest invention. ‘Giant wings! We reckon we will have to put a, use at your own risk, warning on the box. We aren’t taking chances that we will be blamed if muggles see them and think angels are descending from heaven.’

            Draco nudged Harry and nodded his head towards Bill and Charlie.

            “I just don’t get it Char. I gave them sunflower seeds. I _know_ I did. I can’t figure out how the Wolfsbane could have come out of that. It just doesn’t make sense.” Bill complained to Charlie. It wasn’t like he was upset, the flowers had been rather beautiful. It was just a mystery and that was something that he didn’t like.

            Charlie shrugged. He didn’t understand it any better than Bill. He didn’t think it was that big of a deal. He thought the flowers had been a beautiful touch.

            Harry could have easily told him about the flowers but he didn’t want to. This was something that was between him and Draco. This was a piece of their past life that meant something to them. This was just a mystery that Bill wouldn’t get answers to.  

            Pansy and Blaise were talking about going back to Hogwarts. They hadn’t been sure how long it was going to take to get rid of the darkness but they had thought it would take longer than it had. Neither one of them really wanted to go back but they also didn’t really want to just study on their own at home. They were procrastinators at heart. Not to mention they would get zero homework done around their partners. They wanted to pass their N.E.W.T.S so that they could take the shop further and expand far.

            “We will have to go back.” Blaise admitted with a sigh. He really didn’t want to but it was kind of a no win situation.

            “Neither do I.” Pansy admitted. “But at least we will have Harry and Draco there with us.”

            “You will have us with you where?” They looked up and saw that Harry and Draco were standing by the table holding their chairs to sit down. Draco shoved George till the redhead got the hint and moved to allow them entry.

            “Hogwarts.” Pansy and Blaise answered in unison.

            Harry and Draco let out ‘ahh’ noises of understanding. “Sort of.” Harry admitted.

            Draco and everyone that was now shamelessly eavesdropping, meaning the whole table, frowned at Harry.

            “What do you mean angel?” Draco asked. That had always been the plan. They were to get rid of the darkness, get married and then finish school. He was just amazed that they had managed to do it all before school picked back up.

            Harry looked at him pointedly. “Our honeymoon. I am _not_ skimping on our honeymoon just to go to school. No thanks. I was promised a trip around the world and I damn well better get it.” He said with a slight pout. “Besides, I already have the necessary books and papers to study for the N.E.W.T.S while we are gone. I figure a month-long honeymoon will give us the time to enjoy each other and take a _well_ -deserved break since… you know.” He finished a little wary of the listeners.

            Draco smiled at his demanding husband, another thrill went through him. “A beautiful honeymoon with the love of my life, or dreadful boring lessons in a school with too many plebian children? Hmm. That is a tough one.” He teased before kissing Harry’s nose.

            Severus narrowed his eyes at the two of them. They were adults and married, it was entirely up to them how they handled their future. “Do you think you will _actually_ study on your honeymoon?”

            “Yes.” Harry told him firmly.

            “No.” Draco told him just as firmly.

            They both looked at each other before laughing. “Draco.” Harry told him with a disapproving tone. “Harry.” Draco retorted, dragging out Harry’s name in a whine. “It is our honeymoon, I want to be able to enjoy you… I mean enjoy our honeymoon.” He amended weakly once he heard the snorts of laughter.

            Harry looked into pleading grey eyes and he sagged in defeat. “We will enjoy the honeymoon but at least one hour a day will have to be spent on some type of studying.” He offered fairly.

           Draco considered this. One hour, that wasn’t so bad. “Alright love, you got yourself a deal.” He offered his hand out to shake. Harry grasped his hand but didn’t let go.

            “You know…” Harry said thoughtfully. Draco narrowed his eyes in suspicion. That was the look that his lover got when he knew he had Draco right where he wanted him and Draco couldn’t do a thing to stop him.

            “On days that we study more than one hour… I am sure I can… reward you.” Harry blinked innocently. Draco sucked in a sharp breath. That was just cruel. Offering him rewards that were no doubt _worth_ it. Draco looked to Severus. “I don’t think you need to worry about us studying. We might even come back a head of where we need to be.” He told him in a strangled voice.

            The table broke out into laughter and Severus shook his head with his lip curling. That was a mental picture he didn’t even want to know about. “You would turn even studying into something sexual.” He said with another shake to his head.

            Draco grinned wickedly. “Why not? Makes learning more fun. Imagine the amount of higher academic scores that would increase if they implemented something like this at Hogwarts.” He told him with a leer.

            Remus hummed in thought. “That’s not a bad idea.” He mused out loud. He looked around and furrowed his eyes at the incredulous looks he was being given. He rolled his eyes. “I didn’t mean sex.” The quartet shuddered, adults talking about sex was cringe worthy. “I meant a reward method. Studies show that children try harder when they know they are going to get something out of it.”

            Severus arched a brow. “Good grades aren’t a good enough award?”

            “No.” Harry, Draco, Neville, Luna, and the quartet all said in unison.

            Lucius and Severus sighed. “Back in my day.” Lucius began but was cut off by Draco groaning. “Please don’t start this spiel. What is with the older generations berating the younger generation for just being themselves?”

            Lucius arched brows but held his hands up in surrender. “Alright. If sex is what it will take _you_ to learn, then I am just glad you waited till you were of age before figuring that out.”

            Draco didn’t like hearing his father talk about his sex life. It made sex seem so… dirty, and not in a good way.

            “So.” Pansy interrupted quickly before Draco could say anything. “You guys will be gone for the first month of school?” She asked with a sad expression. “I am going to be stuck with only Blaise for an entire month?”

            “Hey!” Blaise said indignantly while everyone let out chuckles.

            “It is only a month Pans.” Draco told her gently. He reached out to grip her hand. She sighed heavily. “I know but it is already going to be difficult without seeing Fred and George daily.”

            Harry and Draco frowned. “Why wouldn’t you see Fred and George?” Harry asked.

            Pansy and Blaise looked at him in confusion.  “Because we would only be able to see them on Hogsmede weekends.”

            Draco arched a brow. “We are coming back for an eighth year. Hogwarts doesn’t have an actual eighth year. This is something that is unprecedented and no rules have been set into motion. They won’t have set rules that go through the Ministry since this is a onetime instance that they are doing. They cannot make adults over the age of 17 stay every night inside of Hogwarts. The only reason the seventh years have to stay is because they transition from 16-17. There should be no reason that you have to only see Fred and George on the Hogsmede weekends.” He finished with a shake of his head.

            Harry nodded his agreement. “I could even make an argument against _any_ 17-year-old staying at Hogwarts at night. It would be a little difficult since it is a boarding school and they make their own rules but the argument is there. As long as the student had decent grades and made it to class on time, I see no reason why a 17-year-old adult couldn't stay outside of the school at nights.”

            There was a silence while everyone stared at them in surprise. Pansy smiled brightly. “So then I will be able to go home every night?” She asked with a grin. She dropped Draco’s hand. “Then I don’t need you.” She told him with a wicked grin. “You can stay as long as you want on your honeymoon.”

            Draco huffed in annoyance. “I see how it is. I am just second-class goods against George.”

            George puffed out his chest. “Damn right. It is nice that you have admitted it. They say that is the first step.”

            Draco shook his head at the snorts that could be heard.

            Demetrius looked at the two of them in interest. “You two really have a knack for the law.” He said impressed. He couldn’t remember being very gifted at 18 other than liking dragons.

            Harry and Draco shared a grin. “Thanks.” Harry said. “We want to become lawyers and we have been considering a lot of things lately.”

            Charlie looked at them with a calculating look. “Would you guys be good at foreign law?”

            Demetrius snapped his head up and narrowed his eyes. “Charlie.” He said in warning. Charlie ignored his fiancé and kept his eyes on Harry and Draco.

            Draco arched his brows in surprise before sharing a considering look with his husband. “I am assuming you mean Romanian laws. I unfortunately do not know much about Romanian laws.” He said regretfully. “I am also going to assume this revolves around creature rights of some kind.” He mused out loud. “I know _some_ Romanian creature rights. I know that they aren’t as progressive as the British Ministry.” He snorted humorlessly. “Which is awful considering that our Ministry are bags of dicks that need to pull their heads out of their arses and see past their own self entitlement.”

            Harry leaned back and smiled at his lover. He did not know anything about Romanian creature rights. So there was not much input he could add to the conversation. He looked to Demetrius and noticed the unhappy look, he wondered if it was some type of embarrassment.

            “Why do you ask Charlie?” Harry asked kindly. He kept a close eye on Demetrius and noticed a small tremble to the man. He reached out his hand and grasped Demetrius’s hand. “Hey.” He told him softly.

            Demetrius looked up warily into Harry’s eyes and relaxed at the comforting green eyes. There was no judgement or pity in them, just understanding. “Whatever it is, it is not something to be ashamed of. No matter what the Romanian government or what anyone else tells you, you are just as important as they are. You have the same rights as anyone else. You are not different or bad because of the blood that you carry inside of you. You are not someone to be talked down to. You are just as much a part of the world as anyone else. You want to know something that I learned?” Harry reached out and took his other hand as well. When Demetrius nodded jerkily, Harry continued.

            “People can’t take away your dignity unless you let them.” He promised him. “I know that is a generic statement and you have already no doubt heard it countless times, but I know from personal experience.” Harry swallowed thickly before gripping the man’s hands tighter.

            “I may not know what it is like to face the prejudice that you have had to face, nor am I trying to make light of it.” Harry began. “But I was raised… in a _very_ hateful family.” He closed his eyes for a moment.

            “I- they didn’t like magic. They were muggles who didn’t understand me. They were supposed to be family but they told me every day that I was useless and a freak.” Harry’s voice trembled. He hadn’t really told anyone this besides Draco before. He could feel Draco’s support through the bond.

            “There is only so many times you can hear an insult before you start believing it yourself.” He blinked rapidly to clear the tears. He could see that Demetrius understood this much. The poor man probably believed all of the things that people said about him.

            “I didn’t know my own name until I hit school. They never called me Harry. I was boy or freak.” His voice wavered. “I believed for the longest time that I must have done something wrong to deserve the treatment that they gave me. It wasn’t until I was able to go to Hogwarts, that I realized that I was _not_ a freak and I was _not_ useless. I had let the opinion of others who didn’t matter make up my own beliefs.” Harry squeezed his hands gently.

            “I know that you understand that. I know that you must believe the things that people tell you but I want you to know that it just isn’t true. There is nothing that they can say to you that is the truth. You Demetrius are worth it. You are worth something. You are your own person. Don’t let what they say to you, define who you are. Let the opinions of the ones who love you, define you. Fill your ego with the love and the compliments that Charlie gives you.” Demetrius let out a watery chuckle. His lover was always complimenting him.

            Harry smiled. “See? That right there is the reaction I want to see. Charlie’s opinion matters. Your opinion matters. Not the ones who spew hate. Not the ones who can’t understand what they don’t know. They can only take your dignity if you allow them to. Don’t allow them to Demetrius. Don’t allow them the pleasure of breaking you when they don’t matter.” Harry told him firmly.

            Demetrius closed his eyes. He had never met someone like Harry before. Never met someone who would just open himself up like that to a complete stranger. The words Harry spoke struck a nerve within him. He knew that he was right, knew that he shouldn’t let the words get to him. He looked to Harry and marveled that someone who wasn’t even a magical creature had had to face prejudice too. A different kind but prejudice nonetheless. If only other people could see the world like this young man in front of him.

            “Thank you.” Demetrius choked out. He squeezed Harry’s hand in another show of gratitude before sliding them over to Charlie. He laid his head on Charlie’s shoulder.

            Draco grabbed Harry’s hand and brought it to his mouth. He kissed the palm reverently. He loved this man. He loved him so much. To hear Harry so easily talk about his past to Demetrius had made him fall even more in love with him. He looked back to Demetrius. “Now whatever the problem that you guys are needing help with, it is okay. Whatever is happening, it is wrong. Whatever they have said or denied you, it is not okay.”

            Charlie was impressed with the way that he had been able to already figure out what was wrong without knowing the details. But they did live in a sad world for magical creatures, so perhaps it wasn’t that big of a stretch to figure it out.

            “We will help you in any way that we know how.” Harry assured them both. “If we have to study Romanian laws in our spare time, then so be it.” He promised.

            Charlie and Demetrius shared a long look before they both nodded in agreement. “Thank you. It means a lot to us.”

            Harry and Draco waved away the thanks with smiles. “Now, tell us what is going on.” Draco asked as he summoned a quill and parchment to take notes.

            As Demetrius and Charlie began talking about their dreams of their own Dragon Reservation and what the Ministry had been doing, the rest of the guests were in their own conversations.

            Lucius, Severus, Remus and Narcissa were all leaned close together. “Did any of you know that?” Narcissa asked with a frown.

            Remus tilted his head to the side. “Kind of. He never really talked about his life at the Dursleys but I didn’t think it was that bad. The Order had given them some subtle hints to the Dursleys to leave him alone but I don’t know if they worked.” He finished with a whispered growl. He was incredibly angry that anyone had dared to treat Harry like that.

            Lucius narrowed his eyes. “I can’t believe muggles would treat anyone like that, let alone a magical child.” He closed his fist tightly at the fact that Dumbledore let Harry return to those people every summer. Hadn’t the man done any research on the muggles that were housing the savior of the world? “Say Remus.” Lucius began sweetly. “You wouldn’t happen to know where these muggles live would you?” He asked innocently.

            Severus snorted while Remus furrowed his brows. “Yeah but what does th-” His eyes widened. “I am not letting you kill them.” He finished firmly.

            Lucius huffed out in annoyance. “I can find them on my own.” He told him warningly. He tilted his head to the side as he thought of the contacts and favors that he could call in.

            Narcissa put her hand on her husband’s arm. “First see if Harry objects to it. They are related to him.” She pointed out gently. Lucius conceded this fact with only a small amount of grumbling.

            “You remember when Draco came home after the battle?” Narcissa told Severus and Lucius. “He had been giving you a lecture for treating Harry badly.” She reminded Severus.

            Remus snorted loudly. “He did?” He would have loved to have been there for that. Remus rubbed his hand on his lover’s knee soothingly when he caught the glare.

            “Yes. What of it?” Severus asked tightly.

            “He said that Harry had been abused. I wasn’t sure what to make of it. He kind of skipped over that and didn’t really ever pick up the conversation again on the subject.” She was feeling guilty that she had actually forgotten about that until now. Harry was always so happy and loving that she couldn’t see him as anything but that.

            Remus looked at the three of them with narrowed eyes. “Draco said that?” He was wondering how they could have heard that and _not_ mentioned it to him.

            Severus rolled his eyes. “It was in the middle of a giant rant on how I was horrid to him. It really was said in passing. Not to mention it was the first time we were hearing of Draco liking someone and that person ended up being Harry Potter. So forgive me if it was a shock to our systems.”

            Remus conceded this. That would be a little shocking. “Alright.” He grudgingly told them. Severus and Lucius rolled their eyes.

            The quartet were looking at Harry and Draco in mock disappointment. “I just don’t get it. It is their wedding day and they are going over legal crap.” Pansy said shaking her head.

            George nodded his head. “I agree. I would be dancing it up and doing pranks on everyone here.”

            Blaise rolled his eyes. “That is just a regular day for you though.” He pointed out. George grinned in reply. “I suppose that is true.”

            Fred looked at Harry and Draco in a calculating look. “They _are_ enjoying themselves. They like all of this lawyer stuff.” He pointed out. “Plus we have all seen Harry dance, I am sure we don’t need to see it again.” He said snickering.

            “Hey!” Harry said standing right behind him. Fred looked up a little sheepishly.

            “I wasn’t that bad.” Harry argued. Sure, he had let Parvati lead him but he didn’t think he had done _that_ bad.

            “Yes, you were.” Fred, George, Pansy, Blaise, Neville, Luna and Fleur all said together.

            Harry looked at them all with narrowed eyes. He harrumphed and crossed his arms across his chest. He looked to his lover with a question.

            Draco took one look into those pleading green eyes and he melted. “I thought Harry did rather well.” He admitted.

            Harry could feel no lie in the bond and he happily kissed his husband.

            “You would say that.” George and Pansy grumbled.

            Draco broke away from the kiss and frowned. “I can’t lie without Harry knowing. I was not lying.” He was insulted.

            Fred and Blaise rolled their eyes. “They weren’t implying that you were.” They argued. “They were saying that you think _everything_ Harry does is amazing.”

            Draco shrugged his shoulders. “You aren’t wrong.” He admitted. “But that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Everything Harry does _is_ amazing.”

            Harry grinned widely before sticking his tongue out at the quartet. He pulled on Draco’s hand. “Come on love. You can teach me how to dance to their horrid standards.” Draco led him over to the dance floor just a little bit away from the tables. He waved his hand and music began to play.

            Harry decided he just wanted to be held in Draco’s arms. He wrapped his arms around his neck and smiled when Draco’s arms circled around his waist. “Not the type of dancing I thought we would do.” Draco murmured near Harry’s ear.

            Harry rested his head on Draco’s shoulder and smiled as they moved back and forth to the slow beat. “This is better.”

            Draco smiled sweetly before placing a gentle kiss to the top of Harry’s head. “Yes, it is.” He agreed.

            They stayed dancing for quite some time. They knew that others had come out to dance but they didn’t pay them that much mind. They were too involved with each other.

            “Excuse me, may I cut in?” Draco blinked in surprise at Luna. She was looking at Draco indicating that she wanted to dance with Harry. He smiled warmly. “Sure. But don’t get too handsy with him.” He teased her. When she just stared blankly at him he rolled his eyes and turned away. He jumped in surprise when he noticed that Neville was right there. He arched a brow at the raised hand, Neville was asking him to dance?

            Well, Draco had always said it was good to try things once. He took Neville’s hand and led them into a dance.

            Harry shook his head at the pair before taking Luna’s hand into his own and settling the other one on her waist. “I have missed you Luna.”

            She smiled brightly at him. “It has been a while.” Harry smiled at her. “How have you been? Has things since Finneus been alright?” He wondered in concern.

            Harry was amused that even during a dance, the girl’s eyes were wandering around looking for her creatures or whatever else she does. “Things are as they should be.” Harry furrowed his brows at the vague statement. If they were bad, then he figured she would have told him.

            “That is good. I had been worried about you.” He was proud of the fact that he hadn’t stepped on her toes yet.

            “There was no need, but I appreciate the concern.” She told him with a twitch to her lips. “Harry.” She said suddenly, bringing them to a stop.

            Harry raised his brows in surprise. Was something the matter? “You will change the world, did you know that?”

            Harry blinked rapidly at the knowing tone in her voice. “I am sure that I already have.” He was thinking of Voldemort.

            He heard a sigh and he smiled slightly. It wasn’t often that Luna lost patience. “No, that is in the past and bears no resemblance to this.” She chided him gently. “You _will_ change the world and you will do it with Draco’s help.” She stared at him directly in his eyes and Harry froze at the clarity in her light blue eyes. She always had a dreamy quality to them but not right now. Right now, they were the most serious he had ever seen them.

            “I- I don’t know.” Harry admitted. He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to say to that. What does that even mean? How was he supposed to change the world?

            “A good place to start, will be with Hogwarts.” She told him cryptically.

            Before he could formulate a reply, she stepped away and went to find Neville. “Oh and Harry?” She said over her shoulder. “My father will be expecting you tomorrow at noon.”

            Harry gaped at her for a moment. What the fuck? Why was her father expecting him? Why did she have to speak in riddles? Couldn’t she just say what she meant?

            “What’s with the look?” Draco asked as he wound his arms around his lover’s waist.

            Harry twisted so that he could look into his husband’s eyes. “I am not sure. Luna just told me that you and I will change the world.”

            Draco raised his brows. “Well my father did always tell me to aim high.” Harry snorted loudly. Neither one of them even remotely knew what Luna was talking about.

            “Speaking of my father.” Draco began nervously. “He has mentioned that we need to file our marriage license with the Ministry. He has plenty of contacts in that regards that can quietly get our papers filed without too much of an issue.” He took a big breath. “But, the quiet won’t last long. Our marriage will get found out sooner or later. It is better if we give an interview about it _before_ it is discovered. If the media gets wind of it before we tell them, then it will be an even bigger scandal than it will already be. They are going to think we tried to hide it for nefarious purposes.” He sneered the last sentence.

            Harry scrunched up his face. “I am horrible about interviews.”

            Draco didn’t want to give an interview about their life either. That didn’t sound pleasant at all. “I wish we knew of a paper that was unbiased and a reporter that we could trust.”

            Harry grinned widely. “I fucking love Luna.”

            Draco blinked rapidly for a moment. “Any particular reason?”

            Harry laughed warmly. “She has set up an appointment for us to meet with her father tomorrow at noon.”

            Draco dropped his mouth in surprise. “Hmmm.” He hummed considerably. “It will make my father cringe to think that our announcement will be in the Quibbler.” Harry snorted at the pleased tone to his voice. “It is _so_ something that Harry Potter would do.” Draco grinned widely. “Let’s do it.”

            “What are you doing?” Came the quartet’s unified voice. Harry scrunched his forehead at their odd dancing. It looked like a cross between a waltz and a salsa. It was… interesting.

            “I think that I should ask you the same.” Draco said with a curled lip. “And you said that Harry had bad dancing.” He grinned at the affronted glares being sent his way.

            They all four ignored Draco and pointedly looked to Harry for an explanation. Harry snickered but answered them. “We are announcing our marriage in the Quibbler.”

            “Draconis Malfoy.” Lucius said in resignation. He shot Luna an apologetic look but it looked like the girl wasn't listening to a word that was being said.

            “I think it is brilliant.” The quartet argued.

            “They will know that the Quibbler will tell the truth of the union and not include any lies or half-truths.” Fred piped up.

            “A lot of people aren’t going to take the article seriously.” Lucius warned them.

            Harry and Draco shrugged. “We are not in the business of caring what others think.” Draco pointed out.

            “You don’t have a whole lot of time to prepare. Don’t you leave on your honeymoon tomorrow also?” Remus asked coming up with Severus.

            Draco looked curiously over at Harry when his soulmate nodded. He didn’t know that they had set plans. Harry turned to Draco with a pleased grin. “I asked Kreacher to set it up for me this morning while we were separated.” He admitted nervously. “Our first stop will be to Singapore.”

            Draco gasped. Harry had remembered the conversation they had had at the burrow. He didn’t think that Harry would remember.

            “I know that you have always wanted to go and I thought that we could go see the magical creature sanctuary. They have some lectures scheduled that I thought you might want to go see.” Harry told him with a smile.

            Draco launched himself at Harry and squeezed tightly. “Thank you!” He pressed a kiss into his neck. “I love you.”

            Harry closed his eyes and drank in Draco’s warmth. “I love you too.” They held each other until small coughs drew them apart.

            “You should probably work out what you want to say for the article before you go.” Narcissa told them.

            Harry looked to Draco and could feel the same disinterest inside of himself. “Nah.” Harry argued. “We will just wing it. That is what we do best.”

                     

 

* * *

 

                                             

  **Love Between Two Rivals**

_As my readers know, I do not typically write the articles myself. I like to stick to publishing most of it. But today I was granted the pleasure of doing both. I have been asked to give an honest telling of a marriage announcement._

_Harry Potter and Draconis Malfoy have pledged their love for one another. In an interesting turn of events, the happy couple decided to perform the in perpetuum simul ceremony. Now, a lot of you are probably wondering why that would be. It is a traditional ritual that purebloods in the past used to perform. My mother had gotten married with that type of ritual. I can attest that it isn’t as outdated as most of you believe. I asked the two newlyweds why they chose that ceremony and this is what they said._

**_”We have a love that transcends this world. Most won’t understand or even get it, but that is alright. We didn’t do this ritual for anyone else but ourselves. I am in love with Draco and I will always be in love with Draco. In this life and the next, if we are granted any.” -Harry Malfoy_ **

**_“Harry is my entire existence. If he leaves this world then I don’t want to live without him. This ritual does more than just tie our magic. This ritual tied our very beings to each other. This was a beautiful experience and I couldn’t be more happy that we went this route.” -Draco Malfoy_ **

_I can remember there being bad blood between the two boys and curiously asked myself how they had managed to overlook this. When asked, they had this to say,_

**_“It took a lot of courage to approach Harry after the war. Admitting that you are wrong is never easy. No one wants to be wrong. Pride also can get in the way. I am the heir to the Malfoy title. Pride was something that I had been brought up with and letting go of it was rather hard. I almost lost my nerve and didn’t approach him. But, something told me that I needed to. What was the worst thing that he could do? Hex me? Already been there with him hundreds of times. What was one more?_ **

**_I am the first to admit that I do not have much courage. Number one reason why I wasn’t placed in Gryffindor. But I did have to use a lot of it to willingly apologize to Harry. It was both one of the hardest and easiest things I have ever done. Hard because I had to own up to my mistakes and take FULL credit for my behavior. Easy because Harry is the single most caring person I have ever come across. Conversations with him are a breeze and everything he says makes one want to listen._ **

**_I have always known that Harry was the better man. I have always known that he was a wonderful person. So it wasn’t hard for me to see him in a different light. Apologizing to Harry is what led to this moment right here. I would do it again in a heartbeat.” -Draco Malfoy_ **

**_“To say that I was surprised by Draco Malfoy apologizing to me, would be an understatement. I think the only reason that I didn’t send him away was that I was just too shocked. I was not in a good place of mind after the war. It had only been three days and I was going through some tough thoughts. Survivor’s guilt, mainly. Draco helped me through that. We talked about our lives and how we grew up. It was cathartic, being able to open up to someone. Telling Draco my secrets wasn’t hard. What was the worst thing he was going to do? Tease me? Been there plenty of times. What was one more going to hurt?_ **

**_Only he didn’t tease me. He didn’t taunt me. He didn’t take the information to the papers. He kept my secrets right along with my heart. Draco has been my rock from that moment on. That night he gave me a precious gift. Something that no one had ever done before. He gave me understanding. People look at me and they see a hero. Or they see the poor orphan boy who has had a hard life. Not a single person in my life has ever just listened and understood me. Draco took the time to care about my thoughts and opinions. He has treated me with a love and respect that I have never known before. It wasn’t hard to look past our rivalry. It wasn’t hard to see Draco for the wonderful man that he is.” -Harry Malfoy._ **

**** _I imagine quite a few of you have noticed the name change. It reads Harry Malfoy. I asked Harry why he would change his name. It is such an iconic name after all._

**_“I knew that a lot of people would wonder about that. Draco himself wondered as well. He was ready and willing to become Draco Potter but I decided that I wanted to become a Malfoy. I love my parents as much as I am able to but my name has never given me anything in my life but trouble. I don’t have a sentimental value to my last name. If my children one day choose to embrace my maiden name then I will give them that choice. They can be Potter-Malfoys if that is what they want. But that was not what I wanted for myself. I am honored to be a Malfoy. I take the Malfoy name with pride._ **

**_I know that there are a lot of people out there who will think that Draco has pushed me into being a Malfoy but that is the furthest thing from the truth. He has never pushed me into anything. I am the one who chose to do this. I am the one who is dropping my last name. It is a personal choice and it is one I came to on my own, of my own free will.” -Harry Malfoy_ **

**** _I asked the two of them what their thoughts were on their future. Harry had mentioned children. Was that something that they both wanted?_

**_“The future? Sometimes life gets in the way of things that you plan. I have learned that life with Harry is always an adventure and that planning ahead might not be the wisest decision. We are people who just live life on a whim. But we do plan on going to Hogwarts to finish our education, right after our honeymoon. After that? Well that is undecided. We have career choices that will remain quiet for now until we establish it more permanently. Children? Definitely. That is something that we both want. Children are precious gifts and we can’t wait until the day that we will embark on that adventure.” -Draco Malfoy_ **

**** _There has been some controversy surrounding the two for a little while. It had started with the trial of the Malfoy family. I wanted to know how they handle things, do they think about what the media or the wizarding world will think?_

**_“It is funny that you mention this. No offense to you but we honestly don’t care what the media or what anyone has to say on our relationship. They are neither me nor Draco. We are the only two opinions that matters when it comes to our marriage. I learned a valuable lesson my first discussion with Draco as friends. ‘I do what I want.’ I had him repeat that multiple times when he was worried about what his family would say to him going down a different path. It was something that has stuck with the two of us. It matters none what others think because the only thing that really makes a difference, is what you want. So really all I have been doing, is whatever the fuck I want to do. The most important person will always be yourself first. Take care of yourself first and the rest will fall into place. So if you take anything from this interview, let it be that.” -Harry Malfoy_ **

_The two young men in front of me are obviously in love. There is an aura to them that does indeed seem to transcend this world. I count myself lucky to have been the one that they chose to come to with their story. I find myself very grateful for this experience. This article will have no doubt come as a shock to many of you out there. I imagine that there will be a lot of opinions as to what the couple should and shouldn’t do but I urge you all, just let them be. Because in the end, they are just going to do what they want._

_-Xenophilius Lovegood_

_Editor of The Quibbler_

            Harry set the edition of the Quibbler down on the coffee table of their suite in Singapore. It had turned out better than they had thought it would go. He looked to last line, ‘They are just going to do what they want.’ There had never been a truer statement out there. He looked to his still sleeping husband and smiled. Doing what he wanted got him this far. Perhaps that could be their family motto. Had to be better than the Black family motto.

            “I do what I want.” Harry mumbled. It had a nice ring to it. Perhaps he could convince Draco to put that over their own family tree. He shook all thoughts of the article and family trees away. He was on his honeymoon, he had a sexy naked blonde right in front of him. Priorities. He walked away from the table and set out to wake his husband up in the best way that he knew how.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little all over with the emotions. That is alright. That is just how things go sometimes. 
> 
> Usually I ask you all kinds of questions and point out bits of the chapter that I liked but I won't do that this time. This is the last chapter of the story and I feel a little nostalgic. 
> 
> If you have any questions or thoughts on this chapter. Ask away. I can't promise I will answer the question if it contains spoilers. But I will try. :)
> 
> I really really hope that you have all enjoyed this piece of my imagination that I have written down. Sometimes my mind works in odd ways and it is just better to write it out. That is how this story really began, an overactive imagination. I know I said this earlier in the beginning of the chapter but I would like to thank you all for the positive feedback and the comments. It has been a wild ride and I have you all to thank for that. 
> 
> Don't forget to subscribe to get email updates. If any would like to reach me for advice, stories you would like me to read, or even prompt ideas, or just a conversation, my email is xxthedarklordxx@yahoo.com 
> 
> Let me know what your thoughts on this story as a whole. <3
> 
> -XxTheDarkLordxX
> 
> P.S. This is just the beginning. Don't get too sad. I promise to be back later this week with hopefully a full story or just a small story. I am going in an order. So the honeymoon is up next!


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